ReApplicant - Ask Feedback & Change in Career Goals

Question

Hi All,

I had applied during the Fall 2012 (2 years) ago and was rejected by Tuck, Tepper and Haas. However, I could not take any kind of a feedback from the schools on my rejection then.

Now I am planning to apply to the same schools for Fall 2014 as a re-applicant.

I would like to know if its a good idea to

Go back to the school and ask them for a feedback on the application I had submitted 2 years ago? Would it be considered as negative ?  
  Also, my long term career goal has changed completely from the time I had applied to the B School last time (from Leading an organization as CTO/CIO to being an entrepreneur). 2 years is a long time. But, is it acceptable and would the schools be fine with it?

Thanks for all the help!!

essaysnark · Answer

Good questions.

As far as we know, you're not technically a reapplicant at Tuck, but you would be at Haas and Tepper. It's actually easier to get in "fresh" rather than as a reapplicant, especially with goals that are so radically different, so we would just skip any mention of your prior app at Tuck -- you may have missed the window for getting it there anyway, don't know. Haas doesn't do feedback anyway so it's a nonissue there. The one you might want to hit up is Tepper, provided that they give it - most schools do not, and the ones that do often only offer it to those who'd been interviewed and / or waitlisted and rejected, not for those who were rejected outright. Not sure which category you're in. You have much greater chances if it's the former.

In terms of goals: Those are radically different goals and it requires careful handling. Yes you can change your goals and your original goals sound like they were likely a big reason you were rejected. But an entrepreneurial goal is no easier to pitch, you need to have proper backup and support for it. All these schools care about goals a lot so this will need to be handled very carefully. The most important part of a reapplication is showing improvement in the profile so hopefully you have some big changes and other wins to point to. And sorry for the shameless plug but we've written an entire book on reapplying: https://essaysnark.com/ssguide/the-reapplicant-guide/

With Haas you're probably going to have to retake the TOEFL if that was a requirement for you before. The other schools will all have your GMAT on file, no need to resend that. Each have different processes and rules for reapps so research them carefully.

Good luck, these are all excellent programs and they're all very open and flexible with reapplicants.

EssaySnark

thereddevil · Answer

Hi EssaySnark.

Thanks a lot for your response!!

I was rejected without interview at Tuck & Haas and was rejected after interview at Tepper. Yes! even I feel that one of the reasons for rejection is surely my career goals.

I am mostly not applying to Haas because of the same reasons you mentioned - TOEFL and getting in as a re-applicant is even tougher.

For Tuck, would it be right to just skip the part of ReApp (thought Technically correct) - I am sure they have a lot of ways to find out anyways. Wouldn't it harm my chances?

I come from the Indian/IT/Male background, which, I am sure will make things even more difficult!

Thanks again!

essaysnark · Answer

Hey there - It's not actually harder to get into Haas as a reapplicant except for the TOEFL issue. Haas is very welcoming to reapplicants. If you do a good job there is a good chance; admissions rates for that segment of their applicant pool are very high.

If re: Tuck you're asking can you lie and say you didn't apply before... um, no, that would be lying. :-)

Winning is not everything; winning honorably is everything.

EssaySnark

Winning is not everything; winning honorably is everything. EssaySnark

essaysnark · Answer

Actually that's not true either but it sounded good a moment ago when we wrote it!

thereddevil · Answer

Hi EssaySnark, Ohh.. I never meant to say that I would like to lie in my application. I know it would be suicidal

Would the schools generally compare the past application with the new ones? (As in compare the essays and career goals). Also, could you please let me know which school is more re-applicant friendly (Tuck or Haas)? Thank you!! Time to change my signature :oops:

TheRedDevil

essaysnark · Answer

Yeah, lying on an app is shortsighted and never necessary - sorry if we misunderstood what you meant, and glad we're coming at this from the same place! :-)

For a reapplicant, yes, the schools do look at the previous application - or at least, the reviewers have access to it. Some reviewers don't actively look at it right away, they may go through everything fresh and then choose whether or not to pull up some or all of the prior application. For Harvard, they may not even look at the previous app until after an interview invite has gone out - but they will definitely review everything before the interview. You should create a reapplicant pitch with complete awareness of what you presented previously, but it should still be standalone - in other words, try to present new stories in your essays; write everything in a way that they don't have to review your past app, and write it as a continuation of what you gave before. If your goals have changed, explain how and why. Make the new app self-contained; don't say "My goals are the same as last time" which would leave the reader clueless as to the goal, but instead say "My goal of XYZ is the same as I wrote about last year" and then give more detail and expand upon your thinking. If your goals change, then it also needs to be handled carefully. Tuck and Haas are equally reapplicant-friendly, neither is more welcoming than the other, they both like to see someone try again and they both have very high admit rates from the reapplicant pool (we don't have hard numbers on that but would be willing to bet that the percentages are quite comparable). It's challenging to do a good job on the reapplication but in some ways it's easier - you have experience with the essays, you (hopefully!) know more about the schools, and in many cases people become very very determined to make it in, so they're willing to go all out. We have a lot of success stories on the blahg from reapplicants who got it done. Here's a favorite: https://essaysnark.com/2013/01/success-story-with-industrial-sized-bottles-of-vodka/ You're targeting two of our favorite schools, you can't go wrong with either one. Keep us posted and let us know if we can help! EssaySnark

thereddevil · Answer

Yes. I have signed up for the comprehensive profile review from EssaySnark and would be submitting my form soon.

Looking forward to working with you!

TheRedDevil!

essaysnark · Answer

@thereddevil, THANK YOU!!! Looking forward to learning more about your profile and your chances for getting in!!!
EssaySnark

InterviewBay2 · Answer

Reapplications are generally tough, but Tuck looks favorably at re-applicants; but, you have to show significant improvement in your GMAT score or experience or any other area(s) of improvement. Haas requires re-applicants to show substantial improvement in the application since their last application. They also encourage you to show one/two new letters of recommendation. Haas offers feedback only to those students who made all the way up to the interview level. I think Tepper has a similar policy. You would have to check on that. With regard to change in the long term goals, it is difficult to comment as it mainly depends on the circumstances. As long as you have a strong story, it shouldn’t really matter. As people gain experience, their interests and long term goals either strengthen or move to different areas. We have seen many such instances.

If I were you, I wouldn’t ask for feedback now as it more than 2 years. Most of these schools will not have readily available data on your past application. They have dig out that information which I don’t think they will do that for you. Secondly, it sounds like you remembered about your application now. If you were serious, you would have asked for feedback at that time. Most of the schools give feedback with less actionable items which is not much helpful.

Speak to few alumni of your target schools. That will help!

Good luck!
https://www.InterviewBay.com

MBAbot · Answer

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ReApplicant - Ask Feedback & Change in Career Goals

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