Waitlist - Best Practices Compilation 2007-8

Do people have thoughts on what to do if you have been waitlisted but the notification date is past the date where you have to let another school you have been accepted at if you are attending?

Pay the deposit on the school you are admitted to and wait out the WL...or decide to withdraw and go to the school you got into.

Personally if I got WL anywhere at this point I would immediately withdraw. Its not worth the pain of holding out hope, plus with how hard this year seems to be I thing getting off a WL at a very very top school is going to be an amazing accomplishment. Not trying to discourage people, but realistically, the top 10 schools take a handful of people normally. In a year like this, yield will be up and some schools may actually go beyond their desired size...so that would prevent anyone from coming of WLs.

I applied to 3 schools - Wharton, Chicago GSB and Columbia GSB, interviewed with all 3 and now have been waitlisted by all 3. i thought i woud recv atleast 1 admit but this is too much of a coincidence...these schools really do think alike...anywaz i am not sure what to do as a waitlisted applicant...should i write to the school? should i apply to other schools in R2? i am fairly lost for I never thought I'd get waitlisted? any help any advice...please

rampup: I'm a bit confused about when/what to talk to them about. Because they say in the letter that they'd give feedback in mid-january. Until then .....what ? And they'll be all off next week anyway ...
maina: If you have the time/enthusiasm/recommenders willing to write more recos, why not go for R2 ? The links above are helpful as to what to do when waitlisted

thanks gmat_march

I have a waitlist feedback session with cornell in mid-January. I have a feeling they will bring up my relatively low GMAT score and recommend that I do a retake. I REALLY don't want to - primarily because I felt like that was the best I could do, and there has always been this disconnect between my grades and standardized test scores (same situation with SATs and my high school grades). I've never been very good at standardized tests, but I do excel in school.

So IF they bring up retaking the GMAT in my feedback session, would it be wise to ask if taking supplementary courses at a community college can make up for it??

At this point, I wouldn't do anything prior to the feedback session. The admissions office is closed for the holidays anyway. After you get your feedback, I'd write follow up letters to the person you spoke with and discuss how you've put his/her advice to use and show your progress. I'd reiterate that the school is your #1 choice, etc. I'm thinking of writing one letter or one phone call every month after that.

If they suggest you retake the GMAT and you dont, then you arent going to get in. A statement like that is pretty clear, and a class isn't going to satisfy them. If thats the reason for being waitlist then its clear they want you but wont accept you because it will bring down their GMAT mean and median. I forget who it was off the top of my head but I believe someone got that statement from Darden, brought their score up and was immediately taken off the waitlist.

In my opinion if they say they want you to retake the GMAT, take what you would pay to take a class and take a GMAT prep course. If you think thats what you are going to get then I really suggest you do a little preemptive strike and break out your GMAT study guides again.

From this pool of schools I presume you want finance. If so, why not NYU R2 which is mid Jan, and perhaps LBS? Both are a great schools and a "little easier" to get into. With wait list one never knows, and it's better to be into one almost-ultra-elite school than be on the wait list of 3 ultra-elites, right?

But also see the possibilities on those 3, if you can send them a side letter, another reco, or whatever...

Good Luck

for all those who were previously wailisted - would you mind sharing a sample letter you sent to the admissions committee after you were placed on the waitlist? or tell me where i can find one?

thanks!!

Wait-listers - I feel your pain. Last year I applied to 5 schools and got waitlisted at 2 - Darden and USC. I sent both letters, e-mails, made phone calls etc. But what you do will basically depend on the school and its recommended practices. I was fortunate that Darden was open to communication and wanted me to update them when something in my profile had changed.

My major updates included:
A job promotion
Two courses in accounting completed at community college both with A's
One Course in Statistics completed at community college with an A
GMAT score improved from 640 to 710

This was enough to get me in to Darden eventually, my top choice school.

Personally I think if you are on the wait list and you could benefit from some extra coursework - take it. Once I got in I found the accounting and stats were extremely valuable in the first year curriculum and will continue to pay dividends.

If you have a low GMAT score you will need to retake. The promotion and the classes showed the schools I was willing to work but the GMAT score is what ultimately sold them. You HAVE to have the score to get in (my GPA was low too so I especially needed it).

Good luck to all of you - remember this is a test of how bad you want it. Many people said the same things last year: Yield will be high, people wont get off the wait list etc. But if you are willing to committ and put the time in then you will get in. Stay positive and work hard.

Thanks oasis, valuable words, and very encouraging too.
I'm looking forward to the feedback from Cornell, they schedule a 15 minute phone
session for this ..which is good.
In my case GMAT is not the issue, and my interviewer was really convinced I knew a lot about Cornell ...
So I'm dying thinking what could it be ... ..
its hard to woo them without knowing what annoyed them ..just have to be patient.

If you feel open enough about it, could you let us know what they say. It would be good info for fellow Gmatclubbers.

Sure, I would. After all this is where I'll come for advice after the feedback
Its a long month away though ..

I think I should post here a summary of "The 9 Mistakes you do not want to do when on an MBA Waitlist" by Linda Abraham:

1) Ignore the school instructions on how to improve your profile (if the school told you that your GMAT is weak - re-take GMAT!)
2) Be modest about your recent achievements (there's no place for modesty in an MBA application! Just make sure your story does not sound like BS)
3) Hide your genuine interest in the school
4) Don't seek expressions of support (read: unsolicited recommendation letters)
5) Plan a one-time deluge of correspondence
6) Fail to re-assess your profile and/or act on re-assessment
7) Complain to the AdCom about the agony of being waitlisted (my favorite sin!)
8) Accentuate AdCom's attention on weaknesses of your profile or apologize profusely for the mistakes in your application
9) Play schools off against each other

hey all, just had my cornell waitlist feedback session with ann richards.

the call lasted about a half hour - ann was very nice and very direct. she gave some general information regarding the waitlist and also specific info about your profile.

she mentioned that they will actually be making a few offers to those on the waitlist on march 5th, which is also the admissions notification date for R3 apps. after that, depending on the yield, she anticipates making a few more offers around june 3rd. after june, it's pretty much up in the air. some may get pulled off the waitlist on the day of the orientation, who knows.

this means that if you want to strengthen your application (retaking the GMAT, taking additional courses, etc), you should do it before march 5th or at least june 3rd and send the admissions committee an update immediately.

Thanks for the info ram.! have mine on feb 4th ...