Waitlisted? Six Steps To Take Now

Being waitlisted by your dream school is a special kind of agony. After all the work you put into your application, it can feel like a special kind of torment to be within reach of your goal, yet saddled with the uncertainty of having to wait for an answer. 

As former Director of MBA Admissions at INSEAD, I was responsible for making waitlist decisions, and I know how anxiety-inducing the wait can be. I also know there are good reasons why schools place candidates on the waiting list. 

Don’t lose hope

So while it’s certainly not the news you were hoping for, being waitlisted is curtailing better than a rejection. Don’t lose hope just yet. 

Being waitlisted means that the admissions team sees potential in your application but wants to wait and see how the rest of the applicant pool shapes up. And while you’re waiting, there are some steps you can take immediately to boost your standing to maximize your odds of receiving a confirmed offer. 

For the best advice on how to proceed, I circled up with the Fortuna Admissions team of former senior admissions staff – who themselves have managed waitlists at top business schools, and their collective wisdom is summarized in this article. 

What to do if waitlisted

First,  take a step back and think about if you’re committed to staying on the waitlist. Do you want to work on getting off the waitlist at that school, or do you have another plan? Maybe you’ve applied to other schools and still have a strong potential for admission at another. Perhaps you’re holding out for your dream school elsewhere.

If your goal is to turn that waitlisted notice into an acceptance, there are a few specific actions you can take

1. Notify the school right away that you accept your spot on the waitlist, and reiterate your commitment to the program when you do. Make sure you respond in a tone that is professional and positive, without an inkling of disappointment (or worse, resentment). 
2. Update your alumni interviewer on your standing, and ask for suggestions or feedback (if you interviewed with an alum). While they won’t necessarily tell you why you were waitlisted(and they may not know), and they may not have direct influence over admissions decisions, they may be willing to share some additional perspective about your conversation and their sense of your fit with the school.
   
   Likewise, if you have had the opportunity to interact with current students or other alumni during the application process, reach out to them for support. Make sure to maintain professional and genuine connections throughout this process. 
3. If the MBA program’s policy allows, provide an additional letter of support — ideally, from someone from the community who can reinforce your fit with the school. It need not be as formal as the letters of recommendation letters you submitted with your application; a one-page email will suffice. But be sure you know and respect the program’s policy about submitting support materials; some schools don’t accept them. And don’t flood the admissions committee with additional letters, which can backfire by potentially harming your reputation. 
4. Assess why your application fell short. Step back to evaluate areas of potential weakness, then seek help to glean additional perspective. For example, if your GMAT score is below the school average, it may be helpful to retake the exam, but only if you believe you can boost your score by a solid margin (not just 10 more points). 
5. Reach out to the admissions office periodically – without becoming a pest. Checking in every three to four weeks is appropriate. If possible, do so with a notable update on your profile, such as a job move or promotion. If you don’t have fresh news to report about your status, be certain to reinforce your motivation, and do inform the program if you’re on the verge of taking another offer. Personal touches can reinforce a positive impression and keep you on the radar screen, so consider balancing emails with the occasional phone call. 
6. Identify next steps. Waitlist acceptance rates vary from school to school, but realistically, most waitlisted candidates won’t get in. Now is the time to hatch a plan B if you don’t already have one. Do you want to reapply to the same program if you don’t receive an acceptance offer? Or apply to other programs? As you consider next steps, identify ways to strengthen your profile in the coming year to increase your chances of admissions success in the future.

Check out my Fortuna blog for more advice on what to do when you’ve been waitlisted, or view my short video blog discussion with my Fortuna Admissions colleague Catherine Tuttle, former Associate Director at Duke Fuqua.

And finally, stay optimistic. Discouraging as it seems, you still have a chance of getting in.

Caroline is a Director at MBA admissions coaching firm Fortuna Admissions and former Director of MBA Admissions at INSEAD. Fortuna Admissions is composed of former admissions directors and business school insiders from 12 of the top 15 business schools.