{"id":34573,"date":"2016-09-20T14:24:46","date_gmt":"2016-09-20T21:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=34573"},"modified":"2016-09-20T14:26:10","modified_gmt":"2016-09-20T21:26:10","slug":"what-adcoms-and-admissions-consultants-share-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/what-adcoms-and-admissions-consultants-share-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What Adcoms and Admissions Consultants Share"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Check<\/a><\/p>\n

While going through security at the airport recently, I had a TSA agent examining my ID suddenly... said, \u201cI know you. You\u2019re Linda Abraham from Accepted!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Surprised, I replied, \u201cYou\u2019re right. How did you know?\u201d Accepted is not on my ID.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve attended your webinars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why should I have cared, or actually been pleased, that someone recognized me for my work as an MBA admissions consultant<\/a>?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m human. And like most people, I like recognition (of the positive kind) for my work and efforts. So if you recognize me, by all means say \u201chi.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the same trip and since, I\u2019ve had several occasions to meet and talk with admissions committee members from a variety of schools including Harvard MBA adcom<\/a>, Wharton<\/a>, Stanford<\/a>, Columbia Business School<\/a>, NYU Stern<\/a>, IE<\/a>, and Cambridge Judge<\/a>. Whether in private meetings or in a reception I attended for applicants, at some point each of the adcom members said, \u201cI\u2019m human. I\u2019m reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was the context and what are the implications of this very basic, obvious piece of information. Why did they feel the need to say it?<\/p>\n

All were responding to the occasional lack of authenticity in some applications. For example applicants who write they want to go into social enterprise<\/a> with no evidence of interest in social enterprise make admissions readers wonder about sincerity. Highly paid applicants claiming noble, low-paying MBA goals who don\u2019t seem aware of the pay cut awaiting them if they achieve their goals also are cause for wonder. And skepticism. When human beings are suspicious, they usually just say \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another point they all made: they know their programs. They want to admit people who will thrive and be happy at their schools. If you successfully portray yourself as someone you are not and they admit the phony you, they will have an unhappy customer on their hands. And you well spend tens of thousands of dollars and two years in the wrong place.\u00a0So be yourself.<\/a>\u00a0Present your best self, but it still needs to be you.<\/p>\n

Also, keep in mind that no human being likes to be lied to or wants to do something that will ultimately make him or her look bad. The admissions committee members are no different. If they think you are lying or that you aren\u2019t a fit, your admissions chances just took a deep dive.<\/p>\n

In my meetings, I asked about applicants applying with a criminal record<\/a> or with academic infractions. In both cases the associate directors whom I met paused and thought for a minute. They said that they do not automatically reject people with these kinds of issues. Obviously the applicant has to be otherwise qualified, but in considering the infraction, the committee will look at when it occurred, what it was, and the applicant\u2019s response to the event. Obviously, a misdemeanor eight years ago is very different from a felony last month.\u00a0 Again, they both said, \u201cWe\u2019re human. We\u2019re reasonable. We know people can make a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

That humanity and that drive to help applicants end up in the right school are shared by admissions committee members and admissions consultants<\/a>. Yes, the school representatives' primary responsibility is to their programs, but to the extent they want you to end up at the right school for you and you want to end up at the right school for you<\/a>, all our interests overlap.\u00a0 As an admissions consultant, it\u2019s my job to help you find the right school for you -- and then to help you make your best case for acceptance with a self-aware, reflective, authentic, and articulate application.<\/p>\n

\"Things<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Linda<\/a>By\u00a0Linda Abraham<\/a>, president and founder of Accepted and co-author of the definitive book on MBA admissions,\u00a0<\/em>MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools<\/a>.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0From Example to Exemplary \u2013 A Free Guide<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0Focus on Fit [Episode 162]<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0Admissions Tip: BE YOURSELF!<\/a><\/p>\n

This article<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>originally appeared on\u00a0<\/span><\/i>blog.accepted.com<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/i><\/span>get accepted<\/span><\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While going through security at the airport recently, I had a TSA agent examining my ID suddenly… said, \u201cI know you. You\u2019re Linda Abraham from Accepted!\u201d Surprised, I replied, \u201cYou\u2019re…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,113,243],"tags":[1128,1727],"class_list":["post-34573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-adcoms","tag-admission-consultants-2","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34573","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34573"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34575,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34573\/revisions\/34575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}