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11 Jan 2020, 00:49
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Hello,
I applied in round 2 for HBS, Stanford, Booth, and Wharton. I am considering withdrawing my application or requesting deferral if admitted. Looking to bounce my perspective off others familiar with the process
Background: I lost a family member in 2019 and another family member (who I’m very close to) is in deteriorating health. It is not clear if he’ll still be with us in 2021. Combined with other life stressors, this led me to develop depression in 2019. I pressed forward with the application process hoping that I would be in a better state in 2020. Unfortunately, following submittal, I had a relapse and have come to the realization that restoring my mental health may take considerably longer than I had planned.
I am still striving to dig myself out of this as quickly as possible, but also want to be pragmatic and consider the scenarios where I am still struggling in months to come. What is most important to me is entering business school with a clear head and energy to do my best. I am currently not in that state. I’m considering the following options:
*Withdraw applications immediately before adcoms get around to reviewing
*Withdraw applications prior to interview (if invited and still not doing well – is interview performance likely to make or break an otherwise strong application?)
*Following admission, request deferral for a year at school of choice
Do any of these approaches strike you as particularly preferable or good to avoid? If I do decide to withdraw or defer, I will be completely candid about the reason and my desire to attend. Note that I am an “older” applicant, which also leads me to want to avoid putting this off another year. For what it's worth, I'm fairly confident that I will be invited to interview at Wharton and Booth and think I have a fair shot for interviews at HBS and Stanford.
I applied in round 2 for HBS, Stanford, Booth, and Wharton. I am considering withdrawing my application or requesting deferral if admitted. Looking to bounce my perspective off others familiar with the process
Background: I lost a family member in 2019 and another family member (who I’m very close to) is in deteriorating health. It is not clear if he’ll still be with us in 2021. Combined with other life stressors, this led me to develop depression in 2019. I pressed forward with the application process hoping that I would be in a better state in 2020. Unfortunately, following submittal, I had a relapse and have come to the realization that restoring my mental health may take considerably longer than I had planned.
I am still striving to dig myself out of this as quickly as possible, but also want to be pragmatic and consider the scenarios where I am still struggling in months to come. What is most important to me is entering business school with a clear head and energy to do my best. I am currently not in that state. I’m considering the following options:
*Withdraw applications immediately before adcoms get around to reviewing
*Withdraw applications prior to interview (if invited and still not doing well – is interview performance likely to make or break an otherwise strong application?)
*Following admission, request deferral for a year at school of choice
Do any of these approaches strike you as particularly preferable or good to avoid? If I do decide to withdraw or defer, I will be completely candid about the reason and my desire to attend. Note that I am an “older” applicant, which also leads me to want to avoid putting this off another year. For what it's worth, I'm fairly confident that I will be invited to interview at Wharton and Booth and think I have a fair shot for interviews at HBS and Stanford.
sharathnair14
Joined: 05 May 2019
Last visit: 27 May 2020
Posts: 159
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Given Kudos: 221
Schools: LBS '25 ISB '25 Manchester'26 Stern '26 Tuck '26 INSEAD Aug'24 intake Yale '26 Kellogg '26 Wharton '26
GPA: 3
Schools: LBS '25 ISB '25 Manchester'26 Stern '26 Tuck '26 INSEAD Aug'24 intake Yale '26 Kellogg '26 Wharton '26
Posts: 159
Kudos:
380
11 Jan 2020, 02:41
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Hey there!
Your health and personal life come before anything else. I mean it.
I'm sure You can submit a pretty competitive Application in the next cycle. Perhaps You may have to do something that's worthwhile this year that'll put yourself in a better position for Business School next Year.
More power to you, my friend.
Your health and personal life come before anything else. I mean it.
I'm sure You can submit a pretty competitive Application in the next cycle. Perhaps You may have to do something that's worthwhile this year that'll put yourself in a better position for Business School next Year.
More power to you, my friend.
11 Jan 2020, 22:10
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Hi MBAApplicant54,
I'm very sorry to hear about the difficulties that you've been dealing with over the past year. If you believe that the applications that you submitted represent your very best (if you completed them prior to your family challenges, for example, or if you believe that the challenges didn't materially affect the applications that you put together), then I think your best bet would be to continue in this cycle and request a deferral due to family circumstances should you be admitted at one or more of these programs. Interviews typically don't make successful MBA candidacies, but they can break them -- i.e., interviews usually only make a big difference if an applicant displays a terrible personality in an interview. As long as you think you can pull yourself together enough to get through a fairly casual 30- or 45-minute conversation, I don't think the interviews will pose a big hurdle for you.
If, on the other hand, you think that your family situation has negatively impacted the applications that you've submitted, then there may be some legs to the idea of withdrawing your applications now and regrouping for a future application cycle when you are in a better mental place. In the long run, that might maximize your chances if you think that you're capable of putting together stronger applications in Fall 2020 or Fall 2021 (though to your point, your age is an important factor in this calculus, too).
At the end of the day, I would listen to your gut -- intuition can give us powerful information about ourselves. Best of luck to you, and please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to discuss further questions.
Best,
Doris
I'm very sorry to hear about the difficulties that you've been dealing with over the past year. If you believe that the applications that you submitted represent your very best (if you completed them prior to your family challenges, for example, or if you believe that the challenges didn't materially affect the applications that you put together), then I think your best bet would be to continue in this cycle and request a deferral due to family circumstances should you be admitted at one or more of these programs. Interviews typically don't make successful MBA candidacies, but they can break them -- i.e., interviews usually only make a big difference if an applicant displays a terrible personality in an interview. As long as you think you can pull yourself together enough to get through a fairly casual 30- or 45-minute conversation, I don't think the interviews will pose a big hurdle for you.
If, on the other hand, you think that your family situation has negatively impacted the applications that you've submitted, then there may be some legs to the idea of withdrawing your applications now and regrouping for a future application cycle when you are in a better mental place. In the long run, that might maximize your chances if you think that you're capable of putting together stronger applications in Fall 2020 or Fall 2021 (though to your point, your age is an important factor in this calculus, too).
At the end of the day, I would listen to your gut -- intuition can give us powerful information about ourselves. Best of luck to you, and please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to discuss further questions.
Best,
Doris
14 Jan 2020, 00:05
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Admissionado
Hi Doris,
Appreciate the feedback! I believe I am putting my very best forward in existing applications. Also good to hear about the nature of the interviews. I certainly wouldn't describe myself as a "terrible" personality, but do believe I'm less quick on my feet, cheerful, and clear-headed than I normally am.
Assuming someone is admitted but is denied deferred admittance, does that have negative bearing on them in a future application cycle? If someone gets to the interview or admission but defers, are they expected to significantly re-vamp their essays if prompts remain unchanged?
Thanks again.
