Admissions Success Stories

Hey everyone, I applied for Fall 2011 admission and here's my story:

Profile:
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 28
GMAT: 680 (two takes, got 590 on first try)
GPA: 3.76
Work Exp: 6 years (5 years in Corporate Finance, 1 year in Financial Services/Banking)
Career goals: short-term is management consulting, long-term is to start a non-profit personal money management advisory service

Here's where I applied and the results:

1) Northwestern Kellogg (waitlist)
2) Duke Fuqua (waitlist)
3) Carnegie Mellon Tepper (admit, $6K/yr scholarship)
4) Vanderbilt Owen (admit, $10K/yr scholarship)
5) U of MN Carlson (admit, 0 scholarship)

Overall I'm happy with the results, but of course the waitlist is frustrating and confusing because Kellogg and Fuqua are my top choices. I'm not sure how to handle this all yet and am confused on how to decide, but much better to have options than none at all! In my essays I differentiated myself by highlighting my international study abroad and travel experiences, interpersonal skills since I started a professional position early as a sophomore in college, as well as my level of involvement and volunteerism. I talked about my desire to lead the global study trips, as well as my desire to continue my volunteer efforts of personal finance/credit education to high school and college kids. I also talked about motivating my peers to join me in this initiative. I also think this connects well to my long-term career goal of helping others with money management.

I'm not sure what caused the waitlist at the top schools, and my guesses are that my GMAT is below the average, my undergrad was from just an average (but accredited) state school in MN, and/or a lack of connection to anyone at the school. A couple schools specifically asked in the application who I knew at their program, either a current student or alum, and whether anyone in my family has a connection to the school. At this point I have zero connections, so that might hurt as well. I'm actually quite thrilled to be waitlisted at Kellogg as I assumed a rejection, especially because my interview was tough. So I'm trying to stay positive as I navigate the rest of this truly exhausting process.

If anyone has advice for me on how to choose from the admits I received, and/or how to handle the waitlist, please let me know!

Good luck to everyone!

Quite an enviable position. Congrats!

And All the best!

There are a few articles on waitlists here.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/waitlist

See if they help.

gheemo - Congrats!! I am interested in most of the schools you've listed.

Have you made your decision on where you will attend? Have you heard anything back from Kellogg or Fuqua? Mind sharing what made your Kellogg interview difficult?

Thanks for the message. I haven't quite decided, but I'm 75% sure I'll attend Carnegie Mellon. I'm heading the welcome weekend tomorrow, so I hope that'll help me decide. I won't hear from Kellogg or Fuqua until the first week of May or so. I am in the process of drafting the waitlist/update letter. Both schools said they have to wait until the deposit deadlines pass to know how many to pull off the waitlist. The Kellogg interview was difficult because it was very formal. It wasn't the typical conversational/relaxed atmosphere. Up until the last 5 minutes, she asked a question, then let me speak without giving me any sort of verbal or non-verbal feedback as I spoke. As such, I found it extremely difficult to know when to stop, because it left me feeling like she didn't like my answers. I now realize that it's an interviewers' trick to stay silent to see if the candidate can be concise and know when to stop yappin! It must not have been a total train wreck, however, because I wasn't rejected. All the other applicants I spoke with that day seemed to have a different experience (theirs was the relaxed/conversational type of interview). Lastly, she threw a couple curveball questions at me too. Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed for more good news!

Thanks for the feedback! This is great insight. Best of luck at CMU or where ever you may end up. Congrats again, I hope to be in your position a year or so from now.

Congrats and good luck!!

Journey12
https://mbajourney12.blocked