Last month, some elite business schools sent out their Round 1 interview invitations, along with “release” notices to the majority of applicants. That means thousands of MBA hopefuls around the world recently received their first big fat DING.
While some people can easily shrug off this unfortunate news, others have a tough time dealing with what they see as “rejection.” If you are one of the applicants who didn’t receive good news last month, we want to remind you why you should keep your chin up.
First off, all of the top MBA programs are notorious for being extremely selective. Out of every 100 people who submit materials, only 7 to 12 receive admissions offers. In other words, it’s very much a numbers game when you’re applying to such competitive programs. There are only so many spots for an overwhelming number of thoroughly talented candidates.
A ding doesn’t mean you’re not qualified
As such, a past dean of Harvard Business School used to kick off his speech to new first-year students by stating that the school could’ve easily added an additional 900 equally qualified candidates to the graduating class. His point? Namely, that while admitted students were certainly accomplished and deserving, a little bit of luck played into their outcomes as well.
People who have always reached every single goal they’ve ever gone after may find a ding hard to process. But it’s the truth. Once you’ve pulled together a strong application and hit “submit,” the process is out of your hands. You will never know who (or how many people) competed against you for a spot; who read your application; or what kind of mood they were in that day.
Fortunately, a ding from a certain school is only the result of that school. It has absolutely no bearing on what you’ll hear from other programs. So there’s no need to panic or to question your approach. You should remain hopeful that positive news from another school may be right around the corner.
Remember:
Until next time,
The team at Stacy Blackman Consulting
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