Attention MBA Applicants: Beware of Friendly Advice!
As the application season ramps up, youll probably think about asking a trusted friend or family member to review your materials. There are obvious benefits to having a fresh set of eyes on your work, but there can also be a few drawbacks.
The upside to someone new looking at your essays and data forms is that they may be more likely to spot a typo, missing word or extra period at the end of a sentence. At some point youll have read your responses so many times that errors will no longer jump out at you. This is where a friend or family members assistance is undoubtedly valuable.
However, its really tough for someone to read through your materials and not also want to give advice. Human beings are full of opinions, after all, and anyone close to you would just be trying to help. But the issue is that if youve already planned out your application strategyespecially if youve worked on that strategy with an admissions consultantit would be a shame to derail your progress just because a well-meaning friend made you doubt yourself.
If someone who has an MBA reviews your materials, they may be under the incorrect assumption that since they were accepted to a program, the way they approached certain essay questions is the only guaranteed path to admission. Or maybe your parents attended business school decades ago and want to give you advice. That can be problematic because the programs themselvesnot to mention the qualities AdComs are looking for in candidateshave changed pretty dramatically over the years.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, if someone whos completely unfamiliar with the business school application process reviews your documents, they may be confused if you included personal stories or otherwise let your personality come through in your essays. Theres a stereotype that MBAs need to be all business, all the time, and this leads to an expectation of essays filled with lists of achievements, not-so-subtle bragging and loads of buzzwords.
Thats why you should consider: 1) limiting the people you involve to no more than two, and 2) telling those reviewers up front that they would be helping you most if they could focus solely on spelling, grammar, or other obvious mistakes when they do their read-through.
Theyll probably still give you unsolicited advice, and you can always listen politely and share any concerns you may have with your admissions consultant. Just keep in mind that its hardly ever a good idea to switch things up at the last minute after putting significant effort into your positioning.
Remember:
***
Do you want to stay on top of the application process with timely tips like these? Please subscribe to our weekly newsletter and youll receive our expert advice straight in your mailbox before it appears on the blog, plus special offers, promotions, discounts, invitations to events, and more.