The Application Process

Hi,

I am hoping that I can get some advice on this.

I got an interview request to Marshall and am in the middle of preparation. Upon reviewing my essay, to align my interview answers with the potential questions, I found a mistake on my essay. I left a note that I wrote to myself in a parenthesis which reads " (include school courses).

obviously, this was a very bad mistake on my part but given that I got an interview request, should I address this during the interview? or should I not bring it up at all? I'm concerned that even though the interview goes well, someone from the admissions committee will see this during their final decisions and could be a deciding factor on whether or not I get into the program.

Any thoughts?

Hi Sophiest -

Wow - I feel your pain on this one.

I was the Director of MBA Admissions for 15 years at a top-30 MBA program. We saw errors like this occur from time to time.

While it's not ideal, it's not a deal breaker either. What we considered worse in the Admissions Committee is when the student had the name of another MBA program inserted in the essay where they intended to change it. (By the way, this error occurs frequently!)

You've been invited to an interview - that's great. They've reviewed your application and essays and obviously this problem did not prevent you from getting an interview.

I would not bring it up. It's a minor issue, and bringing it up in the interview could undermine your confidence in the interview.

Bottom line: If you are an admissible candidate, and a school wants to admit you, this minor error will not prevent you from being admitted.

I hope this answer is helpful to you. Let me know if I can help further.

Wendy Flynn
MBA Admissions Coach

P.S. - I'd love to hear how you decided to handle it and what the outcome is!