Hello,

First, think critically about your interviews. Since you got interview invites at the schools you mention, you must have been doing something right in your application. Did you perform well in the interviews or was that a weak point?

Ultimately your application to these top schools has to be more than competent, however. To win you admission it has to generate excitement and interest on the part of the adcom. Did you present your case as effectively as possible – in other words, did you go beyond making a solid, rational case to make a compelling case?

For reapplications, first you should beef up your extracurricular involvement, ideally taking a leadership role in some capacity. Also, adcoms want to see growth in reapplicants, so look for ways at work to expand your impact, your leadership, and/or your exposure to different areas and types of challenges.

Best regards,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor, Accepted.com
www.Accepted.com