They'll Help Tone Up That Essay

In terms of essays, what content mistakes do people make?
Shrum: Rehashing one's résumé is a major mistake (see BW Online, 2/9/06, "Every B-School Essay Tells a Story"). That's the kiss of death, because now you're taking up an application reader's time to tell them something they've already seen.

You want someone to feel like they know you more after reading the application. Also, if I read your essay, and it's filled with business jargon or some highfalutin' quote from Confucius, then that's a problem. Showing some humility and a bit of weakness is good. The essay should set you apart.

How specifically should applicants tailor essays to a school's reputation?
Shrum: That's dangerous. You're playing with fire when you try to paint yourself differently depending on which school you're applying to.

If you try to promote yourself as a bleeding heart when you're not, for example, your story's going to fall apart at some point. At the same time, it's good to keep what each school wants in the back of your mind.

How can an applicant justify using your service, especially if the school doesn't like the use of admissions consultants?
Bouknight: Most of the schools come out and say that they want the application to absolutely, 100%, represent you. People who use our service can submit their applications with the knowledge that this is their work.

Schools need to start looking at the population of students who are there. By and large, 90% of them are the usual suspects -- investment bankers and consultants from the top firms.

If you look at the people who use our services, the vast majority are international applicants and those who don't have a large number of people at their firms who have already navigated the B-school application process. We try to give applicants the experienced set of eyes that many B-school students already have. In many ways, we consider our work to be in making the world a little flatter.

What advice do you offer to less traditional applicants?
Shrum: You have two goals to be a successful applicant: you want to show fit with the school, and you want to differentiate yourself from the rest of the applicants. Consultants and engineers sometimes have the problem of differentiating themselves because they come from a large group. On the other hand, if you're a nontraditional applicant -- a Peace Corps volunteer, for example -- then the challenge for you is showing fit with the school.

You have to first show that you have the aptitude to handle the course work through your transcript, GMAT score, and essays. But you also have to show that you understand the value of business school and how it will help you achieve your career goals. Many nontraditional applicants get worried and psych themselves out, but schools are often interested in those types of applicants, too. They increasingly want to diversify their class.

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