Success Stories that never materialized

Misleading title.

This post is in fact about people who were successful with their MBA admissions. We know this, because we helped them get there. The “Success!!!” part certainly happened. It’s the “stories” part that never materialized.

As any frequent reader of this blahg knows, we often post first-person accounts of the MBA application process. We’ve had one just recently and will have more soon.

We love posting these. Thank you to everyone who has sent them in! They are always joyful and fun, and they often contain some angle or perspective that is helpful and for those coming after, who are in the midst of the process or about to embark on it.

Whenever some BSer or another makes it into bschool and sends us the happy news, we get excited. We hope all of you will continue to share the news when you get in! Everyone in Snarkville loves hearing about your successes. And, sometimes, we reply back asking if the bschool-bound BSer wants to share their story here on the blahg.

Many people say yes. 😀 😀

Many of those, unfortunately, we never hear from again. 🙁

So this post is a graveyard of broken promises… A final resting place for the Success Stories that weren’t. These people got into bschool. We celebrated with them. They were so excited to share the happiness. And then… (echo chamber)

Here’s a few:

from May 2013 – admitted in the 2012-’13 season

Hi Essaysnark,

Thank you! I do intend to write a post for the website. I’m just a little busy right now because I just traveled to southeast Asia for a month. Right now I’m gearing up to interview at the Consortium Orientation Program in a couple weeks. Hopefully I’ll free up some time after that. Will be in touch.

[BSer]

(That “will be in touch” thing never happened, even after several attempts at follow-up. sigh)

Or this one, a favorite BSer in the 2013-’14 admissions season who was very enthusiastic about writing about her experiences. This is the last we heard from her – in September 2014:

ES –

Just letting you know I haven’t forgotten about your request. I plan to (somehow, sometime) write something up.

On a side note – Wharton. Is. Awesome. (and busy and crazy and stressful, but exhilarating!)

We tried pinging her a few times but Wharton is clearly more awesome than EssaySnark at this point. 😉

And another…

Huh. OK.

Or here’s another one – sent in from a Brave Supplicant after he asked for our input on which school to choose, after he received multiple offers (again with some help along the way):

Thanks for the very quick and detailed response. I appreciate your direct approach to telling me how it is when deciding between the two schools. It is probably why I enjoyed working with you throughout the process. It was a decision that should have been a no-brainer for me based on how much I liked Ross and this basically helped me finalize it.

I would be more than happy to write a guest post. I am leaving work in about a week and I’ll start working on it then. Does that work? What is the best way to submit it? Do you have any guidelines you would like me to follow?

Thanks again for helping me sort this out, I was having a heck of a time with it.

Have a good weekend!

[name redacted]

That was sent on: date: Fri, May 31, 2013 at 4:29 PM

Never heard from him again.

Same story here:

Hi All,
Sure, I’d be happy to share my positive experience EssaySnark in a write-up (once I’m finished with my Chicago waitlist additional materials/video this weekend). Right now, I’m definitely leaning toward Duke for a couple of reasons- 1. I got some scholarship money there + cost of living = big $ difference between Fuqua and NYU (no help at Stern) 2. As importantly, I got an awesome vibe for the culture of the program and the students/faculty while being down in Durham for the interview, and 3. their HSM program is really what I’m looking for, especially bc I’m trying to stay in healthcare related industries going forward. So, I’m definitely lucky to have options (and still keeping an outside hope for Booth), but I’m very excited about Durham. Now just have to get my fiance excited for the relocation and a job down there..!

Talk soon- [name redacted].

People, if you agree to do something … please do it! It’s not like you have to write an essay. 😉

We swear, EssaySnark is turning into your mother. “Remember your manners!”

Or that old dude who wanders around the neighborhood in baggy overalls tsk-tsking and saying, “Kids these days.”

No, it’s really not that big of a deal to blow off the ‘Snark. We understand that pressures and priorities and other commitments get in the way. Once the newness of your Bschool Admissions Buzz starts to wear off, and the reality that, “Ugh. I agreed to write something? Like another essay?!??” sets in… We totally get it! It starts to become like a chore or something. In the “not-fun” category.

We don’t mean to be GuiltTripSnark. But what we’re offering up today is a reminder: When you say you’re gonna do something… then do it!

And the best, easiest, most simplest time to do it is right after you say you’re gonna.

Or, if you find that you just cannot, then at least do like that one dude did, and cop to it. Send a note. “Sorry, ‘Snark. I didn’t mean to flake on you, but clearly I’m not going to do this thing that I said I would.”

Or, guess what? Just write a sentence or two right then and there!!! “Hey ‘Snark! I know I said I’d write up something but I got all intimidated by it! So please accept this as my Success Story: I GOT IN!! I’m really excited. Wish me luck!!”

And we will!

Here’s a fairly recent one – this came in June 2015 after a long-ago BSer reached out again:

Gosh, those guest posts! I read so many those back in 2012-2013 time frame and secretly wished to write one myself someday! 🙂

I would certainly like to write one! Is there a deadline by which you want me to submit?! 😀

We wrote back saying something like, Please do it right away! … and of course, never heard back. But guess what! It’s not too late! (To whip it! Whip it good! errr sorry)

Anyone who said “Yeah, I think I want to write one of those!” is still welcome to do so! Or if not, again, we totally understand! Real Life has a way of getting complicated once you are actually at business school. No prob! If you want to just say, “Hey, sorry Snark, not gonna happen now, I guess I flaked on you” then we’ll totally be grateful just to hear that. And maybe you can share with us how awesome bschool has been? Or even a word or two about your experience? Because we like hearing that stuff too. Or not. But tying up the loose end might be nice, yeah? Gives a little sense of closure.

There is tremendous power in COMING THROUGH ON YOUR COMMITMENTS – even if it’s the small and insignificant things. When you do the blow-off screw-it it-doesn’t-matter thing too many times, then that starts to weigh on you. We know you don’t mean to be a flake, but you run the risk of becoming one if you’re not careful.

Sweat the small stuff in life, Brave Supplicant. It’s so worth it!

We had a successful Brave Supplicant several years ago who wrote an almost-post with recommendations on the MBA interview suit – he never managed to come back and finish it up – but guess what? Even a partial post is better than nothing! And here’s a secret: If you commit to doing something like this, do it as soon as you possibly can after you commit to it. Otherwise it will become so easy to put it off… and put it off some more… and you KNOW you will feel guilty about it. Or just come clean, and ‘fess up that Real Life got in the way and you realize you won’t do it. That’s cool too! There’s honor there. The dodge and dance thing is where the soul gets corroded, a little tiny bit at a time. Don’t let that happen in life.