The Sin of Omission

Do you know what's WAY worse than getting rejected at your dream b-school?  Getting accepted at your dream school and then getting your admission revoked out of nowhere.

Does this sound like a nightmare that just can't happen?  Well, it just did to a friend of mine.  The entire incident has been disheartening, frustrating, and agonizing to watch.  Thankfully, my friend is a tough resilient guy, so he's handling it a LOT better than I would be if I were in his shoes.

So did my friend lie and fabricate his credentials?  Absolutely not.  He merely answered an application question truthfully to the best of his knowledge, but adcom insisted that he acted disingenuously.

The moral of the story is simple:  if there is ANY information that could be pertinent, put all your cards on the table.  If a question seems ambiguous or open-ended, contact adcom for specifics.  Make sure that you're playing by THEIR rules.  It's always better to be too careful than to be somewhat lax.   

There is perhaps nothing more tragic than the wisdom of hindsight, looking back and wishing you could have made a better decision.  So to all you stressed out applicants, please do not make the same mistake my friend made.