MBA Admission Decision Appeal

Question

I got a rejection from one of my safe schools. I do not want to mention the name of the school for privacy concerns.

But I appealed the decision since it seemed to me that there were discrepancies in the interview process. One of my interviewers did not arrive on the day of the interview, and there was no prior notification for this. The replacement interviewer seemed to be unprepared, and she did not know much about my background as well.

At the end of the interview, one of the interviewers let me know that they would make a recommendation and I should get a decision within 2-5 days. But surprisingly 2 days later I got a rejection letter. In the rejection letter, it was written that if I have any questions regarding the decision, I can contact them. So I reached out to them and some of the staff let me know there was nothing wrong with my application but I am not a right fit for them (I guess it was because one of my extracurricular activities/future career goals).

However, after some time of getting the rejection letter, I got a second interview invitation/calender schedule. And upon review of it, it is apparent that there were discrepancies regarding the interview process. Since the event was updated on the same date and time, only the replacement interviewer is listed as optional now, and the one who did not arrive still remains the primary interviewer.

In my appeal, I mentioned the misinformation, unprofessionalism, and potential misconduct. I asked them to provide transparency and accountability, and to  upheld the integrity and fairness of the admission system.

My appeal was filed with enough evidence, and there were misinformation in their defence/statements about the interviewer change. They are attributing the second invitation which came after the rejection email to technical errors. But I already disproved them by submitting the screenshots and .ics invitation file that came with those invitations.

What to expect in such situations?

MBAGuide · Answer

sharktank23 It's unfortunate what you had to go through. But if the staff has reckoned that you are not the right fit, there is little you might be able to do about it. The fit aspect either comes down to very specific criteria that some self-selecting schools put upfront (usually some Ivy League B-school programs) or that the school thinks your post-MBA plans or your age/experience are not aligned with what the school might be able to help you achieve post MBA (even though they liked you enough to invite you for an interview). The bigger question here is whether you are still willing to stay in the process even when you are not stoked with how they handled the situation. If you are, you can continue to pursue them politely and they might even change their mind. I have seen similar things happen with the school you have listed in your bio (not sure if its the case in point), so just saying there may still be hope. Get personalized advice tailored to your unique circumstances in the B School admissions process. Reapplying? Get a free ding analysis Best wishes Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alum, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer) Founder, MBAGuideConsulting LinkedIn |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/ | Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- mbaguideconsulting@gmail.com

sharktank23 · Answer

Hi Anchal,

Thanks for your reply.

You are right on the point. Yes, the school thinks that they can not help achieve my post-MBA career goal, because there were no such prior instances in their history. No, it was not the school I mentioned in my bio. It was even a lower-ranked state school.

I made a polite, strong, and professional appeal. And, it seems that their defense is weak. Let us see what happens.

Thank you again for your perfect and to-the-point response.

Best,
Sharktank23

MBAGuide · Answer

sharktank23  Great, let us know what happens so future applicants can learn from your experience.

sharktank23 · Answer

Hi MBAGuide,

This incident was with Iowa State Ivy College of Business. I took it to the dean of the college. However, they are inflexible in acknowledging and addressing the interview scheduling discrepancies. One of the interviewers was replaced, and this was not done with any prior notification. They made adjustments to the event invitation to add the replacement interviewer as optional after I already received the rejection letter. The question remains who put the final feedback on my interview? Their staff made conflicting statements about the reasons for the schedule change. They had 17 days to notify me of any changes to the event schedule, but they were unable to do so. But they did it after sending the rejection letter.

Admissionado · Answer

sharktank23 :

We are also terribly sorry for this very unfortunate experience.

Do you have other schools that you are considering? Iowa State does not seem like a particularly good fit just from an administrative standpoint. Interviewers (alumni) seem very unprofessional as do the administrators. What kind of support will you be given during your MBA years and after graduation? Almost seems like you dodged a bullet.

It sucks to be turned down because of elements out of your control, but it sounds extremely revelatory.

Admissionado

sharktank23 · Answer

Admissionado

Thanks for your reply!

Unfortunately, I do not have other options this cycle as it is already late. I would apply next year with hopefully a stronger profile to better schools.

I had another interview this year with Olin. I applied for R4, they asked me to apply again next year.

Thanks again!

sharktank23 · Answer

MBAGuide 
 Admissionado

Finally, the dean of the grad college at Iowa State acknowledged my appeal and initiated a review of the processing of my application. So, an appeal can be made if there are procedural errors during the application, and the school policies allow it.

MBADecoder · Answer

Hi sharktank23 you have been through an unfortunate series of event and I am impressed that you followed it all the way through. For the future steps, I think you should evaluate whether you want to join this b-school at all. If their team says that your goals are not aligned with what they can offer, then its something you need to consider seriously in your decision making. Your end goal from the MBA would be to get a job and if that job is elusive after your substantial investment in the MBA cost, then its will be a big financial stress upon you. Look closer at the employment reports and talk to current students. Secondly, given your experience with the admissions team, try to find out if the lackadaisical attitude permeates other areas such as academics / career services. Thirdly, we are now in May and the next application season is almost upon us. Would it make sense for you to wait a year and apply to higher ranked programs? Your profile is likely to have grown and strengthened over the past months and you still have the time to work upon any weak elements. Guessing by your handle name and the entrepreneurship concentration, i am wondering whether you are an entrepreneur? Running a successful venture can give you some benefit in the application process and make your application stronger. Namita Garg, Founder, MBA Decoder Email: contact@mbadecoder.com Reach out to us for a NO-obligation Profile evaluation by filling this form

sharktank23 · Answer

MBADecoder

Thanks for your valuable insights into this.

I understand your points. The reason I applied to state schools is because there are assistantship opportunities. So much of it will depend on how much and what kind of financial assistance I get from them, if any. Besides, the cost of attendance is much lower than other programs.

I am running a venture. Though I can not call it a success yet, it can take some time. It is much more likely that my profile will be stronger next year. And, I can possibly reach better-ranked schools. But getting employment from this tier of school would not be impossible.

I hope I will be able to decide in the coming days.

Thanks again!

MBADecoder · Answer

Understand. Its a mind boggling process for sure and there are so many considerations for making the final decision. I hope it works out for the best, whatever decision you have to take.
For now, crack the interview!

sharktank23 · Answer

I wanted to update this thread as the appeal review has been finished. Although the final decision did not go in my favor, there was a slight indication that I could apply to their other programs (possibly hinting about their MS programs). But, as I have already been admitted to WashU Olin for an MS in Business Analytics, there is no need for any further applications.

Though my experience of this matter was not quite good, but their Dean of Grad College at least tried to address the issue.

Though my experience of this matter was not quite good, but their Dean of Grad College at least tried to address the issue.

MBA Admission Decision Appeal

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