A Ding from the Harvard Business School

A lot of people are getting their HBS application decisions today, and I guess I ended up in the majority.  Getting this decision wasn’t that shocking because I knew decisions were already going out for a while, and today was the last day for them to finalize their decision.  Based on that alone, I think I really only had a shot at the wait list.

The email popped into my inbox and I expected to find the actual decision in the text.  However, it simply gave me instructions to log back into my HBS application account and check to see what the decision was.  Another bad sign.  By the time I logged in I was expecting a boiler plate message about why I wasn’t given an interview and for once in this application process, I was completely unsurprised.

I definitely had the stats to justify applying to the school, but I often wondered if I really fit the profile of a Harvard MBA.  Maybe my accomplishments weren’t impressive enough?  Who knows.  It’s tough to stand out when you’re competing against nearly 10,000 other applicants.  While I knew going in that getting an admit from Harvard was going to be a longshot, each ding still inflicts some emotional pain on your psyche.  It’s not just the $250 bucks (I think HBS was more than that) you need to spend to apply, but the countless hours writing the essays, getting them reviewed, asking for recommendations, filling out the online form, etc.

Anyway, the admissions “season” is still not over for me.  I’ll try to keep my head up while prepping for the interviews I do have coming up.  I guess another way to look at the ROI scenario above is that, you can apply to as many schools as you want, but you can only attend one.  Even if you get into all of your schools, only one can be the school you actually “capitalize” on.

This post is adapted from Random Wok, a blog written by Mako from Silicon Valley. You can read all of his posts at Random Wok.

Selected posts by Mako at PoetsandQuants:

Why I Want an MBA

Climbing the GMAT Mountain: 630 to 710 on a Practice Test

Do Consultants Have An Unfair Edge Over Other Applicants?

Falling Behind & Stressed Out

My New Critical Reasoning Strategy

Figuring Out My Odds of Getting Into Harvard, Stanford, Wharton

With My GMAT Classes Over, It’s Now Just Me and the Test

Making a GMAT Test Taker Feel Like A Complete Pansy

With a Month to Go Before His GMAT Test, It’s Time to Focus

Is The GMAT Really Designed To Break You?

I Took the GMAT Today and Rocked It!

Charting All My GMAT Scores Over Time With Lessons

After Scoring My 750, It’s Now All About Applying

MBA Applications Wisdom from Muhammad Ali

Facing A Gauntlet of Round Two Deadlines

Should Everyone Apply to Harvard Business School?

The Final Click Is The Hardest Click: Sending In My Application

A Punch to the Gut: Bad Reviews On His Draft Essays

MBA Essay Writing: Draining the Life Out of Me

Beginning to Realize You Can Never Write The Perfect MBA Essay

With Wharton and UCLA Apps Done, He Feels Like a Zombie

Taking Back His Life After Sacrificing Health, Time & Sanity

Slammed with Business School Spam Thanks to GMAC

Getting an Invite for An Interview from Berkeley’s Haas School

UCLA’s Anderson School Asks Our Blogger To Interview

How Much Does the B-School Interview Matter

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