jordanhendrix wrote:
WishHorse wrote:
Sandy (HBSGURU)
"Soooooooo, Wharton invite means “less” but it is still a requirement of getting in. And many kids called to W. interview are DEAD MEAT–they are not getting in no matter how great interivew is, at HBS, great int. usually means accept"
www [DOT]ivyleagueadmission[DOT]com/waitbus.html
"Yet applicants are often waitlisted for non-academic (ie political) reasons, to save face for both the university and the applicant. Here are a few common scenarios:
1) An extremely strong applicant has personal problems and is considered unstable. His/her reference letters suggest a poor fit for a top-level program. Rather than citing the negative feedback as the reason for rejection (and risk a lawsuit), the school will waitlist the candidate.
Since when do schools have to cite why they Ding you?
2) An exceptional candidate from a company or school is rejected, while a lesser-ranked member of his/her firm or class (with legacy or minority status) gets in. Rather than trying to explain the underlying bias, the school will usually waitlist the exceptional candidate, with no intention of actually admitting him/her.
Again, schools dont have to justify dings
3) An average or mediocre candidate is highly recommended by a faculty member, alumni, board member or university trustee. Rather than insult the applicant's benefactor, the school will waitlist the candidate, rather than rejecting him.
How is waitlisting said candidate not insulting, WL wouldnt solve this "problem"
4) A highly desirable candidate has known personal interest or ties to another school (ie, his/her parents are alumni there). Rather than accept this candidate (who will likely choose to go elsewhere), a school may waitlist him/her to eliminate a negative effect on their yield statistics. Business school rankings are based partially on selectivity, and all top schools keep a watchful eye on yield. They prefer to admit only students who are eager to attend their school."
I could see this one being true, but how would a school know about those ties unless the applicant told them? This is the only one that semi makes senseHBS guru is very opinionated and biased....but at the end of the day anything he says is hearsayThose are pretty uncommon circumstances. I can understand certain political reasons, but those situations apply to a very small number of applicants each year and those people are well connected enough to give candidates a viable chance at admission. No one at Wharton is going to see my application and decide to waitlist me because another minority military officer was admitted just to make me feel better.
Yield would make sense, if there weren't hundreds of applicants rejected after interviews each year--unless Sandy believes that schools create hundreds of hours of "dead meat" interviews just to waitlist a few people.
Personally, the "dead meat" idea is just a conspiracy theory.