Leveraging M7 admit to get Sloan Interview

Question

Hi,
I am a Round1 MIT Sloan full time MBA applicant. I have not yet got an interview call. I have an admit
from another presitgious M7 school. However Sloan is my top choice. Should I send a mail to Sloan
AdCom, letting them know of this admit but re-iterating my commitment to attend Sloan if given a 
chance. Time is running out and I am in a mood to gamble!
Thanks in advance for taking this question.

hello212 · Answer

I'm just gonna chime in here to give my two cents: No.

MBA admissions isn't about evaluation, it's about selection. MIT won't care in the least that you got into another M7 school. They knowingly reject plenty of people every year who end up matriculating to Harvard, Stanford, etc.

Just sit tight and wait for the decision.

wallstreetbarbie · Answer

Would you reach out to a company you have submitted an application for interview to let them know someone else offered you a job?

I wouldn't ...

GMATLA · Answer

I'd agree with the other posters... I'd say you have little to no leverage, and probably wouldn't come off good if you were to do that. Now if you were to get waitlisted, this may be a tactic you could consider to get them to decide quicker for you. Best of luck, and let us know how it turns out!

AlexMBAApply · Answer

As others have said here, don't do it.

Look at it from their point of view - it's like someone saying "others want me." *blink* *blink*. At best, the response may be "So? Big f***ing deal." And at worst, it can actually hurt you simply because an adcom may think you're a douche for saying it.

As the previous poster said, if it's a waitlist situation it's a little different since they've already decided they want you (but they've got more that they like than there are seats and they have to make those hard choices).

Romano25 · Answer

Thanks for all your replies. 
To hello212: Would Sloan reject plenty of people who get into Harvard and Stanford every year
for non yield related reasons? I am skeptical. B-Schools are not all that different. 
To Wallstreetbarbie: It happens all the time in the tech world. Sometimes loser organizations
wait for their employees to get a job offer from a rival before they give them an adequate pay-rise
to prevent them from leaving. As long as it is handled respectfully, it is seldom a problem.

I do agree it is a long shot, but if I don't get an invite next week, I figure I have little to lose.

GMATLA · Answer

I do see your perpective, but if sloan is your #1 choice you do still have a lot to lose. It may be tough, but if you REALLY want to go to Sloan, you may want to put your deposit down at the other school knowing that you will give it up if sloan accepts you. In the big $ game of getting your MBA, it may be worth it.

If you push them at all, you have a very high chance that they will just reject you without any further consideration. They know that other schools are sending out admits, etc... but they don't give a crap. They want people that will yield to there school, and they know that they are the #1 choice. They aren't going to make a special acception for 1 person when they have 100s of people waiting to hear back. They just don't have the time, energy, or resources that you may think like in the working world where you can leverage a job offer.

My advice, don't do it... I've never heard of it working out

hello212 · Answer

I think Alex put it best in an earlier post: once you get past a certain threshold of GPA, GMAT, and WE, it's sort of just a game of randomness. You say that b-schools aren't all that different, but honestly, neither are applicants. And the fact that b-schools and applicants are not that different only AGGRAVATES the randomness in the process.

For example, there are hundreds of Ivy League graduates at McKinsey/Bain/BCG applying to all of the top schools every single year. I'm sure that most of them have stellar stats (3.7+/750+), amazing project experiences, great recommendation letters, and similar volunteer/EC experience (there's only so much you can do as a traveling consultant).

The result? Some of them get into H or S, some get into MIT or Kellogg. Some kids got into W but not Columbia, or S but not MIT. How does a school differentiate among people whose experiences and even lives almost blend into each other and all sound like the same applicant? There's a huge element of subjectivity and almost arbitrariness in the process. The Stanford reader may have felt empathetic about someone's life experiences, while the reader at MIT wanted nothing of it.

I think it's important to emphasize that yield protection, etc. doesn't happen as often as most people think. In general, subjectivity and pure luck has a lot more to do with it.

An example from outside b-school: my (non-McKinsey) consulting firm routinely turns down resumes from undergrads every year who end up at McKinsey. I guarantee you it is NOT because we thought they'd get into McKinsey and just decided to pass on them. McKinsey assuredly does the same thing with us. Sometimes different companies and different schools like different people.

Leveraging M7 admit to get Sloan Interview

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