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You could have a perfect GMAT score<\/a>, a 4.0 from Yale, and a list of extracurriculars a mile long, and yet you could still end up being rejected for doing any of these things in your essays:<\/p>\n 1. Lying<\/strong><\/p>\n This should be obvious, but lying on your application is literally one of the dumbest things you can do \u2013 it\u2019s akin to shooting yourself in the foot. And when I say lying, I mean large scale hoaxes all the way down to the smallest, whitest lie, or even an exaggeration. Stick to the facts. Play it safe. If you worked at a job for six months, don\u2019t say you were there for nine. If your job was assistant manager, don\u2019t say you were manager. If you raised $5,000 for a fundraiser, don\u2019t say it was $10,000. If you have a criminal record<\/a> \u2013 no matter how big or small \u2013 own up to it; not mentioning it doesn\u2019t make it disappear from your record. Fact-checking has become a regular part of an admissions reader\u2019s job. Don\u2019t exaggerate or lie. It\u2019s unethical, unwise, and will only come back to bite you.<\/p>\n 2. Revealing arrogance<\/strong><\/p>\n Nobody likes a showoff, so when you\u2019re applying to b-school, ditch your know-it-all, arrogant attitude at the door. Saying things like, \u201cI\u2019m the only one who\u2026\u201d when you couldn\u2019t possibly know if you are the only one, or \u201cThanks to my efforts, my team succeeded\u2026\u201d when more likely your team succeeded due to team collaboration, shows that you think you deserve all the credit. That\u2019s not a great attitude, and while schools do want high achievers, movers and shakers, they also want nice, modest people who work well with others. If your essays reflect an attitude of, \u201cYou\u2019ll be lucky to have me because I\u2019m just so great,\u201d or, \u201cI deserve to be accepted,\u201d you\u2019ll be dinged.<\/p>\n 3. Being Sloppy<\/strong><\/p>\n A single typo won\u2019t look good, but it won\u2019t give you the automatic axe. When I say sloppiness, I\u2019m talking about seriously messy writing, like writing Harvard when you mean Booth, and littering your essay with grammatical errors, extra words that don\u2019t belong, and misspellings<\/a>. Forgetting to submit a section of the application is another obvious no-no, as is just writing very generically or superficially \u2013 this shows that not much thought or attention went into the application, and could easily be interpreted as lack of seriousness regarding the particular school.<\/p>\n 4. Including private, intimate details about your life<\/strong><\/p>\n You want to provide a personal account that highlights your character, experiences, and achievements, but there\u2019s a fine line you don\u2019t want to cross \u2013 too much information will be deemed inappropriate. Topics to steer clear of: sex, divorce, gross medical details, childbirth, bathroom humor, heavy partying, etc. Hopefully you\u2019re thinking, \u201cWhy on earth would anyone include that in an application?\u201d If, however, you\u2019re thinking, \u201cWow, I never thought to avoid these subjects \u2013 this is good to know,\u201d then I\u2019m glad you\u2019re reading this!<\/p>\n The only time when it may be acceptable to discuss any of the above is in an optional essay as context for poor performance in the past, and even then, less is more. Focus on how you have dealt with the issue, overcame it, and moved on.<\/p>\n 5. Writing broad declarative statements unsubstantiated by specific examples<\/strong><\/p>\n You probably learned this rule in elementary school, but let\u2019s review it \u2013 each topic sentence you write must be followed by supporting sentences. So if you claim that you are a team leader, you can\u2019t just leave it at that. You need to follow that statement up with a few examples: What have you done to show your leadership abilities<\/a>? How many people were on your team? How did you motivate your team members? Did you encounter any obstacles? If so, how did you overcome them? What did you gain from the experience overall? This is particularly important when talking about work accomplishments. Saying that you developed a new product or organized a huge event requires substantiation. Don\u2019t leave the reader to guess about the details.<\/p>\n So there you have it: five places you don\u2019t want to go in your MBA essays \u2013 at least if you do want to go to b-school. To make sure that you haven\u2019t fallen into any of these traps, contact us and we\u2019ll connect you with an admissions pro to review your essays<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Top MBA Essay Questions: How to Answer Them Right!<\/a>, a free guide <\/p>\n This article<\/a> originally appeared on blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/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.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"5](\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/5ff-mba.png\")
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\n\u2022 From Example To Exemplary<\/a>, a free guide
\n\u2022 Three MBA Application Poisons and Their Antidotes<\/a>, a short video<\/p>\n