MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 2457
Given Kudos: 2
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: Deleted
[#permalink]
13 Dec 2011, 12:58
I think you may have overestimated your candidacy.
First, GPA was an issue at HBS, but in all, given that you were in engineering, adcoms (HBS or otherwise) are a little more forgiving because they know that engineering programs grade on a much harsher curve than say the Ivies.
In any case, schools like HBS, Stanford were big stretches. Not because there's anything wrong with you, but because you're up against a lot of very blue chip applicants that these adcoms would prefer (you got waitlisted likely because someone really connected with your story, but overall still unsure about you when you're up against folks with profiles they prefer).
Schools like Kellogg and Booth are slight stretches maybe even sweet spots. But these range of schools (along with Haas, Tuck, Columbia, Sloan) are more in range. In other words, you're right to choose about 2-3 from this list (you have enough of a shot that they're worth applying to).
My guess is that schools such as Duke, Darden, Ross, UCLA, NYU, Cornell and Yale are your sweet spots. Again, there's nothing wrong with your profile, but given what you've listed here, there are more people with your kind of profile at these schools.
When it comes to schools, you're not going to get into every school you apply to. To yield 1-3 admits, most people end up applying to 4-7 schools total (a range of stretches and sweet spots). At a certain point, it's a numbers game, assuming you've done the best you could on the written applications and interviews.