Booth 2012 - Calling All Waitlist Applicants

Greetings fellow waitlisters, I took a trip to Chicago last week to visit some friends at Booth and do the official visit. I had not yet visited the school, and I figured showing up in person would help my case and reinforce my interest. After the info session / tour / class visit, I went back to the admissions office and was able to chat one-on-one with a member of the admissions committee. I think this really helped my case, and I would recommend a visit to anyone on the waitlist. A few things I learned...

1) the deadline for submitting any supplemental info (recs, essays, video) is 3/1
2) the initial deposit deadline for Rd 1 admitted students is like 2/24, so they'll know a lot more about the size of the class at that point
3) they are super excited about this damn video. it sounds like they really want everyone to put something together. interestingly, the person i spoke with did agree that applicants could potentially shoot themselves in the foot with the video if they weren't careful about it
4) Adcom does not like getting a bunch of additional materials that tell them nothing new; it's important that anything you submit gives them a fresh perspective or new info

During my visit I met three different students who were let in off the WL last year. Two of them told me they basically didn't add anything to their applications while on WL, and had pretty much given up before being admitted in June/July. The third submitted multiple "update" essays and an extra rec.

Thanks for the information that is very helpful. It sounds like doing that Video is practically required despite what they have been saying officially.

Thanks NerdBasher..Very helpful points..Kudos!

Do you think there is going to be some communication from the school to Rd 1 waitlist candidates on the upcoming Rd2 mid-decision date? Or do we all hear back on the 26th of March, Rd2 deadline?
Ny ideas??

Not until the Decision date - March 21. Hopefully we get calls on the 20th!

The Waitlist materials are due March 1st, so it wouldn't be very nice of them to cut people before the deadline they gave to submit additional materials!

So we can provide an additional recommendation?

Yes. The admissions team told me they will look at additional recommendations, however they cautioned that if we provide an additional rec it should be a NEW perspective, i.e. a peer or someone from an extracurricular activity, etc.

Got a waitlist update from Booth today which I'm sure all of you must have also received..Posting the link here for your reference in case you haven't received it..

Booth waitlist update

It clearly indicates March 1st as the deadline for submitting any additional materials for consideration..

Has anyone submitted any updates yet? Please what type of updates have been sent by the majority?

I submitted my update a couple weeks ago. I sent an update around some job responsibilities I was recently given. I also updated them on my career goals as I believe I didn't articulate well enough what my short and long term goals were.

Thank you so much. Has anyone sent the 'video' in as well?

I didn't. I thought that at this point, the video would do more harm than good, realizing that I had other updates I could send in. If I didn't have any updates to send, then I would have done the video.

Thank you so much. Has anyone sent the 'video' in as well?[/quote]

I didn't. I thought that at this point, the video would do more harm than good, realizing that I had other updates I could send in. If I didn't have any updates to send, then I would have done the video.[/quote]

The more I think about the video, the more I agree with this sentiment. I have plenty of other content to provide in the form of text / pictures, etc. similar to the original powerpoint essay format. When I think about the video, I feel like if it's not really high quality with good editing, sound, etc. it's going to come off sloppy and could easily do more harm than good. I also recently visited the school and was able to get a lot of face time with the admissions officers, so I feel confident they have enough personal interaction to completely dispel any suspicions of crippling awkwardness, ugliness, or smelliness.

I sent in a video along with a letter explaining some updates at work and an intro to the video. I don't understand why you would worry so much about the quality of the video: you're applying to B-school not film-school. It took me about one day to make the video. I did talk about something not already covered in my written application, didn't want to repeat myself.

I grabbed the video opportunity with open arms as it allows the admission office to put a "face" on my application and really see my enthusiasm. But I guess visiting the school and meeting the admission officers gets you the same result - I'm just not in a position to do that.

Well to me one of the biggest dilemmas is what to include in the update video or letter..

If I go the route of giving them some new info/aspect, something that's not a recent development and which I could've potentially included in the PPT, essays or other parts of the application, then it begs the question as to why did I not include in the application in the first place if it was really that important?

That makes me not too keen on submitting something entirely new in whatever form. It will be more of a clarification or add-on to what they have already seen in the application..

What are everyone's thoughts?

I don't know if you should worry about whether the information provided could or should have been in the initial application. I think it is expected that if we are on the waiting list that at least some of us could have explained better some aspect of our app.

From the Waitlist Update:

"First, you might want to step back and take a wider look at your application as a whole to see what areas may not have been your strongest. When you do find elements where you could add some texture to your candidacy, consider submitting supplemental material to add to your application."

Thanks for the comments peeps. So do we upload documents using the "Post-Decision Materials" Tab on the application log-in page? Kindly advise. Thanks

Yep. I emailed them about this and they confirmed.

Posted from my mobile device

When I went to visit in early January the AdCom member I spoke with really stressed that I should do the video. I think they're really excited about the idea, and its all about putting a face to a name, so showing them who you are.

From everything I heard that weekend, they appreciate demonstrations of interest so even if it's not professional caliber, just doing the video shows that you want to be there.