Application Strategy - Help needed

Question

Dear All,

I need some advice on applying in Round 3. A brief of my profile can be found in this link :

24-t48287

Subsequent to this post i retook the GMAT and got a 700 (Q48, V 38), applied to IIM-A (PGPX), INSEAD (previously waitlisted here), Chicago and Kellogg. Surprisingly IIM-A and INSEAD (despite being a waitlisted re-applicant) rejected me without an interview, and the rest rejected be after an interview. When I sought feedback from the interviewers of Chicago and Kellogg, they seemed equally surprised about the outcome, nevertheless at the end of the day i did not make it.

Now I am considering applying to Duke, Michigan, NYU and UCLA in Round 3. Due to some personal committments i was not able to apply for R 2 and I missed the deadlines. I would like to hear your opinion on whether I should apply in R 3 this year or should I wait another year and apply in R 1.

Thanks.

Maverick

dosa_don · Answer

I would recommend waiting. R3 is supposed to be insanely tough especially for an Indian. You also dont mention too much about your non-work related activities. I would work on those over the year and apply in R1 next year.

Maverick82 · Answer

Dear All,

Sorry i forgot to mention in my previous post: I have worked extensively on community projects from Slum Rehab and education drives in India to tutoring classes for homeless children in the US. Apart from that I have also won a few awards in Singing, Elocution, Shot Put and have captained my high school cricket team.

Maverick

clobo · Answer

Maverick, you should have applied in R2 with the applicant pool being so competitive this year and getting only more competitive with the economy in a downturn. With that said, If you really want to get into a program this year, I would apply to a safety school (top 15-20). Ross admits only a few applicants in R3, I don't know about Duke and UCLA. Also, being an international might play a big part in the decision making with all the visa complications. Good luck!

kryzak · Answer

Maverick,

I would give schools with 4 rounds a try in R3. So UCLA R3 might work for you. Haas R3 is Jan 31st, if you can finish in 2 weeks. R4's for those schools are very bad, just like R3's at Ross and elsewhere.

I would probably wait if you can't make the 4-round schools' R3.

Maverick82 · Answer

Thank you all, I guess waiting out is a better option at this stage. This also gives me a chance to relook at my application in its entirety and add a fresh look to it.

riverripper · Answer

Another thing to consider, I believe some schools will not admit international students in the final round because of visa concerns. So definitely look into whether they actually admit international students in the final round.

It might help to wait until next year and come up with a list of schools where your chances are stronger. I dont think the Indian applications will be as affected by the slumping economy in the US as some other demographics. Besides its already an extremely tough one so a year isnt going to make it that much harder, since its already so tough.

My advice is to wait until next year since your chances are so slim in R3. Also I hate to say it but given the competition in your pool, I recommend you retake the GMAT. A 700 is a great score but if you ask the Indians on here who have had success many have 750+ and if you are waiting until next year you will have plenty of time to work on bringing up your score. Also I suggest you frequent this place, there are lots of discussions from people on what worked for them and you can really absorb a lot about the process by just following some of the threads. Also, chances are there will be some people on here right now who will be attending the schools you will apply to next year, and most everyone here is super helpful and they will probably be able to give you some constructive advice on essay approaches and such. And honestly the more you are involved on here the more people are willing to help.

Application Strategy - Help needed

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