TotalGadha GMAT

If you are planning to apply to a Business School or if you are planning to re-apply to a Business School, this post is for you.

Reapplying to a Business School is not an easy task. You have to fill the loops, improve upon the weaker areas and, most important, you have to fall back and regroup yourself. As Biz Wiz puts it,” Fall back and regroup is a strategy basically used when somebody, who is on uncertain or lost ground, falls back to a better known or secure position to regroup/reconsider and (hopefully) win the upper hand again. It’s widely used - military battles first come to mind, but this strategy is also effective in arguments, negotiations, academics, sports, etc…. think about it and you’ll find situations where it can be valuable.”

A ding from a Business School is agonizing, annoying, besetting, distressing, and tormenting. But you have to find aid, comfort, help, and solace. You have to bring yourself back to win the battle of your MBA dreams, to fight once again, and to prove worthy of who you are. You cannot cry, sob, whine, and wail for a very long time. You have to saddle yourself up and start working again. You must reapply.

As a reapplicant, it is important that you know which business schools are re-applicant friendly and which business schools are not. Different Business Schools have different policies for reapplicants. Let’s take a look:

Harvard Business School: requires candidates to submit a new application. While previous applications may be retained on file and consulted at the MBA Admissions Board’s discretion, a reapplication must stand on its own merits as a complete and independent application. Please understand that the decision of the Admissions Board is final, and we cannot advise you on whether or not you should reapply in the future.

London Business School: We sometimes specifically ask applicants to reapply in the future, often after gaining more work experience, or improving their GMAT score. To reapply, you will need to complete a whole new application, with essays (including Essay 7), new references and application fee. We hold unsuccessful applications for one year only.

The Wharton School: If you have submitted an application to Wharton and were not successful, we encourage you to reapply for the next academic year. Reapplication make up approximately 10% of Wharton’s applicant pool in any given year. Wharton keeps applications on file for 2 years, so individuals who reapply within this time period do not need to resubmit transcripts or test scores unless there has been a change in these components.

Columbia Business School: asks you to build upon your previous application. However, if you are reapplying after more than 12 months of the date of your initial application, you must submit a new, fully complete application.

Stanford GSB: The admission decision will be based upon the new application materials received rather than previously submitted materials. Your old application is available to the readers but the admission decision will be based upon the new application materials. Reapplicants are not placed at disadvantage for having applied (or been denied) in a previous year. Your new application will be evaluated on its merits, in the context of the new applicant pool.

Mc Combs School Of Business (Texas MBA) : All reapplicants are required to complete a new application, new essays, a new resume and pay the application fee. Although not required, we suggest you submit new letters of recommendation. Determine if other recommenders may provide a more insightful and thorough perspective. Transcripts do not need to be resubmitted unless you have taken additional course work.

so on and so forth.

Some schools ask you build upon your previous application, while schools such as Harvard and Stanford ask you to submit a fresh application. Some schools also offer feedback to the denied applicants while some schools offer feedback “on invitation” to those candidates who were competitive last year but schools could didn’t have enough room to not admit such candidates.

A reapplication is not viewed as a negative point but, remember, when your application would be reviewed by an admissions committee, they would have an idea that your application was denied last year or was put on waitlist.

What distinguishes an applicant that is accepted from one who is placed on the wait list?

Bruce At Yale: There’s no single thing that distinguishes admits from WLs, other than that they are on the whole stronger in terms of their experience, academic credentials, and other application metrics. We are looking to admit people who have strong intellects, leadership abilities, teamwork skills, and are motivated and passionate about what they do.

It becomes utmost important that a re-applicant assess his application based on the strengths/ weakness, career goals, school selection, etc.

What are the chances of getting in after being rejected the first time?

Better than you might think. Thomas Caleel, Wharton’s admissions director, says the school’s overall acceptance rate is about 18% but estimates that Wharton’s reapplicant acceptance rate is perhaps 5 to 10 percentage points higher. Martinelli also says reapplicants in Chicago’s MBA program are admitted at a higher rate because successful reapplicants have a greater understanding of their goals and have an easier time demonstrating determination. “A lot of times candidates come into the process with solid credentials but fail to know themselves and don’t know what’s next,” says Martinelli. “Reapplying causes them to think through that and do the additional work that they didn’t do the last time.”

Keep the following tips in mind before you start your re-application.

1. Re-evaluate

I can’t stress more on the importance of re-evaluating on what went wrong in your first time application. Answer the following questions:

• Did you meet the basic admission criteria of a Business school? Appropriate experience, well written essays, evidence of a lively, reflective mind, leadership potential, team working skills and supportive references.
• Was your GMAT score within business school’s 8o% range?
• was your GPA within business school’s 8o% range?
• How about your TOEFL?
• Was your school selection realistic?
• Did you apply to only top 5 business schools even when your profile could be more suited for next 5?
• Did you apply to schools, which stress more on accepting younger applicants while you are an older applicant?
• Did you essays reflect you true potential?
• Did your work experience reflect enough responsibilities/ initiatives?
• Were your career goals well connected from what you have achieved so far to what you want to achieve?
• If your GPA or GMAT were low, did you take advantage of optional essay?
• How did your interviews go?
• Did you show how an MBA from X Business school would fit in your professional goals?
• Did you handle your weaknesses maturely?
• Dow effectively were you able to demonstrate your contribution to school?
• Did your resume reflect your qualifications/ experiences explicitly?
• How well were your recommendations written?
• Did your recommenders highlight how your have demonstrated your leadership/ analytical/ managerial skills while working with them?

That said, you cannot solely select schools based ONLY on the basis of average GPA/ GPA criteria. Look for the 80% GPA and GMAT range while selecting Business Schools. If you fall in 80% GMAT range, good. If you fall below that range, you must consider re-taking GMAT. Same goes for GPA but in this case you must consider strengthening other aspects of your application such as extra curricular, community experience, and extra transcript. The 80% criteria is not a rule written in stone but that would definitely minimize your risk of getting admission in a Business School.

Revisit every single aspect of your application and closely analyze the areas that can be improved upon.

A few applicants asked me whether eight to nine months are enough for building up on your work experience, leadership experience, extracurriculars etc.

The answer is that it depends on which aspects of your application are required to be worked upon. If it is only retaking GMAT or improving upon your interview skills or improving your TOEFL score is concerned, then applying within a one year is not too much of an issue. But the real challenge is to multi task and prove your abilities within short span.

Business Schools want to see how much you have improved or what extra have you added to your profile since the last time since the last time around. Take as many opportunities that come your way, work hard on improving your weaknesses, be more introspective of your goals/aspirations, only then you would be prepared to apply in the upcoming year. Or else, I suggest that you wait for two years in a row and give yourself enough time to build a strong case. Here is what Beth Flye from Kellogg school of Management has to say about reapplicants.

Do you feel nine months is enough time for re-applicants to strengthen their applications or are you looking for them to take a couple of years before reapplying?

Beth Flye Kellogg: Each re-applicant case is unique. For example, one person may need to work for one to two additional years. Other people may need to be clearer about their career goals and reasons for the MBA, which could take less time than that. Again, each case is different.

2. Seek Feedback

You might *think* that you have done your best at writing essays, selecting recommenders, connecting your career goals with your MBA plans but you can never be sure until and unless you take a second opinion of you work. take feed back form people who know you closely, who understand the Business School admission process, and even Business Schools. A lot of Business schools schedule feedback sessions for promising candidates and address your areas of improvement in your MBA application. Schools schedule feedback sessions on first come, first served basis so you must schedule your feedback sessions ASAP with the school. During the feedback sessions, schools give you chance to ask questions about your application. Be prepared with a set of relevant questions such as asking about the specific weakness in you application or whether your essays reflected your clear goals. Prepare the questions in advance so that you can benefit from the feedback session.

3. Plan to reapply ASAP

• Apply Early: If you are a reapplicant, it is most advisable that you apply early. This would show that a particular Business School is your first choice. MIT Sloan requires that the reapplicants submit the application in the first round only while Tuck School of Business suggests reapplicants that the Early Action round is a great option for reapplicants.
  
• Recommenders: The best recommendations are not the ones that say that the applicant is a leader or a possess strong managerial qualities. Recommendations should have specific examples or anecdotes that show how a person has displayed his skills at workplace. In case of reapplying, give a second thought on whether you chose the right recommenders. Did your recommenders evaluated your strengths and weaknesses extensively? Did they support your qualities with stories about you? Think again.
• Essays: Did your essays reflect various aspects of your personality? Did you try to hide your weaknesses even when they were evident in your application? did you ive compelling reasons for why you want to so an MBA? Were your qualities supported by examples and anecdotes from your professional life? Did you forget to display your involvements from outside the work activities? revisit your essays and evaluate deeply where you fell short. Did you commit these 8 mistakes while writing your essays? Shine your essays that reflect your well rounded personality. Think, write, edit. think more, write more and edit more.
• Career progression: In case of reapplying, it is crucial that you write about what has changed in past 8- months. Did you get promoted? Did you do an international project? Did you pick up a hobby for life and plan to follow it in a Business School as well? Did you get additional responsibilities?

Good Luck!

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Further Readings:

• MBA Admission Tips
• MBA Interview Tips
• Business School Essay Writing Tips
• Business School Profiles- GMAT/GPA/ Age/ work Exe/Class Size

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