MBA Waitlist

F1GMAT: What are some of the best practices that an MBA candidate should follow if they are waitlisted? Some experts advice to follow up regularly and others advice to be cautious with follow ups. What is your advice on follow-up frequency?

F1GMAT: What are some of the best practices that an MBA candidate should follow if they are waitlisted? Some experts advice to follow up regularly and others advice to be cautious with follow ups. What is your advice on follow-up frequency?

AdmissionsConsultants: To successfully navigate the waitlist process, you must first understand the purpose of the waitlist. The waitlist is what the admissions committee uses to control yield. Yield is the percentage of admitted applicants who ultimately choose to attend the program.

A waitlisted applicant is essentially a very well qualified individual. If there were more spots in the incoming class, this person may have been admitted. However, the admissions committee is turning its focus on admitted applicants and is much more concerned with how many nonrefundable deposits (commitments) it receives from the admits than it is, per se, about the waitlisted applicants.

They will turn to the waitlist once they are finished with the admitted applicant pool to fill any remaining spots and to ensure the incoming class is well diversified.

Now that we have gone over how the waitlist works from the school’s perspective, we can look at this...

The make or break factor in a waitlisted situation is the frequency of correspondence. Once you received the status of your application and you have thanked them for considering your application in the waitlisted category, wait for 3 days. After 3 days, send a request for a feedback and be very patient.

Wait for 1 week before sending another reminder. 8/10 times the Adcom would respond to your request with an accurate account on your weakness. Keep that letter for your reference. That is a snapshot of your weakness.

For me it was something like “The admissions jury advises you to write a new, stronger and more detailed motivation paper, mentioning e.g. specific MBA courses and referring to how these newly acquired skills will benefit your future career”

Now what should you do?

This is an excellent opportunity to include the latest leadership experiences and compensate your weakness (In my case - did not refer to specific MBA courses and how these courses would help me) in your next correspondence.

Describe Latest Accomplishments

I suppose you would get at least two months between your application and the results. So include all experiences (on-the-job leadership roles, voluntary work, and...

Ending up on the waitlist of a top business school program is a frustrating ordeal.  It can lead to a period of ambiguity as you wait to see where you will ultimately enroll in the fall. The key to surviving the waitlist process is to create a plan of action.  Putting together a checklist can help you gain valuable perspective into your situation and will allow you to make the most of your chances of gaining admission off of the waitlist.

The following is a recommended course of action:

1. Understand the waitlist. For information on understanding how the waitlist works, click here.

2. Follow instructions. Often, in their attempt to act quickly, waitlisted candidates will rush to respond to a waitlist letter without following the school’s instructions. Typically, the admissions office will ask for a response showing continued interest and will provide several ways to submit materials. However, you should never assume that each...