Well, next week is, obviously. Not like we need to tell you this, but gobs of schools will be releasing decisions.
- Wharton, Kellogg and Darden are on Tuesday
- HBS and Stanford are Wednesday
- Booth is on Thursday
Tuck of course was last Friday, and other schools have been offering up decisions all the way along, and many more will be announcing in the coming week or so. You’ve got the date seared into your brain already, none of this is news to you.
What to Expect
Some schools call the lucky admits ahead of time. In fact, Kellogg has been known to jump the gun more than any, and could be calling people today (not guaranteed but it’s possible). Booth tries to call people in advance, too. Booth also usually announces any financial aid award at the time of the admit call.
HBS does not call people in advance but they do call people afterwards. Plan to have a shaky morning on Wednesday (or all day on Wednesday if you’re in Europe or Asia); they’ll be releasing the news via their online portal around noon Boston time. Then either the person who interviewed you, and/or Dee herself, will likely be calling you sometime later this week if you’re on the hot list at Harvard.
One reason for the personal phone calls from the school is, at least in some cases, to try and impress upon you how much the school loves you and wants you there. Yeah, it can be a little disorienting, after weeks and months of practically groveling at their feet, but once you’re accepted, the school will suddenly turn into your bestie, and shower you with affection. These personal phone calls are the first in an arsenal of tools that they’ll be deploying to try and get you to accept their offer.
Of course, that’s not the case with Harvard; everybody knows that if you’re in at Harvard, you’re going to Harvard (with rare exceptions, which are often called “Stanford”). In HBS’s case, we’re convinced that a big reason for the calls is simply because they’re fun – it’s one of the best parts of the jobs for the admissions team. And, it keeps them on the phone and tied up for the day while the rest of the office is dealing with the calls and emails from those who were turned away, asking for reasons why and requesting reconsideration and otherwise complaining that the process is unfair.
So, along those lines, some tips for you – beyond the obvious one of trying to keep your schedule as clear as possible and your cell phone charged and with you at all times, and not to obsess too much (if that’s even possible), and just know that you’ll be practically useless all week in terms of work productivity… but beyond all that:
1. If you make it in to a great school, GREAT! Now please try not to gloat to your buddies who haven’t been so successful yet.
2. Please hit that little button over to the left, in the panel where the You Got In! poll is being tracked. We love seeing those numbers go up! It’s anonymous, and yeah it’s meaningless too, but it’s fun.
3. If you haven’t already told us which schools’ essays you loved and hated during the last admissions season, please mosey on over to our quick survey and offer some feedback.
4. Write some thank-you letters to your recommenders – they likely get some credit for your success too, you know. Good manners are important!
5. Start planning your exit strategy – our Accepted Student’s Guide can help with that. There’s lots of moving parts to consider in planning out the next few months of your life.
We also hope you’ll contact us directly with the news. That poll on the left doesn’t tell us who got in and we’re sometimes left wondering if Brave Supplicant No. 108 made it through or not. If you’re reading this, and we’ve had any interactions with you as you made your to your exciting success, we hope you’ll reach out and tell us how things end up for you! (Or even if it doesn’t work, we still want to hear about that! Maybe we can help you figure out why.) You can either log on to My SnarkCenter and update your School Strategy section with your happy acceptance status, or drop us an email or a tweet or whatever.
So, good luck next week! Fingers are crossed for all of you.
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