Calling all Texas - McCombs Fall 2011 applicants

you should call them. that probs means r3.

McCombs is really testing my patience. Emailed them, will call them too shortly.

We are being hit with ice in TX today. Much of Dallas is shut down. May be the case for Austin as well.

interview with alumni off campus.
1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why MBA
3. Why McCombs
4. How can you contribute to the program
5. Team experience
6. Most significant accomplishment
8. Failure experience
9. Any questions for me?

Interview went on for 35minutes.
The failure part kinda threw me off, since i was expecting basic questions like Why MBA and I haven't got that question in the essays neither. I guess the interviewers select questions from some sort of question bank.
Overall, the alumni was very friendly and it was a very pleasant experience.

Yep, they get to select questions from multiple banks. Adcom makes sure they ask at least one of each type of question. My odd question was "If you were given two free place tickets to anywhere... who would you take? Where would you go? Why would you go there?"

I thought of some good answers after the interview, but I was rather confused by the question when it was asked.

that is odder than one i got,
how long does it approximately take until decision?

I'm hearing up to 10 weeks.... so basically forever. I wouldn't wait by the phone for at least a few weeks. They are still issuing decisions for folks that interviewed in Nov/Dec.

been following this thread for a while... figured i should finally join in, especially with the news i got today.

applied 11/1
interviewed 12/20
waitlisted 2/1 (today)

ughhhhh so tired of waiting...

so here's my dilemma: i got into eller (arizona) but i really prefer mccombs. having already asked for several extensions from arizona, is my best plan of action to pay my enrollment fee for arizona and hope for the best with texas? looks like being on waitlist means i'd have to wait another couple of months to get a final decision.

pay the fee and wait. you got a 780 and got waitlisted?! god there's no hope for me.

it seems like mccombs hates high gmat scores..!!

Heh, it almost seems that way. I got a 770, however my interview went pretty poorly.

I'm praying for them to be charmed by my sparkling personality! good luck to everyone over the next few weeks. I probably won't hear anything for a looong time.

ya but there are other parts of my app that are not so great. low undergrad gpa and 2.5 yrs of work experience. oh well. i guess i cant do anything but wait and see. i was really just hoping to get a straight answer this week. a ding i can get over in a couple of days... waitlist? didnt see that coming.

ok im gonna stop whining now.

Haha, you guys are scaring me. I'm contemplating about calling the admissions office and begging them to only consider my lower GMAT score.

My theory is that with high GMAT score the adcom sees you (high GMAT scorers) as someone applying to McCombs as a backup option and not a top choice. This might not be the case for every high gmat scorer on this forum or outside. By wait-listing they are just playing the waiting game to get a better idea if you are really interested in the school or not. I am not sure what the rules of wait-list for McCombs are but if you can show real interest by attending events etc or providing extra material (positive of-course) you might improve your chances.

waitlisted.....guess I will be attending Rice then...

I think this is partially true. McCombs is a little off of the beaten path location-wise for most MBAs, so I spent a lot of time researching the school and highlighting why McCombs was a program that I wanted to be a part of in my career essay. It was easier for me because I am looking at working in energy after getting my MBA and McCombs has a couple of interesting energy initiatives.

I'd think it would be really difficult for someone who wants to go into a more traditional consulting field to sell the AdCom on why McCombs is a great school for them, particularly if it seems like they have the profile of someone who'll be admitted at a higher ranked school. Schools want to think they're special, and don't like the idea of being someone's backup.