hey everyone, I just want to bring this up again and see what some of the 2007 applicants and the current ones think. I know it's probably not a good idea to trade essays with GMATClubbers if you're applying to the same schools this year (even if it's different rounds). I also concluded that exchanging essays with someone who has no other essay questions that are related to yours would work with no problems. Now the gray area is, what about someone who's applying to a completely different set of schools? Would trading the goals/leadership/accomplishment essays pose any problems? Do different schools check with each other to see if there's any hint of copying between the schools? Do schools even release their applicants' essays to each other? Any insight or comments you may have on this would help greatly, since if GMATClubbers can help each other in private to review their essays, it would be very helpful for all of our chances. Thanks!

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Essay Exchanges?

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shmegs

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10 Sep 2007, 23:36

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Haha glad to see I'm not the only one down on my writing abilities. After looking through the first drafts of my essays I lost count of the number of times I wrote "I did x, or I believe y"...it was pitiful.

kryzak

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10 Sep 2007, 23:43

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i'm going through my essays and adding transitional phrases in front of each sentence and changing some of the wording to active voice...

ncp

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10 Sep 2007, 23:50

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shmegs, some of my writing is pretty horrific and other pieces are pretty good. So, my essays are somewhat of a mixed bag currrently. My ross essays are OK, HBS is ho-hum and Haas-PT is alright at this point. Hopefully, I will improve in time for the deadlines.

:gl

helpslip

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11 Sep 2007, 00:50

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aviroop

helpslip

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I would not worry about sharing a particular essay with others, only a fool would plagarize an essay that (s)he is likely to be questioned closely about in the interview process. I would worry about the qualitative value of the advice/criticism I was given. (only so many Rhyme's to go around...)

Ya but how would you guarantee that the person who you trade your essays with would not end up using your essay for his application to another school?? You say he/she would be a fool to do it, but would you risk sharing your essay?

Clearly, I cannot guarantee the honest behavior of other people. I do have an advantage in that my profile is quite different from the majority of the applicant pool. I doubt anyone from the "IT pool" would find much useful to plagiarize given my background, (liberal arts, fine arts, lutherie, etc.) work experience, and goals. I know also that, if someone wanted my help, it would be far more productive for them to simply let me read and critique their essay than plagiarize mine. However, that's not why I made the statement I did. I simply think that "borrowing" my essay would be unproductive for someone stupid enough to do do so.

Why?

I think the important point is that, even if I had the magic key to writing a goals essay, how would someone else use it? I am a competent writer but certainly no Joyce or Proust. Anyone lazy or dumb enough to steal my work and present it as their own is therefore someone to whom modest competence appears to be a competitive advantage. Even the most harried adcom is going to notice something is amiss when this person arrives for an interview.

I don' t think that the above description fits the people who hang around here. A GMATclub'er seems more likely to obsess over rewrites than not bother to write a decent essay. Besides, many of the regulars have posted far beyond the word limits of all the essays they will write.

Call me a fool, but I believe in acting honorably.

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11 Sep 2007, 01:11

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Very good discussion folks. Hopefully, we can create a workable framework that can be beneficial to all.

aviroop

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11 Sep 2007, 01:35

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helpslip - very valid points. I agree with you on all counts.

As you said, your profile would not be that of a person from a more generic backrgound and so your essays would carry a distinct tone, but I think one concern would be if someone copies your tone of writing or "borrows writing ideas or themes".

Nobody would be daft as to do a cut and paste job, but trading an essay is akin to Heisenberg's principle (what you observe, you change). There is a possiblity that the person you trade your essay with would be inspired to write an essay with a similar theme/tone or story.

That is a remote possiblity, but still a possiblity. That is the risk that I am not quite willing to take.

I am all in favor for reviewing essays that are different from or do not have anything in common with my reviewer's. At least I would not be inadvertently swayed by another essay....

Essays like goals, family, greatest accomplishment, and ethics/morals would be in the grey area as most of these essays are common for all applicants.

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