2008 Zero admits - Where are they now ??

Wow, have I been procrastinating posting on this thread. It's amazing how well I can procrastinate when I really put my mind to it.

I graduated from college (engineering) in 2005 and started working at a BB in a technology role (Yes - I do fall into the dreaded Indian/IT pool). Sometime around 2007, I decided that I want to go for my MBA and started studying for my GMAT. I got a pretty good score on my first attempt in April 2007. At this time made my first mistake in assuming that most of my job was done getting a good GMAT score. (Mistake #1)

In hindsight, after completing my GMAT, I should've spent time researching schools, thinking about essays etc. like many people on here are doing. However, I did not do any of that. I decided to apply to 2 schools based on the rankings and prestige (S/W/Chi). Now, that I've gone through this process over 2 years, I can't believe how naive I was in assuming that I'll get into these schools based only on a good GMAT score and decent essays. I did not make any effort to research these programs or any others or reach out to any current students at these schools. I barely even leveraged my own network much less reach out to others (Mistake #2)

I applied to S/W in round 1. Got an interview at W, nothing at S and got rejected at both. Chi was my round 2 school and I thought I did a decent job on those essays. After my interview, I was WLed. This was when I finally started doing what I should have a long time ago. Firstly, I discovered this forum, which as all of you know is invaluable during the MBA application process. I started reaching out to current students at Chi, understand the culture and visited the school. I'm sure all of you have heard this before, but it deserves to be repeated: If you can visit schools (no money/time constraints), you MUST visit them. It will show you first-hand whether that school is for you, how you would fit in and will also provide you the opportunity to better explain the "why school X" question in apps.

While I did not make it off the WL, it was definitely a great thing to happen because it made me realize all the mistakes I had made and how to go about correcting them.

First up, I decided to evaluate my list of schools. I had not given any thought to school selection last year because I did not understand the importance of fit. I visited about 15 schools (H/MIT/Chi/K/Ross/W/Columbia/NYU/Yale/S/Haas/Cornell/Tuck/Darden), talked to current students and leveraged my network. Finally, I brought the list down to 7 schools - 3 R1 (Chi, K, Tuck), 3 R2 (Ross/Yale/Cornell) and Columbia RD. Why did I finally decide on this list? Fit. Make sure you know why you are applying to the schools you apply to. This is why school visits are so important. You can only know so much from websites and second-hand information.

Secondly, I decided to evaluate myself and last year's application. I felt I knew some areas where I had gone wrong in my application (didn't do anything to differentiate myself, underplayed some of my unique ECs). I reached out to people through these forums and people I had met during visits. I sent them my essays from last year to confirm whether these were the only deficiencies in my application or were there other things I hadn't picked up myself. I asked them for suggestions about how to improve my profile, what else I should include etc. Look at your previous application critically to figure out where you fell short. As buffdaddy said, do not hesitate to ask other applicants/students for help. They've been through or are going through the same process and will be able to provide you with constructive feedback.

I started working on my apps much earlier than I had last year - around July/August or so (right when I got the ding from Chi). I decided to start writing my Why MBA essay from scratch. I realized that last year there was nothing in my essays that was me. I had written a cookie-cutter MBA essay that was probably no different from what anyone else would have written. I decided to inject some of myself into it - Make it more interesting than I started working at company X, worked on the project Y, achieved ABC, got promoted blah blah blah... Once I was happy with this essay, I moved on to specific school applications. I did use some stories from last year, but went into more details to explain why that story/example was important to me. After going through multiple iterations, I sent out my essays to about 3 people to get their inputs on it and continued making changes as necessary. Start working on your apps as early as possible. It'll give you more time at the end to polish everything and get feedback.

Another mistake I made last year was that I had no discussions with my recommenders. I had detailed discussions with them this year and used the information in the GC wiki to provide them a framework about what to include in my recommendation. I provided them with a document in which I included certain stories/achievements which I wanted them to talk about in my recommendation. I made sure to add some stuff in here which I knew I would not be able to include in my app, but which would be important to show the adcom. I am not sure how much of a difference this made, but I am sure it didn't hurt and probably allowed me to show a well-rounded profile. So make sure you have a discussion with your recommenders and know what you want them to include in the recommendation. Also, I got one new recommendation and one from my manager who was also my recommenders last year.

Lastly, while I had some good ECs (sports, teaching), I realized that I did not have much leadership experience to show in this. I got on the board of one of the organizations that I was volunteering with to show experiences beyond just being involved. I also took a leadership role in the alumni association of my undergrad. While I had some good ECs, I realized that I had not shown any initiative/leadership outside of work. In addition to rounding out my profile, it also provided me with better examples to use in essays and interviews. If you can try to get additional responsibilities both at work and in ECs.

I hope this information is helpful to anyone who is reapplying next year. Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm sure you guys learnt a lot this application season that you didn't know last year and that information will allow you to be better placed than other applicants. Good luck with the applications!