The stress of waiting

Question

Hey All,

I applied to a bunch of schools in round 2... and I haven't heard back from any! I have a 780 GMAT 6 AWA, 3.93 GPA undergrad, a Masters in Physics from Harvard, 2 years of finance experience and past start-up experience. I'm kind of going crazy. What do you think? Should I remain calm, or have I utterly screwed myself in some way (the possibility of which haunts my dreams!).

amccorm

lagomez · Answer

Haven't heard back accept/reject or haven't heard back for an interview?

amccorm · Answer

Haven't heard a thing... no interviews.

lagomez · Answer

May not be a good sign but it depends on the schools as well.

ManhattanReview · Answer

It really depends upon the schools to which you applied on whether you should be worried or not. Most schools give some indication of when they will be interviewing or calling students for interviews. For example, searching "Wait time for Interviews MBA Harvard" provides the following link as the top search result which gives some pretty useful details: https://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/blog.html So, no reason to worry unnecessarily. Your profile, from the stats you give, makes you competitive for the top schools. If you ultimately need to re-apply and need help in fine-tuning your applicaton, don't hesitate to contact us by email or through PM. Good Luck! Let us know how things go! Please feel free to visit our Web site for a complete list of admissions services. Please note that we are adding the following new services within the next few weeks: 1) Harvard 2+2 Dedicated Pack; 2) Analysis of Unsuccessful Application; 3) Scholarship Application Review; 4) Waitlist/Deferral Strategy Consultation; 5) Re-application Strategy Consultation.

milias · Answer

Yea, I agree that it depends on the school. But given that it's almost halfway through February, and you haven't heard back from any of the schools, it doesn't sound like a good sign. I would think that given your stats, you'd have heard back from at least one of them by now. You didn't apply to just H/S/W, did you?

amccorm · Answer

I also applied to Booth and Columbia. Apparently tomorrow is the important date. We'll see.

ttocsik · Answer

I know that misery loves company, so I feel inclined to join you. I thought that a 740, top banking and consulting gigs, founding and selling a start-up, solid undergrad GPA (>3.8), etc. would've been sufficient to (at least) get an invite from one of these places; apparently not. I am getting very worried as well. Hopefully something good happens tomorrow or next week. I know that we shouldn't be worried about Harvard till 5PM EST tomorrow and I don't think Wharton is really a concern till the same time next Thursday. It's too difficult to tell about Stanford. Columbia is a little more tricky--I'm still trying to understand how it is that I submitted on 1/4 ("under review" on 1/7) and still haven't received an invite or ding while others who went under review later have received either. I thought Columbia reviewed in order received; either way, I am nervous about Columbia.

amccorm · Answer

Hmm to make myself feel better, I'll pretend that people with experiences like yours and mine are so amazing that we are saved in a "best for last sense", and we will be given large scholarships. Much more pleasant than thinking I/we **** something up.

Aenigma · Answer

I'll confess I'm starting to stress out now too. I applied to six schools and while, admittedly, they are all extremely difficult to get into, I thought that my profile was strong enough (or at least "different" enough) to warrant some preliminary interest. I am very happy to have an invite from Columbia but had hoped to have heard from at least one other school by this week. I literally dreamed about getting interview invitations last night.

The anonymity here is nice. I am maintaining a very calm facade in real life.

The anonymity here is nice. I am maintaining a very calm facade in real life.

egy · Answer

I hear you... I've got the Booth interview at least... but I'm getting concerned. I have no real reason to be particularly nervous about any school individually (i'm still submitted at cornell, hbs is tomorrow, wharton does a lot last minute, stanford has a while to go) but in aggregate, the fact that I haven't heard much makes me scared. Stanford in particular is disheartening... I thought that having been waitlisted last year would make me an easy choice to be interviewed this year. anyway... only a month and a half of this left! :shock:

HERM3S · Answer

I don't know if this thread is promising or not, as I consider myself a strong and unique candidate and haven't heard anything from Wharton or Stanford. To be honest I am not sweating it, although I will be if tomorrow comes and goes without an HBS interview invite.

On the plus side I did interview at MITs LGO program and felt very good about my interview and experience there. Still, I must admit my ego might be a bit bruised if I don't get at least interviews anywhere else!

I also hope I am not jinxing myself by telling a forum how I feel I should have a great shot at these schools as I am a bit superstitious, so <knock on wood> we will see how tomorrow and the next 7-10 days go!

coaks · Answer

Can I be truly honest, Aenigma? I would be freaking out 10 times harder than I am now if it weren't for the fact that I know your profile, I've seen your easy wit on these message boards, can tell you're an outstanding candidate and I've noticed that the interviews for you have still been delayed.

I'm hoping that they all come through for you, especially your H/S/W apps. Our only overlap is at Booth and Stern but knowing that you're still waiting gives me even more hope for good news in the short time period remaining at the former and from the black hole of an adcom that is the latter. I feel good about your chances.

levfin2003 · Answer

I hear you guys....I received interview invites from most schools I applied last year, but not much happening this year. I'm especially concerned about the radio silence from Booth. I interviewed with them last year.....applied this year with an improved profile, and spent significant time explaining my fit to Booth. Have almost given up on them.

colequinn · Answer

Ha ha - just got an email with the subject:

"Harvard Business School - First Friday - Social Information Session in Boston, MA"

It was a friggin' invite to the regular "First Friday" event that the Women's association has every month, I've been getting these for months but come on... that was lame to send it out on 2/11!

Aenigma · Answer

coakleym, I'm touched,  thank you.  This reply made my day.

ttocsik · Answer

That's awful. I think they're just messing with us all. Colequinn, did you go to UW or am I just imagining that I read that in a prior post?

colequinn · Answer

Yep - University of Washington

ttocsik · Answer

Me, too. I was hoping that going to school in Seattle would make me a diversity candidate, but it looks like I was wrong.

britguy · Answer

going to school in seattle makes you a diversity candidate?

going to school in senegal, maybe...

The stress of waiting

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