LOLWhat
Hi,
Does anyone have an idea as to how much weight Ross applies to Work-Ex. I applied with a WE of 31 months in a Top product firm (IT) and a decent GMAT but got waitlisted/denied. So, just trying to get an idea whether the short duration of WE is a penalizing factor or not.
There could be many, many reasons for a rejection so its hard to pinpoint it to just that one. For example, here are a few off the top of my head:
- limited work experience, as in your case, which would detract from the class as a whole because adcom's want students to contribute their experiences and viewpoints to the classroom
- similarly, a lack of promotion or upward trajectory in your career (which is a function of time in career as well), but adcom's want to see your growth and increasing responsibilities
- your resume might be too process or skills focused rather than impact-oriented
- your recommenders might have been too generic, too detailed or specific, might have mentioned something that worried the adcom
- your essays might have been to generic, off-topic, or raised something of concern
- your GMAT/GPA was low relative to your demographic pool and your work experience wasn't intense/impactful enough to make up for it
- the narrative you put forward just doesn't make Ross/other schools a good fit for you - I myself put forward a narrative of seeking education in innovation and entrepreneurship and was WL'ed at Booth and Darden but bagged 5 admits across schools that offer better resources in those areas.
- it was a particularly competitive applicant pool and you didn't put forward enough of a unique proposition to raise enough eyebrows.
I can tell you that adcom's are very experienced and whilst the outcome is a bit of a black box, more than one person decided to reject you. Whilst that's upsetting, its important to be humble and take the result for what it can be: a learning opportunity. Go through your application again, get someone else to go over it too who is clued up on the process, and figure out what might be the issue.
In your case, it could be shorter WE, or your recommendation could have been terrible, or anything of what I said above. Take some time out, process the outcome and then go back to your application and start thinking about your next steps. If you want to re-apply (which is free for Ross), then start working on your profile now, build it up and you'll be in a much better position come this time next year.