Did your accept/denies work out like you thought they would?

Yes, essentially they did work out the way I thought.

HBS - First application I did and thus it received the most TLC. I felt this program was a good fit from the beginning, and that I'd bring a unique point of view to the class. Of course this school isn't a safety by anyone's standards, so I was really honored to be accepted.

MIT - My second application and the essays here came the easiest. I was done in one weekend. I used a combination of formal business writing (in the cover letter) and creative writing (in one of the essays). I felt I showcased my writing abilities along with my other accomplishments and themes. Again, by no means did I consider MIT to be a safety, but I had a really good feeling the whole way through.

Stanford - This was my third application and it was excruciating. It took me a month to figure out what was 'most important.' I can list a bunch of reasons why I didn't even get an interview here:
1. I live 5 minutes from campus and work at a large tech company where lots of people apply to GSB... so I'm not as diverse as I will be in Boston
2. I live 5 minutes from campus, yet I didn't go to an info session...it's not that I didn't try, but when I took a vacation day specifically to tour, it was canceled for that day. I also got caught in traffic on the way to an info session up in SF and didn't feel right walking in an hour late.
3. I made a TERRIBLE spelling error. Very embarrassing. Can't yet admit to it even in this semi-anonymous forum.
4. The alumni I talked to suggested that I should make my 'most important' essay very personal. In retrospect, I may have gone too far...like, maybe into TMI territory.
Basically, this just wasn't meant to be.

Haas - Final application. I applied for R2, so it's too early to know if I'll be interviewed. I had a good feeling about it when I sent it in though! I'm considering withdrawing given my R1 acceptances, but part of me wants to keep it as an open option since I live in the area and I'm in a serious relationship here. I really loved Haas when I visited the campus. The students and professors were all super friendly, helpful, smart, etc.



...Wow, writing all that down was like a therapy session.

Honestly, my expectations were all over the map during the application process. Some days I was looking seriously at plan-B because I was not confident, other days I felt I had a shot at Harvard.

Realistically, I didn't have much of a shot at HBS, I thought I'd get into Duke, and was hoping for the best at Kellogg and Wharton. Wharton was my only surprise in the end — had a good interview, good rapport with everyone I met there, and enjoyed the visit, but then got dinged. Otherwise, everything went more or less according to plan (even my HBS ding, heh).

My guess: you left the n out in Stanford

Standford

Spelled it right 6 times though...

If you spelled it correctly 6 times, that's a pretty minor error. If you had misspelled it throughout, then yeah, they would look very bad!

RF

I was so close!

A +1 to dharmabum for that guess.

Duke's was my first application, and guess I did a pretty decent job, especially in the LOC essay. Coming from a group which has a huge pool of applicants, had to distinguish myself, and somehow managed to do so.

After submitting Duke's application, read Montauk's book for the 1st time, and got scared that I might have screwed up. So began applying to Darden. IMO Darden's was a very terse application, suited to my taste; finished it in a week. Received interview invite but then withdrew.

Post Duke admit, when the loan issue cropped up, I started looking for schools that were still giving loans w/o cosigner. So applied to Kellogg, though couldn't put my best, in back of the mind had this urge to reuse the essays written for Duke and Darden. Only when I hear back from them, shall know how good was the application.

I definitely had mixed feelings. I remember at one point when starting my HBS app, I basically asked myself why am I even trying? My wife reminded me that if I'm going to apply that I better give it my best. Man, do I owe her now!

HBS - As said above, I initially didn't put a lot of effort into this one. I still don't think it was my best as the shorter word limits didn't allow me to incorporate the creativity that I used in my other apps. I was shocked to get an interview invite. However, once I got the invite, I knew I had a fighting chance as interviewing is definitely my strength. After the interview, I felt great. It was my best interview and also my last which I believe made a huge difference. I was still not very confident in getting in because it's HBS. I kept telling myself that I wasn't going to get in so I wouldn't get my hopes up. We were shocked and excited when I got in, but both of us had this feeling inside that I was in after the interview.

Wharton - This was the surprise of my apps. I thought it was my best app due to the questions and lengths. After getting the HBS invite, I thought I would for sure get a Wharton invite. I did not. Oh well, their loss.

Kellogg - This was my target school and first app and interview. I put a lot of time into it, but after I submitted and interviewed I was pretty nervous as I knew my other apps/interviews were better. I wasn't sure if I was going to get an admit as I knew I could have done much better. However, Kellogg was my first admit and I was extremely excited and thrilled to get an admit.

Ross - I felt I was somewhat safe here, but not a sure thing. After getting the Super Interview Invite, I felt great though and wasn't surprised at all when I got the call.

Duke - This ended up being my safety as my stats were well above average. I felt good about getting an admit here.

I have to say I began the application season not confident at all. With all the talk about so many applicants this year, I felt that any admit would be a blessing so I definitely did not expect to get into more than 1 or 2.

UCLA - This was my first app, and I felt like it was one of my strongest. I put a lot of thought and emotion behind it, and it took me a good 2 weeks and many revisions to get it right but I felt great about the application. I also felt like a good fit there, just from the students and alum I have met, and the campus visit.

HBS - I knew this would be a long shot for me. I felt my essays were good, and I felt my stats were in line although my GPA was a bit lower, when I read my essays again I noticed a big error. I accidentally deleted a word, somehow, and it was in a sentence that was supposed to make a major emphasis in an essay that was personal. Aside from the obvious that this school is a stretch, I knew this pretty much kicked me out of the race.

Kellogg - Another one of my first applications, I felt this application was mediocre. For some reason I had a lot of difficulty with this application, it took me the longest, and I couldn't get my thoughts down as easily as for other schools. My interview was meh, nothing great, nothing bad - but after that interview I didn't feel great about it. That and the fact that I work for a company that many people apply to kellogg from, and am in an industry that many people apply to kellogg from - I just didn't stand out enough.

Chicago - I felt as confident about this application as UCLA. I loved the powerpoint. I know people usually hate it but, I really liked being able to be more creative and felt like I was able to portray myself in a more accurate way through this medium. My visit was great, my interview went really well, the students were amazing and my overall experience there just took me by surprise. I thought it would be a long shot for me to get into Booth, because of the hype with the rankings and the recent donation, so I was very happy with the admit.

Duke - I felt good about this application, not great about it though. My on campus experience was great though - my interview went really well. The student community there is wonderful, you can tell that people who go to Duke really enjoy it. The LOC essay was pretty easy I thought, and I felt confident about it.

Berkeley - I withdrew but, I think this application was definitely my best because it was my last. But I withdrew out of pure exhaustion from applying to 5 round 1 schools and couldn't stomach the thought of going through the process again. That and I was pretty set on Booth.

By the time December rolled around I started freaking out about a round 2 plan, with Stern, Georgetown part time, Columbia, and USC but I'm glad that things ended up working out. When I started this process, I had no idea what I was in for at all. I can't believe I cranked out 5 applications in 1.5 months, life definitely sucked! Isa either amazes me or I think she is crazy for doing 8.

haha honestly, if you think about how many times you type "and" a day, stanDford is a pretty easy typo if you type fast.

Mine worked out about how I expected:

HBS: I didn't think my essays were as good as for other schools and this was always a pretty big stretch for me. I also didn't fit in with their push towards younger applicants so I never had any realistic expectations of getting accepted here. (Result: denied w/o interview)

Booth: I thought my essays were good here but not consistently strong: the written ones were very good but I never really got the powerpoint to a place that I looked at it and thought that it was both true to who I was and engaging for the reader. I thought I interviewed well, but given the competition I only gave myself 50-50 chances since I'm sure my powerpoint was not as good as others. (Result: denied after interview)

Duke: I thought I put together a very strong application here. I really liked the essay prompts and felt that I could tell some really great stories here and present myself well. I thought I did very well in the interview as well - I connected well with the 2nd year interviewer, touched on all the main points I wanted to make about why I was a great candidate for Duke, and just really was 'in the zone' that day. (Result: admitted w/ half tuition scholarship)

Kellogg: Again, I really liked Kellogg's essays and thought that they gave me a great opportunity to talk about myself in a very well rounded way. I also think that I am a great fit for Kellogg - both in terms of personality as well as career goals - and was able to convey that in my essays. On the other hand, I didn't feel great about my interview. The adcoms that interviewed me were very guarded in their reaction to what I was saying and it just generally felt like an interrogation. However, their questions allowed me to touch on my key themes of why I am a great fit. (Result: admitted)

I can't really comment on Columbia since I withdrew and don't know what their decision would have been. I thought my essays were pretty good, but to be honest of all the schools I applied to I was least excited about Columbia so that probably could be seen in the essays.

I think mine worked out as expected, although I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting. Only applied to 2 schools as I was ok with not getting in and reapplying to a broader range next year. In the end it worked out because I was able to devote a ton of time to both apps.

HBS: 1st app... spent a ton of time on the essays and making them into what I thought were as perfect as could be and showed lots of leadership. I had a pretty good feeling about my candidacy going in and the interview went really well. I guess no one can ever be sure about HBS or Stanford, but I had a much better feeling about my HBS app as a whole including the interview.

Stanford: 2nd app... pretty much adapted my HBS essays to fit all the Stanford essays except the what matters most and why question, which I spent a lot of time on. I thought I was actually a better fit for Stanford based on career goals and friends that are currently at the GSB and alumni friends. Interview went alright... I thought the interviewer and I hit it off pretty well but I did receive an interview pretty late in the round, which I really do think meant I was a marginal candidate. Then when I didn't blow them away in the interview, I was dinged.

Still I went into app season knowing I would be completely happy at either school and luckily, they made what would have been a very difficult decision for me.

I spent maybe 2-3 hours on my app to Kelley (I know it's not HBS or Wharton but it was my stretch school and my last app). I rushed through it, putting exactly what I thought for each question, no BSing or anything. There's a question about naming 3 people who you would want to take a roadtrip with and why. I put Mark Cuban even though he's from IU (I told them I knew that but I didn't care and I liked his style so he was coming along. He was busted a few weeks later for securities charges hahaha, whoops!) Anyway, to make a long story short, I got in with scholarships and a GA. I still remember being like wtf? How did this happen?? I thought it might be a Northwestern fake out issue until students and alumni started calling.

I can say that my acceptances/waitlists/dings did not work out as I imagined at all, but when thinking about this question, I think my confidence in the essays correlates well.

Ross-
My first app and definitely my best. I remember reading the essay questions the first time and just smiling as I knew what I would write immediately. I actually had fun writing these essays. After an interview invitation mishap, I had a rushed interview that went well. All and all, best overally performance and my only admit so far despite being (arguably) the most difficult program I applied to.

Johnson-
I was never comfortable with these essays and had a so-so inteview at best. Before submission, I truly thought that this would be where I was headed next fall, but for some reason I just could not get it together for this app and therefore waitlist.

Darden-
In all honesty, I completely rushed through this app and did not put that much effort into the very, very short essays. I thought that they were either going to be interested in me or not and there was not a whole lot I could fit into 1000 words over 3 essays that was going to make that much of an impact. I was right, they were not interested at all...no interview.

McCombs-
I put together a pretty good app here and thought that I had strong essays. This was my first interview, but I dont think I made a big enough impression either way. Very, very surprised by the waitlist letter yesterday. This just goes to show that you cant predict what adcoms are thinking.

Simon-
I believe this app is very strong and had two great interviews over the past few months. I will definitely be surprised if I am not admitted here, but we shall see. Despite its lower ranking, I really like this school.

Four months ago, I never would have thought these would be the results....but I am definitely excited with the Ross admit!

Kellogg - Really had mixed feeling about this one all the way up until I almost drove off the road when I finally got the voice mail that I was accepted. My strengths that I saw going in were (1) being prior military, I was competing with a smaller applicant pool and had very good WE to draw from (2) the MMM program fit very well with my undergraduate major as well as the consulting work that I currently do (3) strong undergraduate record (4) thought I had a pretty strong interview. My perceived weakness were (1) GMAT - with a 690 I was on what I considered the bubble in terms of acceptable score (come to find out, the average GMAT score for round 1 admits was 719 and average GPA was 3.6) (2) my essays. Man, did I struggle with these puppies right up 11:49 pm the day of the deadline. All along I felt like I was a strong candidate, I just didn't know how well I was able to present myself in the essays.

Darden - was pretty confident in this one from the beginning and really didn't stress out about this one too much. Being military, and a Virginian, I thought I had a pretty good shot at getting in. I was able to cut and paste quite a bit from my Kellogg essays and literally knocked them out in the two days before the deadline.

I still have two outstanding applications. I can say that my applications got stronger as I went through this process.

Wharton – first application. I put a lot of time into it since it was my first. I thought it was good at first, but now that I am finished with 5 applications I can honestly say it was by far my worst application. Looking back, my major mistakes were not being humble enough in my leadership essays and not using a very good example for the failure essay. I did visit the school and felt I demonstrated adequate knowledge of the program though. This was one of my “reach” schools. (Result = ding w/out interview)

Kellogg/Tuck – my next two applications. I also put a lot of time into both of these. The difference here was I had a current Kellogg MBA student review my Kellogg essays. He made some great comments that I was able to apply to my remaining 4 applications. I visited both schools and interviewed on campus at Tuck. I feel like these were “target” programs for me. (Result = accepted at both)

Chicago Booth – one of my two R2 applications. I put a lot of time into this one as well. The essays/powerpoint were difficult at first, but overall it turned out to be my strongest application. I visited campus in the spring and interviewed on campus. I feel like this is a “target” program for me as well. (Result = invite to interview, still awaiting decision)

HBS – my other R2 application. I put a lot of time into this one as well. I thought the essays were pretty straightforward and incorporated my best stories. This was one of my strongest applications (probably right behind Booth). I have never visited campus. This was my other “reach” school. (Result = not invited to interview, probably dinged)

When I started this process, I was really hoping for an admit to any one of the 8 schools I applied to. I have a low-ish GPA, a high GMAT, solid WE at a no-brand company - I didn't know how the combination of all that would impact my admissions results so I applied to 8 schools.

Kellogg - I decided to start with Kellogg since their essays were the most recyclable. The questions were comprehensive enough that I ended up spending the most amount of time on this app. I think my interview went well, the essays were solid. I think I was able to convey my fit to Kellogg pretty well in both those areas. (result - admitted on the last day)

Wharton - During all the iterations of my "which schools do I apply to list" this was one of the schools that was always on it (at the top of the list in fact). I did this app after Kellogg. I think my essays were mostly fine here - if I could go back and change one thing about the app, I'd swap out the failure/setback essay for something else. I don't think I chose the right example for it. I think my interviews on campus also went fairly well. (result - waitlisted after interview)

Booth - During all the iterations of my "which schools do I apply to list" this was the other schools that was always on it. I actually visited campus/hung out with Boothies way more than for any other school. I think it really helped me articulate how I'd fit in, during my essays. I think my PPT was actually pretty lame but my essays were fine so that helped balance it. I think my interview on campus also went fairly well. (result - admitted)

Tuck - I applied during the EA round to Tuck. It was actually my first interview so I was grateful it went surprisingly well. I was def able to leverage my visit and the insights I gathered about Tuck culture in my essays. After I visited though, I was nervous about how small Hanover was; after living in a smaller city for the last 3.6 years, I wasn't sure I wanted an even smaller town! I applied anyway, thinking that there was no chance I'd be admitted and if I was, I'd figure it out then. Somehow I was admitted! After several agonizing weeks, I decided to turn it down in favor of a more urban school. (result - admitted w/ merit scholarship)

HBS - This was a ridiculously long-shot school for me. I have aspects of my profile that are good, unique but nothing that is remotely "stellar" for a school like HBS. I applied anyway - what's one more app when you're already doing 7? I thought my essays were "meh" - nothing amazing, nothing horrible. (result - ding)

Duke - I was really attracted to Duke's HSM program. I visited campus for my interview, found the students to be warm, engaging and could easily see myself having a great time on campus with them. I went back for their Women's Weekend that gave more insight into what life at Fuqua would be like. I thought my essays were pretty good (even the LOC one that just took forever to write) and a couple of them really captured the concept of Team Fuqua. My interviewer and I had great rapport so that helped the interview go really well. (result - admitted w/ merit scholarship)

Columbia - I applied RD for CBS. My essays were pretty good, so was my interview. I didn't visit campus or any cbs-on-the-road type events. I just spoke w/ a couple of current students that I knew to get their insights and incorporated those into my essays. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. (result - dinged after interview)

MIT - I was one of the ones dinged during MIT's R1 bloodbath. I thought my essays (esp the cover letter) were pretty good. I had visited campus so was able to incorporate a lot of that into my essays. Unfortunately, none of that helped and I was dinged. (result - dinged w/o interview)

I think my results were far better than I expected. I'm very grateful I'm in a position where I get to make a choice