EssaySnark

  • about
  • contact
  • help
  • sign up
  • login
CLICK FOR MORE!
  • Essay Questions
    • Harvard
    • Stanford
    • Wharton
    • Chicago Booth
    • Kellogg
    • MIT Sloan
    • Tuck
    • NYU Stern
    • Columbia
    • Yale SOM
    • Berkeley Haas
    • UVA Darden
    • Duke Fuqua
    • Michigan Ross
    • UCLA Anderson
    • Cornell
  • Strategy Guides
    • Waitlisted Guide
    • School-Specific MBA Application Guides
      • Columbia 2019 MBA Essay Guide
      • Wharton 2019 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Harvard 2019 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Stanford 2019 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Kellogg 2019 MBA Strategy Guide
      • MIT Sloan 2019 MBA Essay Guide
      • Chicago Booth 2019 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Duke Fuqua 2019 MBA Strategy Guide
      • *MORE SCHOOL-SPECIFIC GUIDES HERE*
    • Reapplicant Guide
    • MBA Career Goals: ENTREPRENEURSHIP
    • Applying to European MBA Programs
  • MBA Consulting
    • Free essay reviews
    • What stage are you in?
    • Military MBA
    • Testimonials & Reviews
    • Guest Posts
  • My SnarkCenter
    • My Strategy Guides
    • My Favorite Posts
    • Discounts & Offers

Nobody sets out to be a bad person.

August 7, 2019 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

Have you seen any of these Fyre Festival documentaries? Pretty incredible, how all of it went down. The entrepreneur dude who tried to pull it off is called a pathological liar. The most incredible part of all is, even after he got prosecuted by the FBI, he launched a totally new swindling scheme. Apparently his moral compass is calibrated a bit differently than our own.

These tales tend to be rife with irony.

Take the case of a journalist or nonfiction author who plagiarized and fabricates. Every so often we hear of such a case. A big incident happened in 2012 when science writer Jonah Lehrer’s books were pulled. It was discovered that he even made up Dylan quotes for his articles. He admits that his acts “caused deep pain” and he says he did it out of “arrogance”, “a willingness to take shortcuts” and “carelessness” — all reasons why we detest plagiarism. (The big irony of course is that those candid comments came from him during a speech he was paid $20k to give talking about decision-making.)

It’s really easy to get a certain smugness when sitting outside of the circle where such a thing happened. It’s easy to look with an eye of disdain upon the participants in the Fyre Festival fiasco. How could someone do that? How could you be so naive? Why didn’t you say something? How come you didn’t blow the whistle?

The thing is, it’s easy to get sucked in. You get a charismatic enthusiastic charmer and you can get swept away with an idea that, if you stepped back and gave it some distance, or put on your thinking hat, you’d easily recognize it wasn’t so brilliant.

Like all the nonsense with that elite colleges admissions scandal.

So today’s post is a reminder to poke your head out of the morass that it’s mired in, and make sure you’re keeping things on the straight and narrow.

(You’d think we were some type of morals-and-philosophy blog, the amount of time we spend on this stuff. But honestly, in the modern era of The World is On Fire!! we feel that it’s important to be public about these, well, important things.)

 
So here goes:

When you fill out your MBA applications, telling the truth is important.

Seems obvious — too obvious to even have to say it. But that’s how poor decisions are made.

It’s not that we expect BSers who come to the EssaySnark blahg will be trying to bribe admissions officers or sports teams to get in.

It’s more insidious than that.

You get some idea that you need to show the adcoms that you’re a really impressive candidate so you start making up career goals that you think “sound good” — like, you want to be a some CEO at some big corporation some day.

That’s not exactly a lie, since anybody can say anything about what they want to do in the future, and who knows, maybe you legitimately are aiming high. That’s not going to keep you out of bschool if everything else lines up well and you convince the adcoms about what you’ve done in the past that sets you a part. (Most schools really don’t want such long-term and lofty visions for a career goals statement, but that’s not the main point we’re trying to make today.)

Where things can get slippery is where you get a little creative with the facts of your past.

Maybe you tried to start some type of do-gooder organization at some point. You got together with a few friends and put the basic sketch of a plan together where you would launch a non-profit to raise money for underprivileged kids to pay for their school fees. A noble cause for sure! You had the best of intentions. But after about six months there was some disagreements with your buddies, and one of them took a new job and suddenly had no free time to devote to the project any longer, and you hit some walls in trying to get started. Nobody wanted to give you more than a few bucks. It was harder than you expected. The shine of the fresh idea started to wear and it became work instead of fun, and then it languished by the wayside of your life, and suffered the slow demise of yet another abandoned initiative. It still exists for you in concept, and it was something you always intended to go back to and revive, and make real, but you know it’s not a real thing that actually went anywhere.

Yet in your MBA apps, you have a section of your resume about it with dates coming into the present day, and in an essay you talk about this NGO that you started. You kinda sorta fail to mention that it floundered and never got off the ground.

That’s lying.

You really need to be telling the truth in your apps.

You realize that schools do background checks, right?

You don’t need to inflate your history — and it could easily backfire on you if you do.

Same deal with massaging the dates of employment to try and cover up a gap, maybe because you were laid off and are embarrassed about it. Or that you feel you don’t make enough money, so you round up (significantly). Or you’ve heard that it’s possible to make too much money and you don’t want that to keep you out of school.

You don’t need to lie to get into bschool. Really truly you don’t.

Yes the process of constructing your messaging in the applications requires some careful planning, and there’s an art to choosing what to say and definitely also how to say it. That’s part of what we mean when we say that you need to construct a pitch — it’s messaging and it’s being selective in what you share and the way you present it. (Pro Tip: This is why a) you need to plan for multiple drafts of every single essay, and b) getting the help of a qualified reviewer who knows how to pitch to a top MBA adcom is critical.)

If you’re talking to an admissions consultant who advises you to go ahead and apply to Columbia Early Decision as an “insurance policy” even if Columbia isn’t your first choice, then please consider carefully the ethics that this person is demonstrating. Just because an admissions consultant tells you it’s OK does not make it OK. Don’t leave your own morals outside the door when you enter into an agreement with any type of coach or advisor.

We believe in karma — to the extent that each and every decision you make affects you. You are the only person who has to live in your skin, inhabiting your life experience. Every time you cut corners or fudge the truth even just a little it decays your core. It takes the shine off your being. Do this often enough and you’ll end up a nasty person without even realizing how you got there. Maybe all that matters to you is your own success in whatever external way you’re defining it. But we would suggest that that’s not the recipe for true happiness in this life.

“Being careless is a choice; it’s choosing not to care.”
– Jonah Lehrer

Filed Under: app dataset, gaps in the resume, general snark Tagged With: ethics

« Previous: ($) Figuring out what the schools want.
Next: ($) Beware the paint-by-numbers essay. »

So who the heck is EssaySnark, anyway?!

We're the snarky experts in MBA admissions!

Sometimes amused and often appalled by what candidates write in their MBA applications to top bschools, EssaySnark created this little blahg to share common mistakes. Learn from them and avoid making admissions directors laugh (or want to hurl) when they read your essays. If you are hoping to have your essay reviewed anonymously on the blahg for free, submit it for consideration.

Want EssaySnark's personal assistance with your MBA applications? Start with our menu of consulting services and please read the Help FAQ to learn how we operate. Still have questions after doing all that? Email Team EssaySnark at gethelpnow at essaysnark dot com.

Good luck on your apps, Brave Supplicant!

Tell us what you think. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

     

2019 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

    The 2019 Columbia MBA Application Guide - if you're applying to Columbia this season, GET YOUR APP IN NOW!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2019 applications
   
    The 2019 Harvard MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School - ready to help you with your interview prep!
   
    The 2019 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2022
   
    The 2019 MIT Essay Guide with brand-new material on the org chart, the contacts for two references, and additional tips for the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for 2019!
   
    The 2019 Chicago Booth MBA Application Guide - ready to go to support your Class of 2022 essay strategy!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Chicago Booth for 2019!
   
    The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for 2019!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for Class of 2022    
    The 2019 Duke Essay Guide - covers the 25 Random Things essay and all the rest too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Duke Fuqua - up to date for 2019!
   
    The 2019 Cornell Johnson MBA Application Guide - with help on career goals, and impact, and back-of-the-resume assignments, plus a new section on the Cornell Tech MBA Personal Statement!
SnarkStrategies MBA Guide for Cornell - covers the 2019 essays!
   
    The 2019 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the main essay, the EQ Endorsement and Pick Six!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the 2019 essays!
   
    The 2019 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with new tips for 2019!
   
    The 2019 Tuck Essay Guide has been refreshed with latest insights and advice for your "nice" and "aware" etc essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA - completely overhauled for 2019 and the nice, aware, etc stuff!
   
    The 2019 UVA Darden MBA Application Guide gives insights on the purposeful leader with impact, and the diversity essay, plus the Batten scholarship essays, and Early Action, and everything else going on here! s
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Darden MBA - completely overhauled for the Class of 2022 requirements!
   
    The 2019 Michigan Ross Application Guide - covers the short-answer questions and your short-term goal essay too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Ross - revised for 2019!
   
    The 2019 UCLA Anderson MBA Application Guide - updated for Class of 2022 essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for 
UCLA - overhauled to help you with the personal essay!
   


Brave Supplicants' latest reviews on The 'Snark


Dec 5, 2019
by henrique on Single Shot Express MBA Essay Review
Awesome, buy it

Thank you Essay Snark for this excellent service. You keep surprising me with the quality of the feedback... Read more

Oct 10, 2019
by Damilola on Reworking Your Resume App Accelerator
Detailed and helpful advice

Thought my resume was all set until I ran it through the app accelerator. Detailed feedback ... Read more

Sep 21, 2019
by CNX on
Thank you!

Hi EssaySnark, I just wanted to send you a quick thank-you e-mail, from a French BSer, applying... Read more






Not sure where to begin with EssaySnark?
Our Snark Selector
will tell you!



What were we snarking about at this time in past years?

  • 2018: You literally need to stop.
  • 2018: Round 2 Crunch Mode: How many apps should you do?
  • 2017: "completely lost on HBS essay and need help"
  • 2016: ($) Round 1 decision questions (aka "Uh-oh.")
  • 2015: "I have to go to bschool because my career is at a dead end."
  • 2014: ($) “leading a team” is rarely the most important aspect of experience to be highlighting.
  • 2014: Multitasking while studying - or writing essays - increases negative emotions
  • 2013: Yeah, it sucks.
  • 2012: Eeek Harvard & Stanford decisions!!
  • 2012: Reading between the lines.
My Tweets

See the Top U.S. Business Schools on a Map!


EssaySnark is currently available! We're accepting new clients! Standard turnarounds apply. If you're in a hurry, Speedy Review is available!

EssaySnark® is a registered trademark. All content copyright © 2010-2019 Snarkolicious Press · Privacy Policy

Where should you start with EssaySnark?

Which EssaySnark service is right for you? Answer a few questions to find out!

This field must be set to Everyone - then in the Settings -> HTML -> After Fields screen there's JavaScript to hide it.
Sending