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The Waitlist Paradox I – Why Me?

Some applicants receive a letter stating that they have been put on the waitlist. You too may have received such a letter. This letter means that you have the qualifications that the school is looking for, but due to other factors you have not been admitted. These factors might include you being too young, or being too experienced, or being less unique than desired, or having inconsistent track record, or not demonstrating compelling reasons for a great fit with the school. All in all, the admissions committee is not entirely convinced about your candidacy, but is willing to give you a chance.

If you have been put on waitlist by more than one school, then you should consider re-examining/strengthening your application. You should also consider applying for other schools who might take a different view on certain unchangeable elements of your application, such as you not being in the work force long enough. There are schools which may take prudent risks with young yet ambitious individuals who have a less proven track record.

To be put on the waitlist does NOT mean that you have been rejected. All programs have a limited number of applicants that they can accept each term. With the number of MBA applicants growing, the competition for admission is very intense. There are steps that you can take to improve your chances for admission.

Different Schools, Different Years, Different Policies

Some schools place an applicant on the waitlist early on in the admission process. The reason for this is that the school wishes to wait and see how the class composition is developing before making a final decision. Many times an individual who makes it to the second round of the process is competing not only against new applicants, but also against those on the waitlist. So being on the waitlist early on is not a bad thing at all. It is more like a deferment of admission. Other schools, especially those who are highly selective, rarely move people from the waitlist. This makes sense because very few people who are admitted to the top tier schools decline the offer to attend. Still other schools admit students from the waitlist who have shown improvement in their application. So each school has its own policy and procedure for the waitlist. Depending on each year’s application numbers and quality, each school may also adjust its waitlist policy a bit to better serve its admissions objective. Simply put, the “waitâ€

Can somebody sticky this?
I think its quite usefull

Btw there was a sticky a common one for say essay tips posted by rhyme, 9 things not do in WL posted by Helg, choice of recomenders posted by aaudetat, sniper approach to b-school visit etc
The sticky seems to be removed can one of the moderators make all those a sticky again

Its usefull stuff

So in situations like this, is waiting really the only option? I wish I could do something about my app rather than just sit and wait. It feels so empty not getting any updates from schools everytime I check my email.

Thank you venky for your reply. I'm just being so axious waiting. Campus visit might not be an option for me since it's peak season and I'm loaded with work right now. My boss would kill me if I abandon him to fly to US at this time. Anyway, guess all I can do is be patient and wait.

Firstly, thank you, venky, for sharing with us this useful newsletter.

Secondly, I wanted to challenge some of the advice given in this letter:



I see it as "playing the schools against each other" and I consider it as a very dangerous tactics. That was actually mentioned by Linda Abrahams of Accepted.com as one of the the "9 mistakes".
One must use this tactics with great care and only when absolutely necessary, e.g. when you are approaching a deposit deadline in a school where you were accepted but would rather attend the school where you were waitlisted.

Is it just me or is there no link to see the full article?

Why is it dangerous? Does it me that the targeted school may not like it? Just curious.