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ncp
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How much do you exaggerate? 29 Sep 2010, 20:53
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I think all applicants exaggerate to some extent. When schools ask people to introspect and at the same time talk about qualities they look for in applicants, it is not suprising that folks view their past in rose-tinted glasses. Nostalgia is a pretty strong drug(that can make people hallucinate :).

I also think that succes in B-school and in the workplace will to a large extent depend on how you present and brand yourselves (aka) how well you exaggerate. I am sure you have all encountered those people at work who do better than others despite not having the same work ethics or intelligence. This is just a fact of life. That said, I think the safest way to effectively exaggerate is by sticking to the truth as much as possible.
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How much do you exaggerate? 21 Aug 2011, 19:33
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ncp
I think all applicants exaggerate to some extent. When schools ask people to introspect and at the same time talk about qualities they look for in applicants, it is not suprising that folks view their past in rose-tinted glasses. Nostalgia is a pretty strong drug(that can make people hallucinate :).

I also think that succes in B-school and in the workplace will to a large extent depend on how you present and brand yourselves (aka) how well you exaggerate. I am sure you have all encountered those people at work who do better than others despite not having the same work ethics or intelligence. This is just a fact of life. That said, I think the safest way to effectively exaggerate is by sticking to the truth as much as possible.
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I'd consider any exaggeration in resume or application unethical. Presenting things in best light is a gray area that is intermixed with stretching the truth all the time, and some of the stories on this thread confirm that.

Many people whose job does not directly involve finance and have to put an approximate dollar number to show the impact of their accomplishments exaggerate. Some online profiles suggest that many of them own an accomplishment as their own even when about hundreds of people may have worked to accomplish it.
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How much do you exaggerate? 22 Aug 2011, 14:02
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Dawgie
A lot, you gotta sell yourself. A lot of the small details cannot be verified anyway. For example, I heard some guy that had a low UG say he was suffering from cancer.
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I found myself laughing very hard for this!
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How much do you exaggerate? 22 Aug 2011, 14:31
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Dawgie
A lot, you gotta sell yourself. A lot of the small details cannot be verified anyway. For example, I heard some guy that had a low UG say he was suffering from cancer.


I found myself laughing very hard for this!
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Yes, that is a good one! I don't think you can come up with that on purpose. All those little things....
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How much do you exaggerate? 22 Aug 2011, 18:03
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There's a cultural factor here too. Most American students are primed right from their high school days to understand what is expected out of a really subjective application process. The numbers are one component. And when you take conservative cultures where even the slightest "I" sentences are seen as signs of arrogance, we find a lot of people replacing the "I"s in the essays with "We"s and it just takes away your portion of the role. I have changed how I approach these things from when I was applying to college to now (which isn't too far off, but still).

I think that it is okay to mildly use action words and such (the same deal with the resume right? You'd want to say that you controlled the finances rather than say you helped control finances and things like that). Emphasis and mild embellishment is okay, to a reasonable extent and almost expected, I guess. But as Dee points out in her blog, they don't like people who make it seem like they are the only wheels making the organization run because in most cases that's not true.
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How much do you exaggerate? 22 Aug 2011, 22:59
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I definitely hope that cancer thing isn't real and if it is that the person already graduated. I'd hate to be in class with someone like that.
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How much do you exaggerate? 20 Jan 2012, 11:54
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I'm sure people exaggerate a lot but I personally think it's wrong.
For one, it is not being honest.
Also I think a lot of applicants are denied because the school doesn't think they are being genuine. I think this happens more than we realize.

Honestly it kind of upsets me that I am competing for a place in B-school with people who are exaggerating stories.
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How much do you exaggerate? 31 Mar 2024, 13:55
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Hello from the GMAT Club MBAbot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
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