Association of Information Management Students (AIMS) at the University of Washington

Tips from the AIMS officers (2010-11)* for preparing your application

Before you Apply: Determine your interest in the program

• Read about the iSchool professors , their research subjects, and recent publications.
• Be sure to read through course descriptions on the iSchool website; the MSIM degree teaches information management theory, so you want to be sure the curriculum matches with your interests.
• Go to an information session, either online or in person. Attending a session will ensure you know the program is right for you; it also might prompt some thoughts that you can use in your Statement of Purpose (SOP).

Before you Apply: Prepare your materials

• Read through the Frequently Asked Questions about the application process. Have a conversation with or e-mail Mike Crandall if you believe you have a question that has not been addressed on the website.
• Try explaining to a friend what you think the program entails and why you are interested in an MSIM degree. This will help prepare you for writing your SOP.
• Think about what you would bring to the program (e.g., academic experience, personal passions, professionalism); this is another useful exercise in preparing your SOP.

Completing your Application: Writing your SOP

• When writing your statement, take time to clearly articulate each element of your answer.
• Apart from technical skills, include the soft skills you will bring to team projects at the iSchool (e.g., collaborative experiences, communication skills, and managing deadlines).
• For applicants without work experience: try and cite events or projects where you have acted in a professional manner. List the areas where you have used personal initiative, creativity and self-motivation to achieve results.
• For applicants with work experience: Express the value you have added in your professional role, and how your work contributed to your organization’s success. State lessons learned, such as managing multiple deadlines or collaborative strategies. We would advise avoiding a laundry list of work tasks!
• Edit your SOP several times, and have a few people review it for grammar, sentence structure, and the flow of your prose. Clarify any statements a reviewer finds confusing or out of place.
• If you use abbreviations, be sure to explain what they mean.

Completing your Application: Letters of Recommendation

• Drafting or writing your own Letter of Recommendation, even if asked to do so by your recommender, is improper and a violation of the spirit of the Honor Code. This action can result in denial of your application or withdrawal of your offer of admission. If the individual insists on this approach, you should find another recommender.
• Choose individuals who have had significant direct involvement with you within the last few years, and those you would have worked with in a variety of engagements.
• Encourage recommenders to write letters specifically for this application since outdated or general recommendations typically do not strengthen an application.

Completing your Application: Other Requirements

• Although there is no minimum on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), take time to study in order to perform well.
• If you have a grade point average (GPA) under 3.00 as an undergraduate, take a little time to explain your performance. Be honest, and show how you have learned from whatever hurdles you faced academically.

Finally: A Statement on Admissions Process from Mike Crandall, iSchool Lecturer and MSIM Program Chair

The MSIM Program committee reviews all applications, with at least three people reading each application in full and evaluating both quantitatively and qualitatively the fit of the applicant to the program. The evaluation is based on the GRE scores, their GPA, their resume, their personal statement, and in the case of international students, their TOEFL score. Because we consider these items as a package, there are no minimums or target ranges; each student is rated individually on the strength of the combination of all of these factors, and we then rank them and select the top candidates for admission.

*These tips are solely based on personal experiences of AIMS officers and do not constitute official application recommendations of the iSchool. AIMS makes no guarantee that using these tips will result in successful admission to the MSIM program.

Click here to download a printable PDF version of these application tips. (PDF; 475KB)