Application Volume Increase

Question

I just found out that Duke had a R1 45% increase in apps. I was an average Duke applicant last year so I am no longer feeling great about being accepted. What the heck is going on with the giant increase in apps, apparently Duke is by far not the only one....

squali83 · Answer

Rice is up about 45% as well and I remember reading somewhere that Vandy was up ~75% in Rd 1 ! I think the shaky economy is what is driving people to B-School, as well as the demand for MBAs right now.

dosa_don · Answer

Where did you read that Duke had a 45% increase in Apps? There was an interview of Liz Hargrove in B-week insider section and this is what she had to say:

Are you seeing more applications now than in the recent past?

We've had a huge spike in applications this year. Our first round of decisions came in Nov. 1, and applications went up more than 20%

I am sure the application volumes are through the roof but still...

kryzak · Answer

maybe that's why I'm not even getting an interview from Stanford or Haas... grr... very bad timing.

toDoorNot · Answer

I was wondering if this was the case of large number of applicants, playing smart, applied in R1, and we would have fewer applicants in R2. (This would mean lesser competition for me :D)

Were any R2 application stats published, now that we are so close to R2 deadlines.

mNeo · Answer

I would be really surprised if you will see any less competition in R2. A lot of people are realizing the effects of the economy slowdown only now. A lot of people finished GMAT only by the end of R1 (Or later). A lot of people who got rejected in R1 will apply to more schools (With better apps) in R2. And a lot of people who got accepted to a school already will apply to higher ranked school in R2 (For a "Just in case"). So the volume will certainly not go down in R2.

kryzak · Answer

hrm... doesn't look like my chances will be that good at Kellogg (especially with 2 of my friends with similar profiles getting in already)

MBAsurfer · Answer

my source is def right, you have no reason to but all I can say is trust me, why would I lie I guess

Anyway, they also said, yes this year is way more competitive and those people tend to be on their game and apply in the first round...so our only hope is that R1 has a 45% increase but perhaps overall it may be around 20% or so

Application Volume Increase

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