Ross (Michigan) 2013 - Calling All Waitlisted Applicants

I was waitlisted in R1 without interview, and was subsequently invited to interview when the first wave of R2 interview invitations went out (around Jan 10th). I know, from this board, quite a few WL applicants were invited to interview in that wave, and in the subsequent waves. You can probably find the dates of these waves on Soojin's blog.

I am one of those too. Waitlisted in R1, and interviewed in R2. But still find myself on waitlist after round 2.

I'm not sure if I have anything for an update to my application. They seem pretty adamant that updates should be substantial, and I'm not sure if I have anything that would meet that threshold. Would an assignment to train a new analyst be substantial enough for an update? I don't have new test scores or anything like that to update. I don't want to look disinterested or stagnant at work, but I also don't want to send in something that would be detrimental to my application. Any suggestions?

So it looks like there are about 435 people in the waitlist google group. Is this the total number of people that have accepted a waitlist offer? If so does anyone know how many people in a given year drop off of the waitlist because they accept an offer from a different school or may just not be able to stay on the waitlist for financial aid reasons?

Hi All,

I was admitted with $$$ to Ross in R1. Just found out I was admitted to Booth today (off the WL), so will be accepting and opening up a spot. Here's hoping it goes to one of you.

Cheers,
Kcw984

Congrats and thanks!!!! Any tips on how you got off the WL at Booth? Maybe it can help me with Ross. Thanks.

Hi eyjose,

I can't be sure that Ross is exactly the same as Booth, but I had someone who is currently on the Booth WL pm me earlier asking for advice. Here is a slightly edited (just regarding the Booth-specific references) version of my response:

The best way I can sum up my strategy is with the phrase, "the diplomatic squeaky wheel gets the grease". I applied to Booth two years ago and was waitlisted from R1 until the end of August, when I was finally rejected. I spent much of the two years between then and my most recent application attempt improving my profile in every way possible (went from a 730 to 760 gmat, took additional classes and earned As, progressed at work, took on more responsibility in my extracurricular activities, cultivated Booth relationships, etc).

When I applied most recently in R1, I was disappointed to learn I had been waitlisted again. However, I was lucky enough to be admitted (with $$$) to another top program (Ross), but I had my heart set on Booth. Knowing that this would be my last time applying to MBA programs, I took every measure I could to get in. I reached out to alumni and others connected to Booth, about 20 people in total, taking in-person meetings, phone calls, etc, and was able to secure multiple (five) letters of support, including three from very prominent alumni, including a partner at the firm I work for. I visited campus again (I visited two years ago for my original application) and met with a member of the admissions committee to personally present my story, emphasizing my passion for the program and my very specific reasons for wanting to attend. I sent in two long update letters, submitted a recent professional performance review, and provided 3-4 additional shorter updates that shed light on certain aspects of my profile I wanted to highlight. I also timed everything so that I was essentially in constant contact with the admissions committee, with new material sent every 1-2 weeks. I did my best to ensure that I was on their minds without being an annoyance.

Luckily, everything finally paid off. My experience shows that programs looks favorably upon people who really go the extra mile to show how badly they want to be there, and have a deep and nuanced knowledge of the program beyond the usual headlines (i.e. you have very specific reasons for wanting to go, and well thought-out plans for maximizing your time there). It will also help if you can secure alumni or other strong community support (i.e. professors, prominent professionals connected to the program, or even current students). Ultimately programs want to admit students who will definitely attend, and who want to be at the program as their top choice. If you are able to convey that sentiment effectively and keep yourself on the minds of the adcom, you will have a solid shot.

I hope this helps.

Best of luck,
kcw984

Thanks for the advice. I def have not done as much networking. That may be an area of opportunity.

Hopefully someone can answer this question, but it appears that the online form has some contradictory information (or rather, omitted information) when compared to the waitlist instructions page. The instructions page seems to imply that they only want you to write an update if you have anything SINGIFICANT to update the committee on, including a promotion, higher test scores, etc. But when you open up the online form it contains the following: "You may also describe what you have done to get to know Ross better since you submitted your application." Does that mean if you made contact with Ross students or alumni, visited campus, etc this would be the place to inform them of that? I'm not sure if this is a good idea because they seem pretty adamant about only hearing about significant updates.

any wait-listers receive interview invites?

Getting the thread restarted... I'm a R2 w/ interview waitlister.

Has anyone heard anything yet? Is it safe to assume that everyone will be hearing on the 15th? Or does the adcom start contacting before then?

Hey Guys. I wanted to see how you all had interpreted this excerpt from the blog entry on 4/15:

"We'll need to see how many deposits are received by May 1 to have a sense of the number of admission offers we can make for Round 3 and waitlisted applicants. Round 3 decisions will be released on May 15. The waitlist will continue to be reviewed throughout the summer as space becomes available in the class."

It makes me think that they will only be notifying round 3 people and not waitlist. Thoughts?

Hi watersorbet

if you look at the post from 2/26, it says:

"Included in our Round 2 review will be a re-review of Round 1 waitlisted candidates.". If they follow the same pattern, people WL'ed in R2 will be considered among R3, so good luck for you

I'm Wait listed w/o interview as well