Stumbling on Round 2 : Musings from my application process

During my application process, I have had great musings from internet strangers, my own findings, and the fam at the GC.

1.GRE/GMAT score doesn’t matter. Of course, it is needed to prove your bare minimum mettle for the schools but it is not the only criteria.

2.Essays are not make or break

3.Be authentic but don’t shy away from bragging about yourself.

4.Scholarships are a blackbox but that being said a higher GMAT is generally equal to a higher scholarship

5.If you are not rushing to get an admit this year,as an international applicant Early Rounds or R1 should be ideal instead of frivolously rushing your applications in R2 or R3

6. Even if you do get an application fee waiver, doesn’t mean your profile fits automatically. Do research about schools and make sure you fit in.

7. Choice of recommenders is extremely crucial. You can have a recommendation from a CEO. Make sure the recommenders know you well enough

8. While most schools say that they don’t discriminate between GRE/GMAT, this might only be true for US schools. Based on some personal feedback, have seen dings in R1 with a GRE of 320-327 from non-US schools.

9. If you are gonna go into consulting/tech/finance post-MBA, many companies do ask for your GMAT score as a qualifying criterion.

10. GRE to GMAT converter is highly skewed towards Quant. A high quant gives you a higher equivalent GMAT compared to an equal verbal

11. Write minimum in your optional essays as this often opens a door of suspicion. Avoid explaining unnecessary things. The circumstances were extenuating for most if not all of us

12. I would always choose a low ranked profile fit school over a high ranked unfit.

13. There is literally an Indian and the rest of the International applicant pool in Canadian and Asian Schools. If you are an Indian, you are not considered as an international applicant and you really need to be an outlier as you will not be competing against the averages but against your own Indian pool. Also goes without saying, Indians living abroad without a PR/Passport from other countries are also treated in the same pool and no brownie points for being NRI (based on feedback from adcoms and personal anecdote)

14. Keep your original transcripts handy as some of the schools are stringent on this requirement even before an admit. Case in point: McCombs

15. When you start writing your applications you should from the least interested to the most interested school. This helps you put your stories in shape and further improves your style as you proceed with applications.

16. The whole application writing process is a self-discovery journal. While you may not get an admit from your desired school you do get to know a lot about yourself. Don’t be duped by incompleteness of one part of your application, rather think of it as something to work on.

17. Know your why? Do you really need an MBA? Did you just make your long term goals because an application essay asked you to do so? The answers don’t need to come immediately but you really gotta drill down and understand what is that something which drives you.

18. Rush through your applications and apply all or do every application meticulously is your own personal choice.
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I had appeared for the GRE in 2019 from India.
Here is my debrief.
https://bit.ly/2XxIC9S

Please do let me know if I can be of any help.

I do not agree with point 1. For an Indian IT male applicant, I would say Gmat/Gre is a major part (probably all) of the application.

And I would completely agree with you but I know some instances where Indian Engineers got calls from top US Bschools at GRE of 320-323 (. Equivalent of 670 GMAT)

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I would assume that either they had some disabilities/extreme life circumstances or a significant amount of WE. Still there can be exceptions...

Yeah not gonna lie, I am completely aware of this fact and hence didn't apply to schools like Darsan, Cornell etc .

This year was weird specially the round 1 and schools were but merciful.

Happenstance, are you Indian male engineer ?

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The GRE GMAT conundrum is pretty real. I would mostly agree with arora1. For male indian engineers GMAT is pretty much make or break (or GRE, don't see too many GRE admits unfortunately). I guess 730 is really the new 700

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Unfortunately,true !

Hence most of us didn't bother applying in R1.

I am not sure how schools treated GMAT this year in R1 :
1. Waivers were given post R1
2. Waitlists from schools such as Ross
3. Administration was different before R1 and lots of political Jumla in regards to F1 visa and classes on campus.
4. Increase in application in European and Asian schools implying a lower Indian pool in R1 this year.
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I would also think that deferrals played a huge part in making programs extra competitive, especially for programs with relatively small cohort sizes. Potential vacancies almost cut by a half possibly translated into the bloodbath that was R2.

I think applicants to schools such as Stern were particularly hit. Almost everyone was waitlisted without interview at Stern from what I understand.

I see. Would this create a domino effect in R1 next year ?

Damn I hope not.
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Lol for my sake I hope not! I guess it depends on the covid numbers and the number of deferrals that would be granted as a consequence of it.
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