Applying only to one school...?

Question

For the past several weeks I have been contemplating this in a vacuum so I have decided to create this thread to get some other perspectives (and possibly chronicle my efforts over the next 30 days).

Quick Backstory:
I’m a fairly average 28 year old guy who worked in IT for 3 years and made the decision to lead an extraordinary life. Joined the Peace Corps for 2 years, takes the GMAT overseas, gets a 710, and attempts to apply from Africa. Applies to Wharton, Kellogg, and Booth, and was denied at all three in March of 2011 (See 2010 Zero Admits... now what? thread for more on that).

The Present:
I wish I could say my confidence didn’t waiver, but it did, and I passively considered my options over the past 3 months while resettling into American life. I took a job with an unfunded start-up (A truly unique learning experience, provided money does not matter to you) and took a class to reacquaint myself with academia. I was still on the fence, when I went to an informational session on Booth a month ago. My interactions with students there prompted me to visit the school (something I hadn’t had a chance to do while overseas). Honestly, my visit and my conversations with students persuaded me that I would really like to attend this school, it would be an excellent fit, and I believe it will help me get to where I’d like to go. Fortunately I had substantially researched the school (from my prior application attempt and subsequent investigation). Unfortunately, I do not have the time to visit other programs and most likely will not be able to prepare solid applications in time for a round 2 deadline.

My question is twofold:

1. Does it make sense to apply to only one school (Booth)? (Given that I was interviewed last year, am re-applying, and that it is geographically close enough to the start-up I am working with that I could still act in an advisory role if needed. Not a critical point, but a nice plus that I may include in my essays.)

2. Any suggestions to help me with this harebrained scheme?

... If I make it to the interview phase, hopefully they won't ask which other schools I'm applying to...

thugly921 · Answer

If you are dead set on going to school starting 2012, then applying to only one school is risky. You are better served to attend an online chat or a quick visit to other schools and apply to 1-2 others as well (1 realistic, 1 safety).

If you would not go to any other school if you do not get into Booth, then there is no reason to apply to other schools.

If you would not go to any other school if you do not get into Booth, then there is no reason to apply to other schools.

Admissionado · Answer

Well applying to one school is a good idea if that's the only school you will attend. If you would love to go to other schools too, then yes, it's pretty harebrained...

Buuuut if you did apply last year and are deadset, and apply only to them, make sure they know that they are the ONLY school you are applying. And hopefully they WILL ask you where else you are applying. Cause then you can pull out your slick "Nowhere. Cause Booth is where I wanna be". Just make sure you back it up with good reasons!

rgupta83 · Answer

I have to agree with the others. Applying to one school is dangerous if there are other school you are set on attending. Even if the school asks you what schools, you need a good reason why Booth and only booth works for you. Staying in Chicago, you will need to be able to explain why NW which is also a top tier program does not work.

The way I approach it, is if there is no other school you are willing to attend it makes sense.

If there are other schools I think it is a mistake. You could focus on Booth for R1, based on that outcome apply to other schools in R2, this way you will know about booth before you submit other applications.

Good Luck with the process!

DeterminedMBA2012 · Answer

Thank you for all of the feedback.

Lest I sound completely naive, I should probably outline some of my reasoning. For me, the decision to apply to one school now came down to a number of factors. First off, I am currently working for an early stage start-up. Although it has been a decent learning experience, I have to consider the possibility that it may not work out. More importantly, however, the past four months have made me realize just how much of a gap I have between my current skillset/experience and the career opportunities I find most interesting.

I did consider applying next year, however, three things occurred to me:
1. Will my 'profile' improve significantly between now and then? The way I see it, the time cannot help matters.
2. Will my application significantly improve in that time? It may improve some, but I do not see any significant changes taking place.
3. I was interviewed last year, so there is a chance I only need slight improvement to change that ding into an admit.

That said, I would put my chances of acceptance at 20-40%. After I apply, I will visit a couple other schools (Ross, Fuqua, and Haas come to mind for Consulting). If the startup falls through and school becomes a more urgent necessity, then I apply in Round 3 or apply for Round 1 for next year.

One of the major positives, though, is that by imagining I have a shot with Chicago that I have stepped up my research. I attended an informational session, visited campus, talked to several students while on campus, e-mailed another after the visit, and spoke with another on the phone today. I am also looking through course lists and descriptions to identify any that sound interesting. In talking with students, it is easy to get very busy, very fast. My hope is that if I have a solid idea of what I'd like to get out of my experience there, I'll be able to make a solid case. Who knows, perhaps it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In a perfect world, every student would realize far in advance that business school is essential. They would each apply to 6 schools (2 stretch, 3 reasonable, 1 safety), would visit all of these schools and thoroughly research them. For those for whom this does not apply, I hope this post helps.

Thanks for the luck - I will definitely need it!

thugly921 · Answer

I am not quite sure I understand this response. You fluctuate between whether working for another year is more important or pursuing consulting is. I hear you saying you are going to apply to multiple schools, meaning that enrolling for the 2012 academic year is more important than going to Booth (which is the question a few of us asked). If this is true, That's good, and seems like you have an OK plan to get there.

I say "OK" because it does seem like you are selling yourself short in a couple aspects of your analysis. 
1. You absolutely can significantly improve your profile in a year. You can join another startup, increase your community involvement, take additional classes to build an alternate transcript, take the GMAT again, etc. And pursuing any of those avenues is more a matter of effort than time.
2. I think this for the most part is true. Your essays could get additional fine-tuning, but your recommenders are the ones that are affected most, because additional time for them to complete their portions may in fact give you a better overall application. On the contrary, it also may not.
3. This is certainly not true. Your performance in previous application cycles are not an accurate determining factor for how you will fare in future cycles. I know of a number of people on the GC boards who applied to one of the M7 programs, was denied w/int or dinged off the WL and when they reapplied the next year were dinged without interview. I saw this multiple times with Booth, actually. Then again, some reapps go from ding without int to admit with the same app. It goes to show how much the rest of the application pool has an effect on how you fare.

Your process for tackling Booth is very sound and that research can only work in your favor. As you have probably heard, Round 3 is the "round of death", but you can mitigate this by showing schools that they weren't an afterthought. You have to show them that you know your stuff and there were external factors precluding you from applying earlier in the cycle. Schools are sensitive to not being a 'last ditch effort.'

You said that ideally everyone would be able to apply to 6 schools - but if you wait to apply until R1 next year, you easily can be part of that group of ideal students.

DeterminedMBA2012 · Answer

Thank you for all of the feedback. Although this thread has more or less tapered off, I wanted to reply to some of the comments above.

First off, I believe most of your points are right on the mark. One of rhyme's posts on the 'calling-chicago-gsb-applicants-48955-2660' thread, more or less detailed some of the ways a person can strengthen his profile in the months leading up to pressing the submit button.

That said, I believe I will submit my application all the same for a variety of reasons. While I am not 110% certain that Chicago is the ONLY school I would attend, I do strongly believe in the importance of doing your homework. Given the research I have conducted thus far, I do believe that this MBA program will provide the experiences and opportunities I need to get to the next level of my career journey. Having reached this conclusion, I do not believe it makes sense to NOT apply this year due to "a lack of sufficient back-up programs". That said, I understand that there is a substantial chance that I will not be admitted. Should that occur, I will treat this like an extended admission cycle and have a back up plan in mind (applying during round 3, or round 1 to regional schools in the geographic region that I would like to end up while bolstering extracurriculars and strengthening my work experience).

I believe there is nothing wrong with going for it provided one has done their homework and has realistic expectations.

Then again, who knows, I may be posting here again in three months to say 'You were right'.

deechi · Answer

I was pretty much in the same boat as you and it ended up working out quite well. Surprisingly enough I found that a lot of people really felt the same way about the school and self selected in. This has been one of the highlights of my experience thus far (it really is a much different experience than I imagined I'd get in other places).

As for whether or not it's a good idea, it depends on what your priorities are. If you only want to get into a top school so you can go work for feeder organization X, then it may not be the best decision as the odds for getting into a top school are less and the return is more or less the same. However, if the most important thing to you is going to where you belong or you feel that Booth gives you an unique edge for your specific aspirations then it does make sense to disproportionately focus your time and efforts on that. Full disclosure being that I subscribe to the notion that you should probably follow your heart and resort to plan B only when you absolutely have to.

Also, for what it's worth I also have a non traditional background, so happy to look @ your materials if you'd want. (note I don't check this a lot, so send me a PM and presumably I'll get some notification message).

DeterminedMBA2012 · Answer

Howdy -

Well, I thought I would include an “epilogue” post here to describe the path I ultimately took. Every time we meet someone and hear his or her story, I often wonder how it all works out for them in the end. Despite the somewhat grisly outcome, I thought I would share my story as well.

Hardheaded man that I am, I believed that I had a reasonable chance applying only to one school, so I went that route. I received an interview last year with Booth, and decided to re-apply this year (despite the most embarrassing interview performance of my life last year with a member of the adcom). Perhaps I was doomed from the start. Perhaps I did not spend enough time with my application this time. Perhaps I inadequately conveyed my connection to the school, despite the alumni I spoke with, the campus visit, the informational session, the research on the professors. Perhaps I should have mentioned I’d read a book written by one of the professors I hoped to take a class with. If I had hoped to convey all of these things passionately during an interview, these were dashed to the curb when I was denied without interview.

Perhaps I shall give the application another go next year with better results. Perhaps I shall see through the startup opportunity I am currently involved with while I plan my next move…

Side note: I always thought that “MBA Journey” meant simply: Take the GMAT, write essays, go to school. I did not expect that it would take several years to get there. Then again, perhaps when you reach too high and only apply to a small number of programs, this is the expected result.

amaterasu · Answer

Future applicants, put that side note on the door of your house..

AnarchyBunny · Answer

Sorry to hear that, I was pullin' for you. So are you throwing in the towel or thinking you'll take a different tack? Best wishes as you figure out your next step.

DeterminedMBA2012 · Answer

If I threw in the towel now, I really couldn’t call myself ‘Determined’ now could I?

From a planning perspective, I hadn’t quite decided that I needed to attend a program September 2012. Rather, I knew that I wanted to re-apply to this school and looked at it as a combination of closure to last year’s application cycle and ‘knocking one out early’ prior to the following year’s application cycle. Now that it has been officially knocked out, it’s time to take a look at a few more realistic options, reflect a bit about what specifically I want, and take a serious stab at this.

CheatingatSolitaire · Answer

The fit works both ways, clearly Booth doesn't think you're a good fit. That doesn't mean you're not smart or capable, it's just not a good fit with that school. Booth is great, I'm from Chicago and I've visited the school and know a lot of Booth grads...but it's not the only great school in the world (or even in Chicago).

In fact, if they reject you twice, I say screw 'em. Who needs them? You can accomplish your goals without Booth. But that's the thing, based on your posts, it seems that your goal WAS Booth. I think you need to look beyond that. What are your real ambitions and which MBA programs will help you achieve them?

DeterminedMBA2012 · Answer

You're probably right. I've been thinking quite a bit about that and, actually, I just finished writing up a very long answer to that (linked below). The short answer is, I am looking for a few things out of my MBA. I'm looking to establish a solid network and to meet similarly driven people. Long-term, I have some entrepreneurial ambitions, and feel like this will come in handy (in the form of partners and individuals positioned to assist). Short-term, I believe I would like to round out my general business knowledge (I don't have a formal business background). I also would like to leverage the MBA recruiting apparatus to work for a brand-name firm. For a while, I was set on Management Consulting though now I wonder if I have the wrong personality type for it. I'm fairly friendly, but prefer serious conversation to idle chatter and doubt I'd be the best schmoozer in the world. Still, the variety and travel do sound appealing to me and I am not looking to retire to an office someplace and never travel again. Regardless of what the precise answer to the short-term question is, I have never worked for a major, brand-name company before and this seems like the perfect time to get that experience. Between the MBA program, and the 2-3 year stint following it at a brand-name firm, I should have fairly solid ammunition for an entrepreneurial career (especially if I'm able to secure a few strong, lasting friendships). I have a variety of interests and haven't quite narrowed down the specific industry (I'm interested in economics, the use of data to improve decision making (by both consumers and businesses), social entrepreneurship, and environmental issues), which probably doesn't help narrow that down exactly. I would love to work in the opportunity for international travel (either at the short-term corporate/consulting position, or taking an entrepreneurial venture international), which is one reason I care about reputation. On a personal level, I do regret not going to a particularly good program during my undergraduate days and would like to make sure I don't repeat that mistake. If you're interested, the long answer can be found here: weary-traveler-needs-advice-schools-and-next-steps-129873.html Also, as far as entrepreneurial schools are concerned, it seems like those identified by LinkedIn make a good start (in no small part due to the tight-knit communities, I imagine): mba-ranking-entrepreneurship-19218.html

Applying only to one school...?

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