Hello waitlisters, congratulations, actually. It's not such a bad thing -- really. If you were dinged, you would wish you were at least waitlisted. So there's some hope. Also, Booth wants to hear from you, and that's a whole lot better than being shut in a cave to wait for the decision.
I've been thinking about this video waitlist, and it's pretty cool. It really does give you a chance to shine. I wrote a blog post about it, but here are the highlights anyway:
What a great way to see just how articulate a student will be in the classroom (cold calls, anyone?) How well-thought-out is their argument asking the committee to “pick ME!”? How sincere, how grounded, and most of all, how believable is the candidate?
But students should be aware that it’s not just an advertisement for themselves. It’s new information. Here are five tips for selling yourself on video:
1.Have something to say: Use the 90 seconds to actually make a case for yourself, It’s not about how much you want it; it’s about how and why you are a great fit for the school.
2.Be organized: Identify the two-to three specific things you want to convey in your message and clearly articulate them.
3.Talk to the admissions committee directly: the people watching the video want to want you to connect with them.
4.Rehearse: It’s a performance, and you’ve got to be prepared.
5. Be confident, but not arrogant: Sounds easy but so hard. Take a tip from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business value of “confidence without attitude."
And I have one more bit of advice, and that is, don't bring an entourage of videographers or make it too fancy with jump cuts. This isn't the NYU Stern/Tisch program! Also, don't be like the crazy cat lady video on You Tube. She was supposed to be a Villanova MBA, but it was truly a hoax.
but still, have fun with it, and good luck!