Resume Review

I think this is a bad idea. If other people get involved in your application, it loses its voice. This is just as true of resumes as it is of essays. You can google up plenty of good general pointers for resumes. That's really all the advice you would ever need. If you haven't done the introspection to understand yourself, your career, and how to present it, then that is a more fundamental problem that won't be solved by superficial advice from strangers who just further dilute your unique identity. Sorry for the rant, just my $0.02. You have to have confidence in yourself.

You don't get your essays reviewed by another person?

Editing doesn't have to make something lose its voice. You'd never find a professional writer without an editor, for example. This seems like bad advice.

You don't get your essays reviewed by another person?

Editing doesn't have to make something lose its voice. You'd never find a professional writer without an editor, for example. This seems like bad advice.

I had a family member read my app for typos etc but that's it. I'm a pretty militant believer that 3rd party advice on how to present yourself is counterproductive. We're not professional writers and that is not the standard by which we are being judged. We are aspiring business leaders and we are being judged by the content of our ideas, not the quality of our writing. So we should focus on our individual business identity and presenting that clearly and succinctly. You don't need an editor to do that. In fact the editor, in editing your writing, will try to edit your identity, and that will only hurt you.

I had a family member read my app for typos etc but that's it. I'm a pretty militant believer that 3rd party advice on how to present yourself is counterproductive. We're not professional writers and that is not the standard by which we are being judged. We are aspiring business leaders and we are being judged by the content of our ideas, not the quality of our writing. So we should focus on our individual business identity and presenting that clearly and succinctly. You don't need an editor to do that. In fact the editor, in editing your writing, will try to edit your identity, and that will only hurt you.

While this may work for you, I feel this may be extremely bad advice for many people. We are being judged on how well we present our ideas, as well as the content. Not everyone is a superb writer, and failing to have someone make sure that an essay flows and represents the author the correct way can be detrimental.

Just like in an interviewer, where your demeanor, communication skills, and professionalism are just as important as what you say, the essays are more than just content. It is not only about "what" you say, but "how" you say it.

That being said, I think many people -are- capable of succeeding without having someone proofread, edit, or reword their essays. Many people, who do not write on a regular basis, need more guidance.

I disagree with this as well. It's pretty widespread advice to have one or two people review your stuff for both content and typos - even Stanford suggests it.

Feel free to ask your friends or family members to provide constructive feedback. When you ask for feedback, ask if the essays' tone sounds like your voice. It should. Your family and friends know you better than anyone else. If they do not believe that the essays capture who you are, how you live, what you believe, and what you aspire to do, then surely the Committee on Admissions will be unable to recognize what is most distinctive about you.

There is a big difference, however, between 'feedback' and 'coaching.' There are few hard and fast rules, but you cross a line when any part of the application (excluding the Letters of Reference) ceases to be exclusively yours in either thought or word.

Appropriate feedback occurs when you show someone your completed application, perhaps one or two times, and are apprised of errors or omissions.

In contrast, inappropriate coaching occurs when your application or your self-presentation is colored by someone else.

You best serve your own interests when your personal thoughts, individual voice, and unique style remain intact at the end of your editing process.

It is improper and a violation of the spirit of the Fundamental Standard and Honor Code to have someone else write any part of your Stanford MBA Program application. Such an act will result in denial of your application or withdrawal of your offer of admission.

Ok, for the record, here is what Stanford says on their website, I think your are misinterpreting it:

Yes, I read it thoroughly. Perhaps it's just an issue of interpretation of what editing means. Having people make a couple suggestions for clarity and strength of message is one thing. I'm not suggesting that you have others make massive overhauls of your essays or change your voice. But we can just agree to disagree here.

In any consulting setting, you always always always have an independent colleague review any work product going to a client (unless you're not overly concerned about your reputation). It's not about whether we are professional writers, it's about being human and the propensity to make silly mistakes. And you don't have to use edits you don't agree with -- as Ron Burgundy said, "I wanna say something. I'm gonna put it out there; if you like it, you can take it, if you don't, send it right back."

Like I said.... there are always time when feedback is a good idea.... but also times when it is not.... given a) you have months to get your application right, plenty of time to catch silly mistakes.... and b) your application is more competitive the more personal it is.... I would submit to you that your comparison is not 100% applicable.... it's your application and your call but my #1 priority in mine is keeping it personal.... I think it's easy to say "I can just reject feedback I don't like" but so much of the personality/voice of an app is communicated subconsciously by the fact that YOU actually wrote it, and I don't think any of us are smart enough to replicate that, at least not to the same degree that you aren't at a disadvantage.... and why would you risk it, if you can catch most of the silly mistakes yourself anyways (given the importance of this document and the time you have to work on it)...

Interesting debate. I'm personally of the opinion that a resume review is pretty safe any way you cut it. Resumes aren't meant to capture "who you are" or your degree of self-awareness, introspection or other terribly touchy feely stuff. This isn't you writing about your passions in life, its you attempting to document your experiences.

Moreover, resumes in an application setting are almost always read by people with little or no exposure to your function or industry. Imagine reading the resume of a research assistant at a particle physics lab. It might be a fantastic resume and mean a lot to someone in the field, but would likely be difficult to interpret by, say, an English major. Admittedly, one's ability to convey their day to day activities to a 'layperson' is something that you are expected to be able to do, but I don't think asking someone "Do you understand this, does this convey what I've done?" is unreasonable.

(This the curse of knowledge - you can't forget what you already know)