By the Numbers: The Class Of 2016

Advice on Reapplying if You’re Dinged

If you were a first round applicant, you already know if your target school(s) accepted you. If you’re reading this article, you were probably either waitlisted or rejected. Chances are, it soured your holiday spirit. Who could blame you? It took a lot of work to get to this point. You don’t know why they passed on you. And now, you’re asking yourself, “What do I do now?”

That’s a tough place to be, no doubt. Instead of gold, frankincense and myrrh, you’re stuck with uncertainty, fear, and doubt. But there’s hope. In a recent column by Top MBA, Mansoor Iqbal interviewed three admissions veterans – MIT Sloan’s Dawna Levenson, Oxford Saïd’s Anna Farrus, and Darden’s Whitney Kestner – on how to go from being rejected and dejected to improved and approved. Here are some of their thoughts on how you can improve your candidacy the next time around:

“it’s really  difficult [to give advice], because often it makes people think that if you fix that one thing, then next time around you’re going to get admitted. In any admissions cycle you’re going to be compared to the pool – so, to be perfectly honest, your exact same application may be good enough.

Or you might go and improve your GMAT by 10 points, but find that the rest of the pool has also improved its GMAT score by 10 points, so it’s actually very hard to actually, from an admissions standpoint, to provide constructive feedback.”

– Levin

“At many top schools we are seeing applications from many, many qualified candidates; often we’re in a position where we don’t have the space and ability to give people who have a lot to share and gain from the experience. Have the understanding that there are a lot of great candidates out there, and many times it might not be something specifically in your application. There might not have been the fit, maybe you don’t align, then perhaps we’re not able to extend that offer. Recognize that it is a competitive process, and ultimately schools are looking at best fit as much as candidates.”

– Kestner

“We have two rounds. We’re looking for the most qualified people in both. From an applicant standpoint, your decision should be based on when you feel best about your application, when you feel good about your GMAT score, you have your recommendations lined up, you’re happy with your essays. However, the reality is that if you have your application ready for round one, you should apply in round one because you could get admitted, waitlisted or rejected. If you’re waitlisted, you’re reconsidered with all round two candidates. It means that there is another opportunity for your application to be considered.”

-Levenson

“Thoughts for a reapplicant: you should take the opportunity to highlight what is different. We have access to your file, so if we want, we can compare the two applications. Our essays change so you can’t resubmit your old application.

Regarding your recommendations, you can have the same people, but you should get them to write a new one, highlighting new skills. I would never hide the fact that you are a reapplicant. Not getting into your first choice schools can just be a numbers game; the fact that you are reapplying shows a level of interest – a quality we actually look for and admire. To be honest, some of the most successful people in our program anecdotally have been reapplicants.”

– Levenson

To read the full interviews, click on the Top MBA link below.

DON’T MISS: DING REPORT: WHY YOU DIDN’T GET INTO HARVARD OR STANFORD

Source: Top MBA

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