Ross 2012 - Calling All Applicants

From my understanding is that they have two batches for R1. R2 from past years have more of a trickle effect after the initial waves. From my understanding of the process (and this can be 100% off) is that based on the interview scheduling system, they need to stagger the invites so that they can interview over the course of a month since all you eager beavers tend to pick the first two fridays.

Bummer, I'm a compulsive spam deleter. Is there any other indication that an interview invite has been sent? All I've been getting are, for reasons that evade me, Ross alumni emails...

They sent two different emails today - one for Super Interview Saturday (timestamp: 3:04 p.m. EST) and another generic one for the rest (3:30 p.m. EST). I would assume that they are done with the first batch. The next batch will be sent out on November 14th.

As for your other question, I submitted my application on October 4th, but my second recommendation was not submitted until October 10th. I received my invite at 3:30 p.m. EST, and I have scheduled my interview for next Monday, October 31st. I will post a recap of my interview next week.

I am an International applicant from India.

I am invited for the interview. The mail says I can schedule on campus or off campus interview (in person).

I do not see any windows for any of the Indian cities. Does it mean I can schedule only via phone/skype?

First up, congratulations to all those who have received interview invites!!

Alright, so I have read the entire thread and have seen people trying to relate the time when applications were submitted with the time the interview invites were rolled out. So just thought I would chime in with whatever knowledge I have gained so far, which is to a very large extent through a discussion with one of the Associate Directors of Admission at an Information Session...

Ross follows a very unique approach to admissions with regards to the Admissions Committee itself. Unlike other schools, Ross appoints Regional Managers - people who are responsible for selecting the best of the candidates from an entire region. These people, through years of experience of screening applicants from a particular region, develop the expertise in understanding regional attributes such as average GMATs, GPA scales, good undergrad institutes etc. The following regions have dedicated regional managers - US, South America, India, Europe & Africa, South east Asia minus India. I am sorry but I don't know in which regions do countries such as Mexico that don't fit any of these regions fall under. Also, there might be more regions but I may not have been told about all of them by the AD.

So the lifecycle of an application goes something like this -
1. Once an application is submitted, it is submitted to the first reviewer. The distribution of applications to first-level reviewers is completely random. The demographics of the applicant, GMAT or other credentials and even the date of submission of the application are completely irrelevant. Since the randomization is inherent to the first step, it just goes to show that the rest of the review process will also follow a random path. Hence, people who have not yet received invites need not be disheartened.
2. Now, the first reviewer filters out only a very very few applications - applications that truly don't deserve to move forward. He/she also puts in his/her commentary on that application.
3. The application moves to the second reviewer who again tries to filter out some applications. Again not very many are eliminated at this stage since they are trying to find all the potential good attributes in all applications.
Note that the second reviewer could be a Regional Manager for some other Region. For example the file could be for a Chinese applicant but is being reviewed by the RM for Europe & Africa.
4. Finally, the file goes to the RM for that region. Now the RM will receive files from all 2nd level reviewers for all applicants belonging to his/her region. Having a comprehensive view of the entire applicant pool for that round, the RM will compact the list for that region. This compacted list is more or less the list of applicants that are invited to interview. However, interview invites are not sent out once the entire list is finalized. They can be sent out depending on the certainty the RM feels for each of the candidates. Hence you might have people in the same region receiving invites across dates.
5. Earlier, invites were sent out as soon as the RM felt certain that an applicant had to be interviewed. However this led to a lot of stress on the interview team. Ever since, they have decided to release interview invites in batches so it is easier for the interview team to schedule interviews in an orderly manner. Also, note that the interviews are blind i.e. the interviewer will have access only to your resume; the interviewer will not have read your entire application.
6. Once the interviews are over, the RM filters out more people and sends the final list to the Dean / Director (don't know the exact position) of Admissions. He/She has the final authority on all admits & declines. Looking at the overall global applicant pool, the D/D will take a final call on each applicant in each of the RMs lists. This is an especially critical step since only the D/D really has the visibility into the overall pool of applicants and this helps him/her in crafting a class with the diversity the school deems necessary.

Hope this helps!! Again, this is what I understood from my interaction with an Associate Director of Admissions at an Information Session. I will be happy if any current student / alum who has firsthand insight into the admissions process can add anything or correct anything in whatever I've written above!

Thanks for your detailed input, scorpionz.
Still very sad as haven't got the invitation...
May I ask do the admission office process all the application file in 2 batches so that they send out invitation in 2 batches too?

No, the applications are not processed in two batches. Only the interview invites are sent in two batches so as to reduce the load on the interview team.

Do you mean that we still have chance? Ross is the school that I love most... My GMAT is not very high though.

Sure!! Anyone who hasn't yet received an invite still has a chance because it's possible that your application hasn't yet gone through all reviews...
As someone had pointed out earlier, in one of the blogs, it was clearly mentioned that it was impossible to review all applications by 24th. Hence only one batch of invites was being sent out on 24th. The rest would be sent out later in November..This is quite consistent with my discussion with the AD..

Thanks so much for the information Scorpionz!
Wish us both luck.

Anyone scheduling an interview in Paris ?

I don't think it's as random as we are led to believe. Raise your hands all those who have gotten interview calls with 92nd percentile or lower.

I am not not sure if expressing frustration is the right thing to do. I am also not sure whether this is the right forum. But I am going to do so anyway.

I applied on 9th October. Of all the schools, I spent the most time researching on Ross. I spent most time talking to alumni and students at Ross. I bought books to read about the ross culture, I read blogs, followed youtube channels and tried my best to learn what is meant by 'fit' at Ross. I was able to write my essays with passion and humility. I am disheartened that I did not receive an invite. I worked extremely hard to put in all the elements of a great business school app in my essays( at least that is what I believed, it seems that is not true ). I spent considerable time educating my recommenders on what Ross looks for in the candidates while selection. They told me that they have provided an extremely detailed, well structured reco with specific examples for my Ross application.

Despite hearing numerous times that the the interview invitation is 'random', I am finding it hard to convince myself. I am sure I am not the only one and that the re-applicants and current students would understand my frustration. I just needed to pen down this feeling of dejection.

Last year's thread of Ross applicants gives me a feeling that they invited less people in the second wave. All schools say that R1 == R2. But we do know that there is some difference. All schools say that GMAT is just one factor. But we know that GMAT is important. Soojin's blog says that wave1 == wave2 in terms of probability. My heart is taking this with a pinch of salt.

I know all the idealistic thoughts that should come to my mind - 'this is just an application', 'don' worry, focus on next schools', 'it's ok, happens' - but the harsh reality is that the energy, time and not to forget - money that I put in my dream school is half-way gone. I am extremely sorry for all the whining but I had to vent this somewhere. Congratulations to all the GClubbers who got invites. Go and Grab that spot all of you. I will have to wait another 3 weeks (at least) I guess.

Themangoman, believe me, i'm going through the same thing as you. Ross is my favorite school. I did the investigation, i talked to alumni and I really like it... however, i did not get the invitation... sigh...

*raises his hand*

themangoman and sissizhx - I can't tell you that I wouldn't feel the same way if I were in your shoes, but you should definitely hold your heads up high. They send out email invites in two batches so that they could spend enough time evaluating each application. Therefore, your not getting invited yesterday does not necessarily mean that they don't want you. After all, based on the past years' threads, there were at least a few second-batch invitees, who were ultimately accepted. There's still hope so I urge you to stay optimistic.

Threestripes, thanks so much for encouraging us, will try to focus on other applications soon. Hug hug.

Is there any applicant from India who has got an interview invite?

I have scheduled my skype interview for 4th Nov.

To all those who did not get call from Ross in this first batch of R1 calls: I was dinged at Emory but got a call from Ross. I did submit Ross on the last date of R1.

I think each school is looking for something which it searches in our essays and profile.
Sort of a match between the applicant and the school.
If you spread your 'application basket' between 7-8 schools, you stand a pretty even chance of getting a call from at least half of them.
All the best to everyone!