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lahai1dj
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Schools: Jones '16 (M) Cox '16 (A$) McCombs '16 (A)
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Shawshank
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@lahai1dj - No, but there are 3rd party services that adcoms can and do use to run these kind of background checks. If you say you were working when you weren't, they can find this out. If you say you got a $50k bonus, but it was only $10k, they can find this out.

I'm not sure how they run these checks on international applicants. But top schools see thousands of applications from around the world each year. They know when something doesn't look right. I'd imagine schools outside the top 15 or 20 don't care as much, and if you have a good GPA and GMAT; they are happy to take your money.

I thought kroll contacts HR of your current or last firm and your recommenders? Either way, you can't exaggerate compensation, dates of employment, or job title. The very few times when people actually get their admissions revoked after kroll check is when they lie about one of those things.
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This is great information. I am not concerned with AdCom finding something unflattering; instead, I would not want my company to know about my MBA plans (aside from my recommenders) until I let them know... the weekend before I start classes and quit! :)
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londoncalling1
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embamaybe2
Is it just progression that they are looking for?

I ask because I've been looking at eMBA programs at the top 3 or 4 schools, and - coming from the healthcare and not-for-profit fields - have been a bit intimidated by the incoming salaries of their intakes... $165/170k at Wharton?!? All of my numbers are in line with the class profile, and I have a graduate degree from the IvyL, but I just can't see them taking seriously someone who is making 60k. Is this a valid fear?

Thoughts on this? Anyone else in a similar spot; academically serious, steady salary growth, but low salary industry? Maybe Wharton doesn't want my 60k salary pulling down their average?
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I seriously doubt it - I live in the UK and had to report my salary in US$. Average salaries are a lot lower here, even for generally well-paid positions. I'm not in finance or consulting but I'm also not in non-profit, education or charity. My salary would be a tiny fraction of what people in similar roles would report.

If they were really that concerned about the average, they wouldn't take international students ;)
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Shawshank
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londoncalling1
embamaybe2
Is it just progression that they are looking for?

I ask because I've been looking at eMBA programs at the top 3 or 4 schools, and - coming from the healthcare and not-for-profit fields - have been a bit intimidated by the incoming salaries of their intakes... $165/170k at Wharton?!? All of my numbers are in line with the class profile, and I have a graduate degree from the IvyL, but I just can't see them taking seriously someone who is making 60k. Is this a valid fear?

Thoughts on this? Anyone else in a similar spot; academically serious, steady salary growth, but low salary industry? Maybe Wharton doesn't want my 60k salary pulling down their average?

I seriously doubt it - I live in the UK and had to report my salary in US$. Average salaries are a lot lower here, even for generally well-paid positions. I'm not in finance or consulting but I'm also not in non-profit, education or charity. My salary would be a tiny fraction of what people in similar roles would report.

If they were really that concerned about the average, they wouldn't take international students ;)
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I think compensation matters more if you work for a large corporation (i-bank, PE fund, consulting, F500) where there are clear correlations between certain job titles and salaries. At banks for instance, the analyst and associate base salaries are well known, and adcom knows roughly what the bonus buckets are depending on how well you performed. So if they're looking at 2 bankers from goldman who are both say 1st year associates and one guy got a larger bonus, they could probably assume that he performed better than the other guy. For smaller and more niche firms, even within finance, the picture becomes murkier. At my firm, for example, we don't even have traditional job titles such as "analyst," "associate," "VP," etc. As a matter of fact, it's not uncommon at all for someone to be doing very well and have the same job title for 10 years because of our firm's unique structure.

So my point is, don't stress out too much about this. Adcom knows about this and are not going to hold it against you.
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Does every school ask for this information? Do we have an option to opt out?
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Mo2men
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dina98
Does every school ask for this information? Do we have an option to opt out?
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Yes, all applications ask about this info. However, some schools make mandatory and others not. In big schools which hire third company to verify your profile such as Duke, Columbia, Duke...ans some others. You need to report it honestly as nothing will hurt you.

What is your concern?
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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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