Fair point, and I agree these groups are informal, non-judgmental, and have
no impact on admission decisions. People are absolutely free to express themselves here.
My point wasn’t about formal tracking. From what I know internally,
applicant sentiment and anxiety do reach adcom members indirectly over time via current students, alumni, ambassadors, and casual feedback loops. There are no consequences attached; it’s just awareness, not evaluation.
gmatheld
Hey !
I’d be curious to know what that’s based on. From everything I’ve seen and know, there’s no formal mechanism where schools track informal applicant group chats.
*These spaces are community driven, not school affiliated.* People join only post through verification, and conversations are meant for applicants to help each other navigate the process. That’s very different from an official channel.
Also, during actual background checks or interactions with admissions teams I’ve never seen anyone reference or request access to informal applicant groups. Schools have structured ways to evaluate engagement like events, interviews, emails, and campus interactions. Relying on unofficial chats would be unreliable and ethically questionable.
Of course, anyone from anywhere can technically observe public spaces online. That’s just how the internet works. But that’s not the same as schools systematically tracking private or semi private applicant discussions.
So if there’s a specific source or example behind that claim, I’d genuinely like to see it and dispel it to keep the culture of these groups non judgmental and chill.