Bad Attitude

Remember MIT also does not have blind interviews. They are performed by adcoms who know your application very well. Also they use behavioral interviews, so its pretty much a sure bet that they are going to dig into your essays. During my visit they talked about a girl whose essays they loved and were going to admit until they interviewed her and it was obvious that she had written what she felt they wanted to hear even though she had no clue beyond what she wrote.

did this girl want to go into the automotive industry?
if so, i heard the same story

Absolutely. We all polish our candidacy a bit in applications and in resumes in general. We all try to take too much credit for successes that we may not be solely responsible for. I will always try to highlight how innovative I am even if "naming my future kid mNeo Jr." is the most innovative thing that I ever did.

But there has to be a limit. If you are starting the next stage of your life with a (set of) big lie, then you are not having a very strong foundation. Meh, I guess I went overboard with idealism there. But I think you know what I mean.

I am pretty sure thats what it was. I recall the guy saying he asked her something about Toyota and she just stared blankly at him.

pppshaw...

I wish... I only wish.

Yep, I was told the same when I visited MIT. Story of a girl who blew it during interview...

Sorry, but this sort of corruption is found all over the place. I believe the eastern bloc has plenty of it no? Well, my bet is that MOST of the people you meet will have integrity, and this is just one example.

What do you mean by eastern bloc?

It doesn't have to be blatant corruption. How many b school applicants really like volunteering or waking up early every saturday to tutor kids?

Not many I assume.

Eastern Bloc refers to the former Soviet Union and its former Eastern and Central European allies (e.g. Poland, Romania, East Germany, Hungary, former Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria).

It's one thing to have ulterior motives when doing an activity be it volunteering etc. but it's entirely different to exaggerate or falsify activities. I don't think an applicant's geographic origin matters, there is corruption everywhere. Personally, I think it's fine to finesse accomplishments a little (paint them in the best light) but if an applicant falsifies accomplishments to get into bschool it reflects poorly on his/her ethics.

Not to mention the fact that it makes the people who actually did something look like they did nothing extraordinary.

hope some of you can carry johnnyx9's fine legacy on gmatclub forward.

wow... forgot how great this thread was. Keep it up, GMATClub class of 2010!

Wow. Another reason why I was so addicted to this club then.

Man, this thread rocks! I was in the middle of reading this on my iPhone, and it was low on batteries, so I had to turn my computer back on to keep reading this. Makes me feel better that I'm not the only poor schmuck going through this crap.

The Adcom Equations:

1)
We're looking for a diverse group of students

+

It's really important that you "fit" our culture

=

We want applicants from all over the world, from every industry, department, ethnic background, sex, etc...in order to compare more applicants, lower our acceptance rate, and move up in the rankings

2)
We are looking for individuals with sufficient professional experience and a clear track record of promotions

+

Did you know you don't need any work experience to apply!

=

We want applicants from all over the world, from every industry, department, ethnic background, sex, AGE, etc...in order to compare more applicants, lower our acceptance rate, and move up in the rankings

3)
At our school, our dedicated staff and faculty promote forward thinking and participation in our close-knit community that prepares individuals to be action-oriented leaders.

+

Please tell us why you applied to our school (remember you can't use the word "ranking")

=

HAHAHAHAHAHA, try to answer that one you suckers!!!

I had to register to ask if you seen the "Impossible Is Nothing" (2006) Aleksey Vayner meme? If not I highly recommend you google it and get a good laugh. It's a video resume that is larger-than-life.