The 2012-2013 Zero Admit Club

Hey Guys,

Its me. I finally got the call today. 3 years, 5 application rounds and 8 rejects in the making. If you are reading this, keep at it, you will get in too.

Unbounded, I am sorry that the process has been so rough on you. You seem like you have the passion to make a top mba. However, the schools you applied to are all out of this world (WOW) schools. Remember the acceptance rate is <20% at most places, so try not to feel too discouraged. When I picked my schools, I picked a range between Wharton and Yale. I figured I fall somewhere in between, but would quit my job to go to any of the 4 schools I chose. I ended up only getting accepted at Cornell thus far. I put together a kick ass app for Wharton and all the schools I applied.

Rejection feels like crap, but its part of this game. The way I see it is you have 2 choices. 1) Keep your head up (dont lose your spark as you call it) and come back stronger and harder next year. Do everything you can to get one extra promotion, one extra curricular, one extra school visit, maybe even one more set of rejections. OR 2) You lower your range out of the WOW schools. You def will get into a 15-25 program, as the poster above me notes your chances are stronger if you work the schools where your stats are upper 80% range.

Don't get me wrong, it appears you do have the stats to get into a top 10 MBA. Sometimes its just more of a crapshoot than anything else. Best of luck and never give up. Ive seen posters on here (OhDenny) who put 3 application seasons in to get accepted. And if you asked that poster who is at Yale now, I bet you he will tell you it was worth every rejection.

Totally with you on wearing your dings like a badge of honor and people missing the forest for the trees! When I first got dinged off of the Wharton waitlist I really wanted to keep the WL just to show that I didn't get dinged right away. But then I felt like I'd be a fraud cause if I got in I'd obviously change it to Green, so it was only right to show the Red. Yeah, you may have gotten dinged, or waitlisted, but at least you tried, and that's the most important thing!

Hey kidchaos,

You missed out on some great threads then! To dig up history, here you go:

• The 2011-2012 Zero Admit Club
• The 2009 Zero Admit Club
• The 2008 Zero Admit Club
• 2008 Zero Admits - Where Are They Now?

In a similar vein to the "2008 Zero Admits - Where Are They Now?" thread, I've compiled the same information for the 2011-2012 Zero Admit Club:

2011-2012 Zero Admit Club - Where Are They Now?

• canadianchamp - Duke
• mappleby - Columbia
• huntzman - Darden, Booth
• str1der - Tuck, Kellogg
• anordinaryguy
• chromium73
• Hizzo
• sdd996

It's still early in the 12-13 cycle and we're already seeing some great results! Hope this gives you all some hope for later application cycles.

I have to ask: what are your goals and what criteria are you using for schools besides rankings? With the exception of Tuck, it looks like you just decided to apply to some other top 9 programs that you didn't apply to the year before. Have you considered Ross/Darden/Duke/Cornell? Those schools have a bit higher acceptance rate and are still fantastic schools. As a bonus, your 760 GMAT could help earn you some scholarship $$.

Best of luck.

Great attitude! After all, without trying (and failing) on your first schools, you may not have developed "the fear" that pushed you to obvious success with Booth.

Update: Got admitted to Fuqua!
Conclusion: Don't give up, even if you've encountered a few obstacles - determination is a key quality in this process!
It might not go perfect on the 2nd application or the 6th that you've submitted, but do your best, stay focused on your end goal for this phase (getting into a top business school), and keep pushing!

Age/Gender: 24/M
GMAT Score/GPA : 720 (when I applied) / 8.25/10
Work Experience: [industry/years] Healthcare consulting; would have been 3 at matriculation for class of 13-15
Location:India
Schools applied to: Duke, Yale, Ross
Any consulting services used: [Yes/NO, Who?] No
#Interviews: 0
#WL: 0

Optional:

Which ding hurt the most and why?
Duke. Gave my best shot; solid essays and thought I was a good fit because of a consistent 'healthcare' story.
Why the lack of success?
Relatively lesser work exp. or a slightly lower GMAT score maybe. In hindsight (bias?), I can see gaps in my essays as well.
What next?
Retook the GMAT. old myself this was a feeler, will start early and apply to a dozen next year.

I completely understand how frustrating this is. It looks like you are a great candidate and there is no question that you can get in to a top school.

Did you connect your extracurricular activities to your career goals? If not, that may help you next year to communicate your passion if perhaps that was overlooked by the AdCom. Also, there is some great advice on selecting programs in a book called "MBA Admission For Smarties" that I think you will benefit from. As you are a member of an "over-represented group" (as am I) the authors suggest that we should be on the north end of their 80% GMAT, GPA range, to choose to apply. I suppose you've got the option to retake the GMAT and try for a mid700s score. Wouldn't it be nice if schools posted their 80% GMAT/GPA ranges based on demographic data?

Also, please post more often. Me and many others could benefit greatly from your experiences!

Hey guys,

I have been on GmatClub for over 2 years and i have never seen the zero admit thread. Honestly I have applied twice before admittedly with a much weaker application and I'm very worried this time as well. I'm hoping it goes my way this time but from personal experience (twice before!) Keep your chin up. If you are truly determined something will work out.

Maybe it's not exactly how you thought it would be but that just means that there is something you aren't seeing yet.

Just a small example is that if I had got into MBA a year or 2 years ago I never would have had the opportunity to start my e-commerce venture designing and selling Laptop Skins. Today the business has begun rolling, and I have entrepreneurial experience and through it I am able to donate some proceeds to an NGO all while doing what I normally do to decompress everyday, Design!

So my point is it will work out at some point so stay positive and alert for that opportunity.

Apologies for my ignorance here but isn't it a tad early to be branding one's self as a Zero Admit for the 2012-2013 application cycle? Are there not multiple R2 and R3 deadlines that are still open for many of the top schools?

For those who have posted thus far, thanks for sharing. It must be a very difficult and stressful experience; hoping for all the best that you all can take away positives from the experience and learn from it.

I am still working on my applications and have not received any responses yet. I saw this thread on Facebook. A couple of things stood out to me in reading these responses, and I admit it is a very small sample of zero admits I am sure, but it seems as though the posters here are both very young and applying to the very best schools. While there is certainly nothing wrong with that, compared to the greater applicant pool things may be different. I am 36 years old, with 15 years of experience in Sales & Marketing and planning on pursuing a full-time MBA in Marketing. I have middle of the road GMAT and GPA (640/3.3) but since I graduated from college in 1999, I am not sure how much of that will carry forward. With the exception of Michigan (which I chose because of its location and my prior automotive industry experience), I have applied mostly to schools that Businessweek has ranked in the 20s and 30s. Most of my choices were driven by the schools location, their concentrations, and the type of atmosphere of the student body. Even with a 700+ 3.8+ GMAT/GPA I am not sure that I would be happy at a programs like those, at least at this point in my life.

Being ambitious and taking advantage of a school's reputation certainly won't hurt you in life - with that said I do think that you have to take more holistic look at where you see yourself in life, career, and your work-life balance. I can tell you this after you reach a certain point in your age when you start to get married, own a home, and involve yourself in other pursuits your priorities change. I think a lot of people get caught up in the game like school is a race - maybe for some, but not for most. I decided to go back and pursue a FT MBA instead of an EMBA since it is my desire to move away from my current industry and also I feel that I could best maximize my MBA exprience on campus that only a full-time program can provide.

Lastly, I think you need to ask yourself WHY you are making the decisions that you are and how they affect YOU rather than how you would look on paper. I think that a lot of people forget that ultimately school is to YOUR benefit not for someone else's.

I agree with this, but I think what planet is saying is that some of the younger people on this thread have a "top-ten" or bust mentality. If you apply to H/S/W, consider schools in the 11-20 range such as Duke/Ross/Darden etc. if you add Kellogg, Booth, Sloan, and CBS to your H/S/W apps, don't be shocked if you get dinged everywhere. Those schools all have acceptance rates 20% and lower. some of the smartest and accomplished people in the planet are your competition. If a school outside the top ten doesn't do it for you, then fine. But if the goal is to attend Bschool his fall, it's smart to hedge your bets and cast a net among the top 20 - especially when you consider that the same companies recruit at all these schools.

Congrats mate!

After not applying to the classes of 2016, 2017 and 2018, I gave it another go this year. Now I've been admitted to Anderson and Tuck!

Brutal. Best of luck man. What did you think of stacy blackman? I guess these consultants are overpriced and don't add much value. I thought about using one this year and talked to virtually every service out there but walked away very unimpressed.

I second this. There are limited seats at the top schools and you are competing against some of the smartest/ambitious people in the world.

I would also cast a wider net when selecting schools. I know it's a lot of work, but the reason I say this is because different Adcoms look for different things and it's just too tough to predict who will take whom. There are people that get accepted by HBS but dinged at Kellogg. Accepted by Tuck and dinged at Johnson. Find schools that will help you meet your career goals and do not apply to a school you would not ultimately happy be attending. Best of luck.