What to do if you got denied or waitlisted at the MBA program of your dreams
MBA decision release time is a time of triumph and heartache. My heart goes out to all candidates who did not receive the news they hope for. But even if you got denied or waitlisted, this doesn’t have to be the end of the road.
Here is what should come next:
1. Do a deep assessment of your candidacy. One obvious place to start is your statistics – GPA, GMAT or GRE, work experience. But an often underestimated part that is not as easy to evaluate objectively is fit. Even when the fit between your stats and the school’s class profile is there, there is no guarantee you were able to demonstrate that fit through all application parts. If you think that at this point you might benefit from some external input, I do Waitlist and “Ding” reviews through my Get Unstuck service a lot this time of year.
Once you have a solid assessment, here is the next step for each scenario.
2. If you were denied, decide what schools you want to reapply to. Then get ready to do it in Round 1 in just several months. If there is any upside to getting denied, it’s that you have learned a lot about the MBA admissions process. You should have a better idea if the schools you applied to were the right ones. You should consider how to adjust the list. You will have several months to improve your candidacy in all the ways that are feasible. You can improve your GMAT or GRE, strengthen your letters of recommendation, the articulation of your career goals, and your essays. Schools welcome re-applicants and they do get admitted when their application is stronger the second time around.
3. If you were waitlisted, this means the admissions office deemed your candidacy admissible but not sufficiently competitive compared to the rest of the candidate pool. Whatever the weak parts of your candidacy may be, you can mitigate some of them. The first thing any waitlisted candidate should do is write back to the school, thank them for the opportunity to continue to be in consideration, and restate their interest in the school and eagerness to join if offered the opportunity. In doing that, follow any instructions the school may have sent or posted on your candidate portal when they let you know you are waitlisted. Some schools accept email, others direct you to submit updates through your candidate portal.
The next step is to work on your weak spots. You can’t change GPA but you can retake the GMAT or take other steps to help alleviate concerns about your academic preparedness. If your weakness was elsewhere, you could leverage a waitlist essay, an additional letter of recommendation, a new accomplishment. A waitlist strategy is always highly individual. In my experience, it’s one of the areas where some targeted work with an MBA admissions consultant can add significant value. I often speak with waitlisted candidates and you would be surprised at how a strong waitlist strategy can be created in as little as one hour of focused work.
Whether you got denied or waitlisted, helping candidates overcome that obstacle is some of my favorite work. If you would like to briefly chat about how I can help, I have times available for a free consultation all week, including evening and weekend hours.
Onwards and upwards,
Petia
Is this helpful? What else would you like to know as you work on your MBA application? Get in touch and let me know. I respond to all emails personally and promptly. And if you need me to be your second set of eyes, I have made appointments available every day this week.