How much do you exaggerate?

They can't catch it, they aren't going to ask for x-rays of tumors or anything.

On job descriptions people exaggerate quite a bit. On scholastic history I would bet its minimal if non-existent. On extracurricular activities I bet its pretty heavy.

What about writing about an offer you received two years ago, but chose not to work there? Can the school go back to the employer and verify the offer? I ask because I wonder if I should contact the firm and let them know that they may receive a verification call from Kroll/Bschool.

On job descriptions people exaggerate quite a bit. On scholastic history I would bet its minimal if non-existent. On extracurricular activities I bet its pretty heavy.

A lot, you gotta sell yourself. A lot of the small details cannot be verified anyway. For example, I heard some guy that had a low UG say he was suffering from cancer.

I'm all for adding personality to the essay, but stealing/borrowing/faking stories is just wrong. I would hate to find that a peer of mine had fudged his/her way through the application process. Would you report such a person to the school? Now there's a moral dilemma!

I don't have a halo on my head, but I do have experiences and lessons that are just mine.

I use a variation of the above advice- I pretend that my boss/spouse/fellow committee members were going to read the application and be asked for comments on my answers. That helped me identify a firm line in the sand without being too modest.

It turned out to be a good approach, as for one of my ECs I described co-chairing a silent auction at my employer for the United Way annual fundraising drive. The person I co-chaired with is my former boss, is writing my letters of rec, and requested that I share my application with her so she could include additional points she may have forgotten.

How embarassing would it have been to send her a document that described my taking all of the responsiblity for something we accomplished together?!?

Keep in mind you're telling the schools how great of a candidate you ARE, not how great you would be if you had done X, Y, and Z. And if a school can tell that's there a mismatch between what you claim and what they think actually happened (which I believe that most adcomms are quite adept at identifying), the message they're going to get is that even YOU don't think you're good enough for them. Then what are they supposed to do, but believe you & reject your application?

This is the most depressing thread I have read on GMATClub.

Guys,
This thread has become more about the cancer example. Please let us get back to the main question.
Can someone throw some light on what all in done in a "Background Check"??
Do the schools write back to the recommendors to know more about the claims made by the applicant?
Do they look up the web or other sources to look for any clues etc?

Appreciate all the responses in advance!