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mbavacation
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Bad Attitude 05 Dec 2007, 13:59
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mNeo
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Well I personally think that the whole 'stellar' essays thing is a little misleading.

I agree. Stellar essays mean nothing without stellar stories or background.
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I disagree mNeo. No one verifies stories from your background.
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gmatclb
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anadimisra
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Well I personally think that the whole 'stellar' essays thing is a little misleading.

I agree. Stellar essays mean nothing without stellar stories or background.

I disagree mNeo. No one verifies stories from your background.
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Great point.

Also, delivery is the most important aspect in communication. It's not what you say. It's how you say it.
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Bad Attitude 05 Dec 2007, 14:38
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anadimisra
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Well I personally think that the whole 'stellar' essays thing is a little misleading.

I agree. Stellar essays mean nothing without stellar stories or background.

I disagree mNeo. No one verifies stories from your background.
Show more


Well, even a made up story can make an essay stellar. But it is still the story making the essay stellar, not just the way of delivery. I am not trying to weigh how many people completely make up stories for essays. Hopefully not a lot of them. But, what I am saying is that without content, your "way of delivery" is not as valuable. We end up focusing too heavily on where each sentence should go, how many words our essay should have etc instead of focusing on the content of the essay.

Think about it .. if you are an amazing essay writer, but you have absolutely no stories to tell, then will you be able to convince MIT adcom? Check MIT's essays .. and tell me how can anybody write admit-worthy essays without strong stories (Made up or not). What kind of amazing essays can you write without content anyway?
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Bad Attitude 05 Dec 2007, 15:01
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mNeo
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mNeo
dosa_don
Well I personally think that the whole 'stellar' essays thing is a little misleading.

I agree. Stellar essays mean nothing without stellar stories or background.

I disagree mNeo. No one verifies stories from your background.

Well, even a made up story can make an essay stellar. But it is still the story making the essay stellar, not just the way of delivery. I am not trying to weigh how many people completely make up stories for essays. Hopefully not a lot of them. But, what I am saying is that without content, your "way of delivery" is not as valuable. We end up focusing too heavily on where each sentence should go, how many words our essay should have etc instead of focusing on the content of the essay.

Think about it .. if you are an amazing essay writer, but you have absolutely no stories to tell, then will you be able to convince MIT adcom? Check MIT's essays .. and tell me how can anybody write admit-worthy essays without strong stories (Made up or not). What kind of amazing essays can you write without content anyway?
Show more


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.
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Bad Attitude 05 Dec 2007, 15:14
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mNeo
dosa_don
Well I personally think that the whole 'stellar' essays thing is a little misleading.

I agree. Stellar essays mean nothing without stellar stories or background.

I disagree mNeo. No one verifies stories from your background.

Well, even a made up story can make an essay stellar. But it is still the story making the essay stellar, not just the way of delivery. I am not trying to weigh how many people completely make up stories for essays. Hopefully not a lot of them. But, what I am saying is that without content, your "way of delivery" is not as valuable. We end up focusing too heavily on where each sentence should go, how many words our essay should have etc instead of focusing on the content of the essay.

Think about it .. if you are an amazing essay writer, but you have absolutely no stories to tell, then will you be able to convince MIT adcom? Check MIT's essays .. and tell me how can anybody write admit-worthy essays without strong stories (Made up or not). What kind of amazing essays can you write without content anyway?

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.
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did this girl want to go into the automotive industry?
if so, i heard the same story
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Bad Attitude Updated on: 05 Dec 2007, 15:29
Originally posted by mNeo on 05 Dec 2007, 15:28.
Last edited by mNeo on 05 Dec 2007, 15:29, edited 1 time in total.
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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.
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CookieMonster
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mNeo
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mNeo
dosa_don
Well I personally think that the whole 'stellar' essays thing is a little misleading.

I agree. Stellar essays mean nothing without stellar stories or background.

I disagree mNeo. No one verifies stories from your background.

Well, even a made up story can make an essay stellar. But it is still the story making the essay stellar, not just the way of delivery. I am not trying to weigh how many people completely make up stories for essays. Hopefully not a lot of them. But, what I am saying is that without content, your "way of delivery" is not as valuable. We end up focusing too heavily on where each sentence should go, how many words our essay should have etc instead of focusing on the content of the essay.

Think about it .. if you are an amazing essay writer, but you have absolutely no stories to tell, then will you be able to convince MIT adcom? Check MIT's essays .. and tell me how can anybody write admit-worthy essays without strong stories (Made up or not). What kind of amazing essays can you write without content anyway?

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
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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.
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Bad Attitude 05 Dec 2007, 16:27
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zakk
pfffft. I can't wait for your "I got accepted to every school, how do I make a choice" thread.

:-D
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pppshaw... :wink:

I wish... I only wish. :?
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riverripper
CookieMonster
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mNeo
anadimisra
mNeo
dosa_don
Well I personally think that the whole 'stellar' essays thing is a little misleading.

I agree. Stellar essays mean nothing without stellar stories or background.

I disagree mNeo. No one verifies stories from your background.

Well, even a made up story can make an essay stellar. But it is still the story making the essay stellar, not just the way of delivery. I am not trying to weigh how many people completely make up stories for essays. Hopefully not a lot of them. But, what I am saying is that without content, your "way of delivery" is not as valuable. We end up focusing too heavily on where each sentence should go, how many words our essay should have etc instead of focusing on the content of the essay.

Think about it .. if you are an amazing essay writer, but you have absolutely no stories to tell, then will you be able to convince MIT adcom? Check MIT's essays .. and tell me how can anybody write admit-worthy essays without strong stories (Made up or not). What kind of amazing essays can you write without content anyway?

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

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.
Show more


Yep, I was told the same when I visited MIT. Story of a girl who blew it during interview...
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defenestrate
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Bad Attitude 06 Dec 2007, 09:45
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Nsentra
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heck I know one guy who just called up his Fraternity president and got him to say he'd been actively involved for years in their community service activities, even gave him a "title"-

that's pretty disturbing actually (and I come from Eastern bloc). i would hope that when I work on a team with MBA students in one of the top institutions there is some threshold of integrity.
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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.
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defenestrate
Nsentra
rhyme
heck I know one guy who just called up his Fraternity president and got him to say he'd been actively involved for years in their community service activities, even gave him a "title"-

that's pretty disturbing actually (and I come from Eastern bloc). i would hope that when I work on a team with MBA students in one of the top institutions there is some threshold of integrity.

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.
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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.
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Bad Attitude 06 Dec 2007, 11:27
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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).
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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.
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Bad Attitude 07 Dec 2007, 10:26
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shmegs
if an applicant falsifies accomplishments to get into bschool it reflects poorly on his/her ethics.
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Not to mention the fact that it makes the people who actually did something look like they did nothing extraordinary.
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Bad Attitude 14 Jan 2010, 10:08
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hope some of you can carry johnnyx9's fine legacy on gmatclub forward.
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Bad Attitude 16 Jan 2010, 17:11
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wow... forgot how great this thread was. Keep it up, GMATClub class of 2010!
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Bad Attitude 16 Jan 2010, 17:34
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Wow. Another reason why I was so addicted to this club then.
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Bad Attitude 16 Jan 2010, 20:46
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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.
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Bad Attitude 16 Jan 2010, 22:47
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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!!!
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Bad Attitude 03 Aug 2010, 11:31
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shmegs
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.
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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.
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