Night Owl's Revenge

A few prospective students have contacted me for advice/tips on the waitlist. When I got my letter back in the spring I scoured the internet for tips on getting off the list. I also used my network to find current MBA students who were initially waitlisted and successful at gaining admission. Their support and advice was invaluable and this is my chance to pay it forward:

• Follow the instructions listed in your letter! My initial letter requested that candidates wait until a certain date before contacting the adcom with questions. As hard as it was to do, I waited until the listed date before calling Admissions. I’m glad I did because when I called, the first thing the receptionist wanted to know was the date listed in my letter! 
• Speak to your waitlist manager if one is provided. I know some schools take the “don’t call us, we’ll call you approach”, but others (Kellogg included) allow you to discuss your application with a member of the admissions committee. 
• If needed, find ways to address the issues the adcom found in your application. Enroll in quantitative or English classes at a local community college, or re-take the GMAT if needed. 
• If your target program allows you to send in updates, do so, but only send in relevant updates. Promotions at work, leadership in volunteer work or an extracurricular, and recent success on team projects where you were a major player count. One of the oncology drugs I worked on received FDA approval and another displayed positive results in a clinical trial when the study was un-blinded. I submitted this information as well as an update on my volunteer work to my waitlist manager when appropriate. This is where you need to use your best judgement on what is relevant information and how frequently to send in updates. You don’t want to turn into a stalker, and you don’t want the adcom to forget about you or think you’re uninterested in their program.
• I was prepared to try again. Don’t listen to people who tell you that there’s no hope for re-applicants. Back in June, a month before I got my acceptance call, I went to an information session for another school totally discouraged at the thought of having to repeat the application process. At the end of the presentation I introduced myself to the Admissions Director and asked her what the adcom thought of re-applicants. She took my hand, looked me in the eye and said, “we love re-applicants. It shows dedication and determination. Just be sure that you have spent the year strengthening your application in areas where you can improve”.

I could go on and on for days with this topic but I’ll end here. I’m certainly not an admissions expert but I think these are general tips that can be applied to a lot of schools. I will also say that you should be prepared to wait for a final decision for quite some time if you choose to stay on the list for your favorite school. It’s difficult to have your life on hold for months on end but I know of at least two classmates who were either driving to, or on a trek for, other MBA programs when they got their acceptance call from Kellogg. I thought my three week turnaround was crazy but their stories take the cake! It just goes to show you that people will make the impossible happen when they get a shot at their dreams.