Applying as a couple, chances? - 730 GMAT

Not necessarily better or worse, if either of you is not seen as a fit for the program you will not get in. One thing thing that can help is building a relationship with the ad comm at the schools you are applying to. Making decisions on applicants is a people decision so it can help to build a relationship with the both of you. So see what you can do in this regard to ultimately push your profiles over the edge

This is interesting. How does one do that - Build relationship with ad comm? Also, if one of the two is deemed unfit, is the other person also turned down automatically?

It's about connecting with the ad comm in a variety of ways.
-Attending info sessions in your city
-Campus visits
-Interviews
-Mentioning in your application
-Emails
-Calls

If you can connect with them across a few different touchpoints and build some authentic rapport you can certainly help your case even if it's making it clear you are a couple and what you both can add to the student community.

I don't think schools necessary think of dinging one applicant they want because the other is unfit. Many couples will apply to nearby programs (kellogg/booth, CBS/Stern, HBS/Sloan) even if they apply with their partner so the ad comm will not assume you will not accept the offer because your partner was dinged

Hi there,

I think both of you have good profiles, atleast at the face of it. However, your target schools are extremely competitive and therefore its critical to differentiate from the 'noise'. Now in your case, apart from your corporate jobs, your startup experience may be that differentiator however we can state for certain only after understanding your business. What kind of funding did you raise, was it institutional ? If that's the case, then its a big plus on your resume.

I don't think applying as a couple is either going to improve or reduce your chances of getting in. The applicants are evaluated basis their individual merit.
I will be happy to talk to you further to understand your profile and how I think you both should go about your applications.

Please connect with us at connect@taterways.com if you want to chat further.

Thank you so much for your help. Definitely, we will keep these points in mind while applying.

Yeah focussing more on the startup story. Thanks for your help!

From our experience, applying as couple neither necessarily helps nor harms, but it DOES need to be strategized. It is helpful for example to write the schools in the optional essay to inform them that you are applying as a couple, and explain to them why you are stronger together as a pair. Basically you need to prepare your applications so that you are pulling each other UP and not down.

The second important thing is to consider all the eventualities and plan for things in the strategy stage - i.e. what will happen if you get into different schools? Are you willing to attend different schools? are you willing to live away from each other? How far? This might also influence your school choice decision. Just as an example, let's say you are both interested in Columbia, it might make sense for you both to also apply to NYU to cover for the eventuality that only one of you gets accepted to Columbia, but that NYU is both an excellent school and close to Columbia, so this is a livable arrangement.

In general, as you might expect, given the fact that you need a combination of BOTH of you to get in, my first suggestion would be that you apply to significantly many more schools than your average applicant. so if people are applying on average to 4-6 schools, you might both want to apply to 8-10 schools each to ensure that you have the most possibilities of attending school together, or at the least in the same city or region.


I hope this helps!!

And feel free to drop us a line for a more full-on Free Consultation: https://bit.ly/mbafcGC

Best,
JF

Nothing significant to add, but I agree with others in terms of applying to schools where an adjacent possibility would exist within the same metro area. So I think that puts New York in Chicago on the list for you, Definitely includes stern here. One thing that does concern me about your school list is that it is a little ambitious. That said I don't have the full profile here. Would like to see you both apply to one school within the tier of Ross, Duke (&UNC?) or NYU and/or Oxford.

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