Waitlisted? Answers for Those Currently in MBA Purgatory
It’s that time of year again, where many MBA applicants find themselves stuck in the waitlist process at one or more business schools. Waitlisted can be a very slow and painful waiting period. Not only are you competing against everyone on the waitlist from round one, but you could also be competing against new MBA applicants applying in round two and three.
So, what does being on the waitlist actually mean?
It does not mean “no,” not even close. It means you are competitive, and you meet a base level of qualifications. However, you may be too close in profile to others that apply. Or you may have a deficiency in one aspect of your profile.
Wait-listed generally means that you will be admitted if someone who was admitted goes elsewhere. This churn will happen. However, the likelihood of the churn decreases as the school’s selectivity increases. For example, HBS and Stanford GSB have to go to their waitlists less often than Chicago Booth and Michigan Ross.
The waitlist acts as a buffer and is used, by the admissions committee, to manage this situation. Check the US News or Businessweek rankings to see how many students actually accept (“yield”). Or read Acceptance Rates & Yield At The Top 50 U.S. MBA Programs. If the percentage of students electing to go elsewhere is high, then this is good news for you.
What is the method behind the madness of the waitlist?
Schools need to manage their “yield” as it impacts their rankings in widely published magazines.
Having a low “yield” causes a school to fall in the rankings. Obviously, the admissions committee does not want this.
Often this means that the strongest candidates to a school will actually get waitlisted. The reason for this is that the applicants are possibly using the school as a backup.
If you listed stronger schools on your application as “other programs you are applying to.” This may increase your chances of getting waitlisted.
2. What sucks about the waitlist is that you may be notified close to the actual start date of your class.
This gives you less of a timeline to make important arrangements concerning your arrival at school.
It’s important to note the “ripple effect”. The higher a school is ranked (HBS, Stanford, Wharton), the more likely candidates on their waitlist will choose to accept.
When these candidates accept, they deny their acceptance at lesser ranked schools.
Then, the ripple continues and those on the waitlist at the lesser ranked school get off the waitlist and are accepted.
This continues and finally you find yourself having to make a decision only a few days or weeks, before the first day of the class.
3. Further complicating the waitlist process is that admissions committees may not know what the actual composition of their entering class is going to be.
If they have gaps in bankers or IT professionals (for instance), they may elect to tap the waitlist to fill deficiencies in the make-up of the class.
Ultimately, what you do with your time between submission and matriculation can also impact whether or not you are pulled off the waitlist. Stay tuned for more specific tips on how you can best navigate the waitlist process in the coming week.