Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Ramneet Singh wrote:I forgot to remove a bschool's name from an app for duke . I hit myself in the foot . I didnt even copy the whole essay.I just copied a very generic and cliched line about contributing to the bschool;something that most bschool apps have in common.
Will such an error at a single place be forgiven ? Is that a deal Breaker ? Coincidentally I worked the hardest on my Duke essays .

I think u can write to the adcom ASAP - I've heard they can make changes to the app before anyone reads it -"officially". Sameer sir can confirm it ?

bblast wrote:

Ramneet Singh wrote:I forgot to remove a bschool's name from an app for duke . I hit myself in the foot . I didnt even copy the whole essay.I just copied a very generic and cliched line about contributing to the bschool;something that most bschool apps have in common.
Will such an error at a single place be forgiven ? Is that a deal Breaker ? Coincidentally I worked the hardest on my Duke essays .

I think u can write to the adcom ASAP - I've heard they can make changes to the app before anyone reads it -"officially". Sameer sir can confirm it ?

That s 1 line in a 1000 word essay . What do I tell them ? I am sure they havnt read it yet.

Ramneet Singh wrote:

bblast wrote:

Ramneet Singh wrote:I forgot to remove a bschool's name from an app for duke . I hit myself in the foot . I didnt even copy the whole essay.I just copied a very generic and cliched line about contributing to the bschool;something that most bschool apps have in common.
Will such an error at a single place be forgiven ? Is that a deal Breaker ? Coincidentally I worked the hardest on my Duke essays .

I think u can write to the adcom ASAP - I've heard they can make changes to the app before anyone reads it -"officially". Sameer sir can confirm it ?

That s 1 line in a 1000 word essay . What do I tell them ? I am sure they havnt read it yet.

I am not sure about this but I've been writing bschool apps for 2 years :/. I am sure there is a way out of this{have read about changes in submitted apps often}. I think the best way is to mail the adcom that u made a mistake in ESSAY-X. And then see what they suggest. They may suggest u to resend the essay and then no-1 would even know of the blunder !!

bblast wrote:

Ramneet Singh wrote:

bblast wrote:

Ramneet Singh wrote:I forgot to remove a bschool's name from an app for duke . I hit myself in the foot . I didnt even copy the whole essay.I just copied a very generic and cliched line about contributing to the bschool;something that most bschool apps have in common.
Will such an error at a single place be forgiven ? Is that a deal Breaker ? Coincidentally I worked the hardest on my Duke essays .

I think u can write to the adcom ASAP - I've heard they can make changes to the app before anyone reads it -"officially". Sameer sir can confirm it ?

That s 1 line in a 1000 word essay . What do I tell them ? I am sure they havnt read it yet.

I am not sure about this but I've been writing bschool apps for 2 years :/. I am sure there is a way out of this{have read about changes in submitted apps often}. I think the best way is to mail the adcom that u made a mistake in ESSAY-X. And then see what they suggest. They may suggest u to resend the essay and then no-1 would even know of the blunder !!

I heard you are going to kelly or rotman . any luck elsewhere

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In this article, she talks about teaching jobs and careers in the education field, the pros and cons, average salary ranges and other aspects. For those who are tired of competing in the rat race, here are a few meaningful options for you to consider...Read more

Ramneet Singh wrote:

bblast wrote:

Ramneet Singh wrote:I forgot to remove a bschool's name from an app for duke . I hit myself in the foot . I didnt even copy the whole essay.I just copied a very generic and cliched line about contributing to the bschool;something that most bschool apps have in common.
Will such an error at a single place be forgiven ? Is that a deal Breaker ? Coincidentally I worked the hardest on my Duke essays .

I think u can write to the adcom ASAP - I've heard they can make changes to the app before anyone reads it -"officially". Sameer sir can confirm it ?

That s 1 line in a 1000 word essay . What do I tell them ? I am sure they havnt read it yet.

Ramneet bhai,

Immediately after the submission deadline, the workload and the stress levels of the admissions team are at their peak. Sending them requests means you are adding to their woes. So unless there's a genuine reason for them to break their normal set of planned activities to accomodate your request, it may not be a good idea to approach them.

In fact, just a few days back, another BTG member (hallo sirji, if you are reading this) had a situation where a substantial chunk of critical data was missed out. For his unique situation, I recommended that he get in touch with the admission team and request them to include it. And they did, after specifically pointing out that they are 'strict about not allowing any changes after the deadline, but this request was being considered as an exception'.

In your situation, it's not just about the name change. The bigger issue would remain - a generic bschool contribution statement which does not take the application ahead (irrespective of the school name that's in there). So after approaching them, if they still see major flaws in the flow, then you've only drawn their attention to a bigger issue.

So in that situation, rather than get the little slip-up under a magnifying lens (when their frame of mind isn't exactly conducive to forgive and forget), I'd just sit back and wait for them to evaluate the application in its entirety. Hopefully they'll be impressed with the remaining 999 lines (as you have worked on them the hardest) and ignore the little faux pas in there.

When folks have come to us for interview prep help, sometimes we are surprised to see some glaring mistakes in their applications, being ignored by the adcoms who probably felt that the candidate had a lot to bring to their program.

Just ensure that it doesn't happen with the other apps, if there are any more left.

Fingers crossed for you, bro.

Hi Sameer ,
I wasn't expecting that you would advise me to stay put . i have already shot off a mail to them .The app process is getting on my nerves.

Ramneet Singh wrote:Hi Sameer ,
I wasn't expecting that you would advise me to stay put . i have already shot off a mail to them .The app process is getting on my nerves.

Fikar not, sir. Bhej diya toh bhej diya.

Just keep a tab on the nerves from this point on. No last minute knee-jerk reactions that'll give the impression that things are getting out of hand or worse, were never in control.

As you've mentioned, you have done a good job with the rest of the application. So keep the faith.

MBACrystalBall wrote:

Ramneet Singh wrote:Hi Sameer ,
I wasn't expecting that you would advise me to stay put . i have already shot off a mail to them .The app process is getting on my nerves.

Fikar not, sir. Bhej diya toh bhej diya.

Just keep a tab on the nerves from this point on. No last minute knee-jerk reactions that'll give the impression that things are getting out of hand or worse, were never in control.

As you've mentioned, you have done a good job with the rest of the application. So keep the faith.

I was just listening to the Frustration R Song.Thanks for the help

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ERROR IN HBS APP


Dear all

I need some advice for a make-or-break situation.

There is an error/inconsistency in my app.

I was basically selected for something big, and was one amongst only 20 selected out of around 1500 employees. I've stated this correctly under achievements. In my resume however i have stated it as one amongst 20 selected out of around 1000. 1500 is actually correct, 1000 is an oversight. But seeing two diff nos might get ad com thinking I've tried to cook up data etc, whereas it is a genuine careless mistake.

Should I write to adcom and clarify that it is just a careless mistake? I can get an official mail from my org to substantiate that 1500 is correct.

Please do share your views. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks

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tanyaindia wrote:ERROR IN HBS APP


Dear all

I need some advice for a make-or-break situation.

There is an error/inconsistency in my app.

I was basically selected for something big, and was one amongst only 20 selected out of around 1500 employees. I've stated this correctly under achievements. In my resume however i have stated it as one amongst 20 selected out of around 1000. 1500 is actually correct, 1000 is an oversight. But seeing two diff nos might get ad com thinking I've tried to cook up data etc, whereas it is a genuine careless mistake.

Should I write to adcom and clarify that it is just a careless mistake? I can get an official mail from my org to substantiate that 1500 is correct.

Please do share your views. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks

Tanya, going with the rationale that I described in an earlier response, I'd say this is one of those hygiene issues which should've been caught in the review phase (i.e. before submission).

Is it a critical problem? I don't think so. If the scale and contrast had been hugely different (e.g. you typed 1,000 in one place and 15,000), I'd have thought twice. For now, it probably something that'll make the review go, 'Hmm...disconnect here' and then move on to the more interesting parts.

In the worst case, it may come up in the interview. But for schools like Harvard, I don't think their green or red signal decisions are completely based on one or two slip-of-the-finger (if there is such a think) mistakes. So, like in Ramneet's case, I hope the rest of your application makes them forget this little inconsistency.

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