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What if you’ve collected more rejections than invitations?

October 28, 2020 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

We’re now at about the halfway point for Round 1 and many of you have seen lots of activity on your applications! We’re hearing of plenty of interview invitations coming in, and lots of excited and nervous Brave Supplicants who are gearing up to make a solid Zoompression.

(We’ve got an MBA Interview Prep Guide if you’re looking for info on how to prepare!)

For others of you though, instead of the good-news status-update emails where you find out you’re moving forward at the school you’ve applied to,

As we cautioned a month ago, right before Harvard issued its interview invites, getting rejected from certain schools is not really meaningful.

As in: You can’t extrapolate anything from the outcome of being turned down by Harvard Business School.

Other schools, though, if you get the “early release” news in mid-season, well yeah. That outcome does in fact give you useful information about the state of your app. If you’re turned down by a school like Darden or Duke that has an early action round, where the decision comes back to you quickly, then that gives meaningful input that you can take to heart: There is something wrong either with your profile, or with the pitch.

If it’s the profile, well you’re in luck! We’re still early enough in the season that you can take action on that! If it’s a low GPA: You can take action! If it’s a low standardized test: Again, take action!

If you’re reasonably certain that your academics and test scores are solid enough to at least make it to the interview stage, then that means it’s the essays, resume, or recommendations that were the cause of the downfall — and again, the answer is, take action! Resumes can be overhauled. Essays can be approached differently. Recommenders can be offered support.

And of course there are dozens if not hundreds of posts on the EssaySnark blahg in each of those categories for the perusing — the search box at the top of the righthand menu of the main page, and the categories dropdown below it, can help you find what you’re looking for based on topic or keyword or school.

What if your app has been turned down from a school like Columbia or Booth?

Schools at that tier are giving you incredible information in a “no thanks” decision. Obviously we would much rather hear about you moving to an interview at these places!! But, if you have already suffered the blow of being turned away at one of these schools, then this is where an opportunity lies. For starters, it’s highly likely that the essays were not a strong point of the application, and even sight-unseen, we can predict that there would be room for improvement in the way you approach your essay writing project for the Round 2 schools that you’re targeting. If Columbia or Booth have said no to you, then a common reason is that the goals were not well defined. If that was an issue for you, then fixing that now can improve your chances at many other schools that you might be thinking of for Round 2 — including places like Ross or Tuck or NYU.

As much as it hurts to get rejected, you actually did yourself a real favor by applying in Round 1. Having an early rejection from a top school at this point in the season means you’re able to step back and evaluate what the problems could be. It truly and totally sucks to have an app rejected, so we’re not trying to say that it’s a good thing. But, it is a good thing that you’re now in a position to do things differently for the rest of the season, and potentially see different outcomes in Round 2.

 

* * *

 

Want our take on what may have been the issues with your Round 1 application? Our Post-Mortem Application Review is a detailed assessment of the entirety of one of your apps, head to toe, to identify where the problems were, so you can regroup and restrategize, and have a new go at things for the remainder of the admissions season. If you’ve been turned down by HBS, then it might be useful to get that rejected app reviewed. However, much more utilitarian would be a reject analysis for schools like Booth, Columbia, Duke, INSEAD, or for rejections that won’t come till later, places like Kellogg or Yale. The Post Mortem could be valuable for you regardless of which school’s app you want evaluated, but if you’ve unfortunately gotten multiple rejections already, then certain ones can be more revealing in terms of what we can offer as feedback that is more applicable to improving your chances at other schools you’re tackling from here.

Filed Under: rejection

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We're the snarky experts in MBA admissions!

Sometimes amused and often appalled by what candidates write in their MBA applications to top bschools, EssaySnark created this little blahg to share common mistakes. Learn from them and avoid making admissions directors laugh (or want to hurl) when they read your essays. If you are hoping to have your essay reviewed anonymously on the blahg for free, submit it for consideration.

Want EssaySnark's personal assistance with your MBA applications? Start with our menu of consulting services and please read the Help FAQ to learn how we operate. Still have questions after doing all that? Email Team EssaySnark at gethelpnow at essaysnark dot com.

Good luck on your apps, Brave Supplicant!

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From a BSer January 2020:
"love the guide books!"


CLASS OF 2023 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

     
    The 2020 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2023 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2020-2021 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the main essay, the EQ Endorsement and Pick Six!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2023 essays!
   
    The 2020-2021 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2020-2021 applications
   
    The 2020 Harvard MBA Application Guide - completely overhauled and updated for the coronavirus era!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
    The 2020-2021 Duke Essay Guide - covers the 25 Random Things essay and all the rest too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Duke Fuqua - up to date for the current season!
   
    The 2020-2021 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the contacts for two references, and additional tips for the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2023!
   
    The 2020-2021 Tuck Essay Guide has been refreshed with latest insights and advice for your essays about "investing generously" and "why Tuck"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA - completely overhauled for 2020, to help you demonstrate how you are nice, aware, etc stuff!
   
    The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2023 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2020-2021
   
    The 2020-2021 Chicago Booth MBA Application Guide - ready to go to support your Class of 2023 essay strategy!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Chicago Booth for this year's MBA app!
   
    The 2020 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with new tips for 2020!
   
    The 2020 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values' -- plus tips on 2020 world events and applicability to your essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - updated and revised for the new realities of 2020!    
      The 2020 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2023
   
    The 2020-2021 UCLA Anderson MBA Application Guide - updated for Class of 2023 on "impact"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for 
UCLA
   
   

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What were we snarking about at this time in past years?

  • 2020: "What should I do with my summer?"
  • 2019: ($) Got a glitch with your grades? TAKE ACTION NOW!
  • 2018: Should you care who the dean is?
  • 2018: Does it matter who the dean is? 2018 edition
  • 2017: Prediction: Which schools will change their essay questions for Class of 2020?
  • 2016: Another little quiz
  • 2016: ($) When your safety school is actually a stretch school.
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  • 2013: Success Story! "It's complicated..."
  • 2012: "School X, or School Y with $$$?" (Part who knows)
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