GSB R1 and R2: Lets the pants pooping commence!

No, we don't. I guess it's totally up to us to find out. Mine went smoothly as well.

Sorry to hear that...keep the faith!

best of luck for other apps

cheers!

Dinged

Clearly competition is intense this year at GSB. Applications must be up a lot because of the BW rankings.

Waitlisted here too.

Actually, for R1 this is unlikely. The BW rankings came out only about a week before the deadline. For R2, probably going to be high yes.

I hate it when I'm right, but like I said previously I think our collective stats are underwhelming/mediocre. dukes also said that our stats were a bit below the admitted applicants for last year. If indeed volumn has increased by 40%, then no wonder only 1 of us (out of 9) got a clear admit.

Good luck waitlisters!!!! I'm outta here.

I believe that the stats for those in the R1 pool here are in line with GSB standards; and the stats for Helg and naturallight are very strong. What seems to stand out is that, as a group, the GPAs were near the bottom of the middle 80%, while the GMAT scores were slightly above but not at the top of the middle 80% so I'd agree they they were good but not outstanding for GSB admissions. Just to be clear, I'll say it again: this is a generalization.

My reaction is that other parts of the application were pivotal. We all know that Rhyme writes top-notch essays and it certainly seems that this skill was really helpful for both Cornell & GSB. As I have said elsewhere, it's one thing to say that you are going to distinguish yourself by writing outstanding essays, but doing so is another matter altogether. Obviously, most applicants want to include stellar essays as part of their applications, but the reality is that such essays are just as rare as top GMAT scores or top grades from top schools.

I'd also point out that work experience certainly plays a big role, and for those that haven't noticed, Rhyme does have Goldman Sachs in his work history. It's widely believed that many schools favor applicants that have been part of highly selective programs in the past, whether it is work experience or academics. I would speculate that from an adcom's perspective, simply landing a job at Goldman Sachs is more impressive than being promoted to manager at most companies.

I agree. People at all schools that I visited asked me where I worked. When I mentioned that I work for XYZ, I could sense that blue chip experience really mattered. It helps if you work for a premier company in your industry.

naturallight--waitlisted. Feel somewhat fortunate to get this far, considering that my interview was atrocious and that my essays have really improved with subsequent apps (GSB was my first). We'll see. It says they accept about 40% of their waitlist, but with GSB just getting that #1 BW ranking, I bet it will be lower this year.

My 2 cents on work exp: having the big name helps, but I think the nature of the work is pretty huge too. I work in accounting/trading, and I really struggled with my essays because my role has very little of the things that b-schools love: teamwork, leadership, and big-time strategic initiatives.

I think if you worked in consulting, or maybe marketing, it would be much easier to write those essays.

Jay,

I cant believe this man............ I am sorry.. Hopefully you cheer up.. you had an awesome profile i thought...

all th ebest

Thanks man.... fortunately I have another admit hence not that distraugt.
Anyways .... as many people have been mentioning.... stellar essays and great work exp.

Looking back I think .... my choice of undergrad .... low GPA..... plus no extraordinary work exp played a great role.

Looking at how we fared, I actually think that as a group we did quite good. 45% waitlist --- admissions411 is reporting a 17% waitlist.

I'm really saddened by the fact that there were no other admits here in R1, and frankly it makes me feel guilty that I got in, but I'm pleased to see the high waitlist percentage among us R1ers because I know that odds are, at least one of you will be joining me.

By the way, all this talk of GSB made Kellogg completely fall off all of our radars. I don't suppose anyone's heard?

If admissions411 is to be believed, GSB put almost as many people on the waitlist (34) as they admitted (31).

I was just looking at the class of 2008 Chicago GSB statistics at admissions411. I know that website is not necessarily authoritative. However, it certainly appears as though the GSB put far more people on the waitlist at the end of the 1st round than it did last year. I wonder what that is all about.

A reflection of their hedging their bets given the rank increase and possible yield increase?

That seems like the most likely explanation. I would guess that their position has changed the most against their most direct competitor Kellogg and probably will affect their yield against Columbia and MIT as well. I don't think the rankings really change the perception that HSW have a reputation advantage over the other ultra-elites. They have all always had and advantage when compared to elites and lower, so there shouldn't be much change there.

Just pure speculation, but any gains Chicago sees in its yield will come at the expense of Kellogg and Columbia.