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With all due respect, someone who got accepted to Yale would not write: "I was accepted at Yale. Julia of Mentr was amazingly helpful and guided me all along
by hluska 10y ago
With all due respect, someone who got accepted to Yale would not write:
"I was accepted at Yale.
Julia of Mentr was amazingly helpful and guided me all along the way. I'm so thankful her who helped me with my essays and got me to this point."
Obviously fake testimonials and stock photos are major red flags. If you have to use fake testimonials, for the love of all that is holy, find a good writer.
- thesmallestcat 10y agoHow is that obviously fake? Are you saying every freshman at Yale, including international students, speaks and writes perfect English?
- hluska 10y agoMaybe not perfect English, but I'd expect a significantly higher level of English than that quote demonstrates. Add in a stock photo and why would anyone think that that is real?
- thesmallestcat 10y agoIt's way more likely that somebody lets you use their words, and that they get published unedited, than that they let you use their likeness on your website. So I don't find it dubious at all. I guess I'm naive or something.
- hluska 10y agoI might be wrong, so thanks for engaging. You might be naive, but I might be an asshole. :) But seriously, if I were doing a Y Combinator application, I would make sure that my testimonials were spot on. I would do so because one of Y Combinators' most enduring bits of advice is 'build something people want.' I'd even equate that to grammatical errors in a website. You're competing for an interview against thousands of the best minds around. Proofread your copy!
- nisthana 10y agoAre you saying startups that are from countries who don't speak english are not eligible for YC because they cannot speak perfect english?
- hluska 10y agoI'm definitely not saying that. Y Combinator accepts companies from a diverse number of backgrounds/countries of origin. Rather, I'm saying that when you apply to Y Combinator, you are competing against the best entrepreneurs around for a very limited number of seats. Since Y Combinator is so competitive, your chances of getting in would be better if you started working with a good writer or editor.
- nisthana 10y agoWel thats entirely your opinion. Yale has loads of students who do not know perfect english. There are international students as well. Is your point really about "proper English"? Really?
- hluska 10y agoYou're kind of right - my point isn't so much about proper English (whatever that is) as it is about clarity of expression. Essentially, I wonder if you would have a better chance of getting into Y Combinator if you had a good editor proofread your Y Combinator application and your website.
- jtbigwoo 10y agoI volunteer with two organizations--one group serves mostly privileged high achievers (kids on track to be lawyers, architects, etc.) while the other is made up of kids who are probably only 50/50 to graduate high school. In both groups, most of the kids are TERRIBLE writers. Their vocabulary is usually fairly limited and their writing is stilted and repetitive. Being a good writer generally doesn't matter in high school. Most classes don't require much writing and for those that do, they just require students to convey the right number of facts and avoid most grammar mistakes. Kids also engage in far more code-switching than adults, I think. When asked for a recommendation, It's possible that this particular kid just dashed off a quick email rather than really sit down to write something engaging.
- nisthana 10y agoThank you so much for your comments. Coudnt agree with you more specially the last part :-))
- nisthana 10y agoNo need for your respect. Visit this post https://www.facebook.com/mentrapp/photos/a.1160039210690959.1073741831.1149762315051982/1594036013957941/?type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/mentrapp/photos/a.1160039210690959.... It shows the actual email that another student sent me. As I said, photo is stock, testimonial is not.