{"id":26015,"date":"2014-10-27T09:17:04","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T16:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/dont-hide-from-mba-admissions-background-checks\/"},"modified":"2014-11-26T17:34:33","modified_gmt":"2014-11-27T00:34:33","slug":"dont-hide-from-mba-admissions-background-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/dont-hide-from-mba-admissions-background-checks\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Hide From MBA Admissions Background Checks"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared on Stacy\u2019s \u201cStrictly Business\u201d MBA Blog<\/a> on U.S.News.com<\/h4>\n

Background checks in MBA admissions are more common for some schools than others, but their overall use is growing. Some programs vet every admitted applicant, others randomly select a percentage of candidates and still others delve further only when something seems to raise a red flag. The process usually take place in the spring, after all application rounds have passed and candidates begin sending in their deposits.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of people shouldn\u2019t stress over this verification process. Business schools aren\u2019t on a mission to grill candidates about\u00a0every last detail of their applications.\u00a0They simply want to ensure that applicants have honestly\u00a0represented themselves, their experience and their accomplishments.<\/p>\n

[Learn to overcome the fear of MBA admissions failure.<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Sometimes applicants are screened because their profile is unusual or difficult to verify, such as if their work experience included time in a startup or at a failed startup, in a small family firm or at a company abroad,\u00a0and the admissions office simply needs to clarify and confirm the details.<\/p>\n

Typical reasons for rejecting a candidate<\/a> include\u00a0ethical lapses or questionable behavior, not disclosing a layoff or firing, evidence of plagiarism and not disclosing a criminal conviction. Willful deception or lying by omission will jeopardize your admission\u00a0\u2013\u00a0not minor discrepancies such as being off by a month when listing your employment dates. Most schools give applicants a chance to explain any plausible mistakes.<\/p>\n

Though I can\u2019t share specific examples due to confidentiality issues, I have had clients who have had problems with background checks. In some cases, an\u00a0offer of admission was revoked following the background check. In one situation, the student had already started school and was escorted out due to an omission on the application. It wasn\u2019t because of a lie, but rather that this person failed to\u00a0 include information the program would have wanted to know about during the application process.<\/p>\n

[Dodge three surprising application mistakes MBA students make.<\/a>]<\/p>\n

According to a\u00a0Wall Street Journal piece published\u00a0earlier this year, Stanford Graduate School of Business<\/strong> began instituting background checks within the past decade under Dean Derrick Bolton, and now all accepted students go through verification tests<\/a>. Business schools can investigate application details that include everything from recommenders,\u00a0employment and education history, extracurricular and professional involvements, leadership roles and even authenticate anecdotes from application essays.<\/p>\n

The Wall Street Journal piece goes on to note that the school typically rescinds offers to a few students each year based on these tests, but the omissions are the hardest to deal with. Bolton told the Journal that two candidates last year did not disclose prior graduate studies, even though they had each graduated with top marks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no issue had it been disclosed. The issue was the deception,\u201d he\u2019s quoted as saying, and their acceptance offers were rescinded.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re on the fence about whether to include or explain something in your application, chances are you probably should\u00a0mention it. When the issue is something like poor academic performance or a gap in employment history, it\u2019s always best to come completely clean. The admissions team isn\u2019t looking for perfection in applicants.<\/p>\n

[Learn about the nuances of the MBA resume.<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Major failures can translate into a story about lessons learned and self-improvement which can actually help your candidacy if you show how you\u2019ve become a wiser, more humble person because of them. However, if the incident you\u2019re wondering about including is personal in nature and does not appear anywhere on your official record, you may decide not to draw unnecessary attention to it.<\/p>\n

If you learn that your admission is conditional pending corroboration of your professional, academic or personal background, your best option is to cooperate quickly and completely to facilitate the verification process. The schools just want to make sure all applicants are who they say they are.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re meticulous about presenting the facts, haven\u2019t exaggerated or lied, and have explained any lapses in judgment that could come back to haunt you, you\u2019ll have nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n

***
\nIf you are looking for guidance on your <\/i>MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly<\/a> and comprehensive<\/a> consulting services. Contact us<\/a> to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews<\/a>, and check out the company\u2019s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.<\/i><\/p>\n

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This post originally appeared on Stacy\u2019s \u201cStrictly Business\u201d MBA Blog on U.S.News.com Background checks in MBA admissions are more common for some schools than others, but their overall use is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,749,775],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-stacy-blackman","category-admission-consultants","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26015"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26520,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26015\/revisions\/26520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}