Adcom and Blogs
Recently, I have been seeing some blogs commenting on the impact of blogging on the MBA application decision process. One of the posts on this topic by the folks at allstaressays.com and the other one is by a fellow blogger- MBA Jackass.
All this got me thinking.. can blogging lead to a ding?
In my opinion, adcoms in general must be pretty busy. On average at least 3 two page essays are being submitted per application and given that about 1000 applications are being processed ( these are just some representative numbers ). 6000 pages of essays have to read, now add in the work history, resume, community service, transcripts ( which at the minimum would translate to about 10 pages per application), we are looking at a grand total of almost 16000 pages of information.
Given that this volume of information needs to be processed, is looking up blogs for applicant information really the right approach?
- Personally, I don't think it is ethical because usually for most blogs that I have seen, it may be possible to "guess" someone's identity but there is no "proof" to correlate the blog to the application ( unless ofcourse they decided to put in their real name along with phone numbers etc.). Without concrete evidence, I think it is unfair to use "other" information to influence the decision.
- Most application questions have "word limits" or "suggested lengths". This of course means the school expects the applicant to communicate the information in a succinct manner( I guess Stanford is an exception here). So why go ahead and use external "additional" information because in all fairness the decision should be made based on the merit of the application.
On the other hand:
- Adcoms are entrusted with the responsibility of finding the best applicants. If someone is "obnoxious" in real life and that is reflected in a public forum like a blog- is it not the adcoms responsibility to factor in this data point ?
While blogging has been "safe" outlet for me voice my feelings, I sure hope that what I have said is not being used for unintended purposes like my admissions decisions. However, on a lighter note, I do hope that "readers" of my blog know that ...I LOVE HAAS... and any positive influence on my application is welcome:)
All this got me thinking.. can blogging lead to a ding?
In my opinion, adcoms in general must be pretty busy. On average at least 3 two page essays are being submitted per application and given that about 1000 applications are being processed ( these are just some representative numbers ). 6000 pages of essays have to read, now add in the work history, resume, community service, transcripts ( which at the minimum would translate to about 10 pages per application), we are looking at a grand total of almost 16000 pages of information.
Given that this volume of information needs to be processed, is looking up blogs for applicant information really the right approach?
- Personally, I don't think it is ethical because usually for most blogs that I have seen, it may be possible to "guess" someone's identity but there is no "proof" to correlate the blog to the application ( unless ofcourse they decided to put in their real name along with phone numbers etc.). Without concrete evidence, I think it is unfair to use "other" information to influence the decision.
- Most application questions have "word limits" or "suggested lengths". This of course means the school expects the applicant to communicate the information in a succinct manner( I guess Stanford is an exception here). So why go ahead and use external "additional" information because in all fairness the decision should be made based on the merit of the application.
On the other hand:
- Adcoms are entrusted with the responsibility of finding the best applicants. If someone is "obnoxious" in real life and that is reflected in a public forum like a blog- is it not the adcoms responsibility to factor in this data point ?
While blogging has been "safe" outlet for me voice my feelings, I sure hope that what I have said is not being used for unintended purposes like my admissions decisions. However, on a lighter note, I do hope that "readers" of my blog know that ...I LOVE HAAS... and any positive influence on my application is welcome:)
posted by FooBarMe at
11:58 PM
3 Comments:
when i was an adcom, i read blogs for sure. its a great means of keeping up on what ppl are saying about you and your peers. it had NO impact on final decisions, and nor did i ever make any deliberate effort to tie a blog to an application.
my sense is a few adcoms out there are reading, and this will only increase in the future.
By
Alex, at February 02, 2006 9:27 AM
I am not 100% sure if I love Nip\Tuck yet. I have only gotten one episode in and had to close my eyes during the surgery parts...not sure I can handle much more! I am going to give it a few more chances though :)
By
Marina, at February 05, 2006 9:05 PM
I talked with Haas guys and they dont have time to check anyone's blog.
By
trendwhizo, at February 12, 2006 5:01 AM
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