Why Your MBA Friends Aren’t Always the Best People to Review Your Essays
This article was originally published on September 23, 2016. It was last updated on August 21, 2025.
Last year I had a client who called me in a panic.
“I showed my applications to several co-workers and they completely tore apart my essays! What do I do?”
This client had a compelling, authentic story. And for context, he was ultimately admitted to every program he applied to. But after asking a group of co-workers to review his essays, he received a wide range of conflicting feedback. One person focused on structure. Another questioned his tone. Someone else suggested an entirely new positioning.
My first question was, “I hate to ask, but are they MBAs?”
Why Your MBA Friends Can’t Help Themselves
I know how this goes because I too am an MBA – hence why I work in admissions consulting.
In business school, you learn how to think critically and analytically about just about everything. From how the supply chain might have affected the quality of your lunch to how one small change in geolocation could completely shift the success of a food delivery startup. I’m friends with MBAs from every top school, and yes, people really do sit around and talk about things like this (usually over drinks). We’re always thinking about new ideas. It’s nerdy, but true.
I’m telling you this because it’s important to know how to interpret your MBA friends’ feedback, and how to stay true to what you want to present and who you are.
When you asked them to review your application, they started looking at it like a strategy project. Their goal was to give you new angles, more creativity, and to play devil’s advocate about how you’re coming across. This is all great. I encourage my clients to seek out these types of perspectives. But you need to take it with a grain of salt.
Don’t let every opinion lead to a full rewrite, or make you feel like you need to accept every suggestion. The client I mentioned above? He stuck with his story and made subtle tweaks for each school based on feedback from MBA alumni. And, as I said, he did just fine.
So keep in mind: your MBA friends are brainstorming. That’s what they do well. It’s probably why they work in industries where they get to A/B test ideas all day long. But this is not a strategy project. This is you describing your own ideas, goals, aspirations, and passions.
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Why MBA Friends Shouldn’t Be Your Only Reviewers
Even if your friends are from HBS, Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg, and other top programs, they shouldn’t be the only ones reviewing your applications.
First, they’re trained to be hypercritical. That’s not a flaw — it’s how they were taught to think. But that critical mindset isn’t always helpful when it comes to something as personal as your MBA application.
Second, there’s the issue of bias. Unless your MBA friends review a lot of essays (and to be fair, some senior folks in consulting or banking do), they probably have an anchor bias based on what they did and what worked in their own applications. That can be limiting. Here’s a deeper dive into how the MBA application process has changed over the years.
Most Importantly: They Are Not Your Audience
Let me repeat this: your MBA friends are not your audience.
Neither is your boss, the head of your practice area, or your friend’s billionaire uncle who runs a hedge fund.
Your audience is the admissions committee. And here’s what most people don’t realize — many adcom members are not MBAs. They often haven’t worked in post-MBA roles like consulting or investment banking. Their lens is different, and their priorities are not the same as your reviewers’. Check out our survey of adcom profiles to learn more.
So, Who Should Review Your Essays?
Coworkers can be great — but with caveats. Someone in your same industry may not catch when you’re using jargon, because they understand it too. If you both know what a synthetic CDO is, you may not realize how much explanation a reader outside your field would need.
Here’s what I recommend instead: ask friends in other industries.
But Also, Use MBA Alumni Strategically
MBA alumni can be especially helpful for reviewing your fit with specific programs. For example:
- Does your Kellogg essay imply that you prefer working solo?
- Does your Wharton essay suggest you’re not strong in quant?
These are the kinds of high-level red flags they’re great at catching. Let them help you with cultural and program alignment but leave the rest to others.
In Summary:
- Ask for feedback from a variety of people — friends, family, co-workers. Include people who don’t know what you do every day and those who know you well.
- Don’t overreact to any one person’s opinion. Even if your best friend from your dream school insists your essays need a full rewrite, stay grounded in your own voice.
- Understand that MBAs are trained to be critical. Most won’t send you feedback without multiple suggestions. That’s not a problem, but it doesn’t mean you need to implement every one.
- Use MBA alumni to assess fit. This is where they’re most helpful — and where their insights can truly strengthen your application.
Need Help Navigating Your MBA Essay Review?
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