Ding Analysis

Applying After an MBA Rejection?

Applying After an MBA Rejection?

It's all too simple to second-guess yourself after a rejection. However, don't make any conclusions about what went wrong. Find someone who isn't too close to your candidacy to read your application and tell you what impression you left on them. You might be shocked by how your application appears on paper. A professional admissions consultant may provide you with valuable insight, and many will provide valuable comments... gratis.

Waitlisted? Answers for Those Currently in MBA Purgatory 

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. This can be a very slow and painful waiting period. Not only are you competing against everyone on the waitlist from R1, but you could also be competing against new MBA applicants applying in R2 and R3. What does waitlisted really mean?

5 Pieces of Advice for your MBA Reapplication Process

5 Pieces of Advice for your MBA Reapplication Process

Finding the energy, passion and confidence to embark upon this repeat journey can be tough. So, we hope this proves helpful and gives you a little wind at your back when you're reapplying for your MBA. Year after year, we receive a huge number of inquiries from applicants readying for the reapplication process.

REJECTED? THE DING ANALYSIS "TRIANGLE" FOR MBA APPLICANTS

REJECTED? THE DING ANALYSIS "TRIANGLE" FOR MBA APPLICANTS

These days, in addition to helping our clients navigate financial aid decisions and a few waitlist scenarios, we also meet a lot of new folks who didn't use admissions consulting services to apply - but now are wondering if perhaps they should have after getting a ding. Most often, they are asking for "ding analysis."

HBS Reactions Part 1: How to move on from an HBS ding?

HBS Reactions Part 1: How to move on from an HBS ding?

REACTIONS TO HBS ADMISSIONS DECISIONS: THE HBS DING (Part 1) This past week is one of those weeks on the calendar that tends to stop everyone in their tracks and dominates the headlines. It’s all about the final HBS Round 2 notification deadline. HBS interview or HBS ding?

Why You Just Got Dinged (Probably)

Why You Just Got Dinged (Probably)

These days, in addition to helping our clients get ready for interviews we also meet a lot of new folks who didn't use admissions consulting services to apply - but now are wondering if perhaps they should have.  Most often, they are asking for "ding analysis," which is basically "please tell me if I did something wrong and whether I can fix it for next time."  We are happy to oblige, of course, and so we see a lot (we mean A LOT) of rejected applications, to a lot of schools. 

Rejected? The Ding Analysis "Triangle" for MBA Applicants

Rejected? The Ding Analysis "Triangle" for MBA Applicants

These days, in addition to helping our clients navigate financial aid decisions and a few waitlist scenarios, we also meet a lot of new folks who didn't use admissions consulting services to apply - but now are wondering if perhaps they should have.  Most often, they are asking for "ding analysis," which is basically "please tell me if I did something wrong and whether I can fix it for next time."  We are happy to oblige, of course, and so we see a lot (we mean A LOT) of rejected applications, to a lot of schools.  In giving feedback time and again, we naturally are starting to see some of the same issues cropping up.

Taking MBA Admissions Feedback With a Grain of Salt

Taking MBA Admissions Feedback With a Grain of Salt

I have been getting a lot of emails lately that center on the same basic idea: "I got feedback directly from the admissions office and they told me X."  Sometimes the feedback is ultra specific ("you should seriously consider retaking your GMAT") and other times it is extremely vague ("there were elements of your application that just weren't quite where they needed to be"), usually somewhere in between.  The question is: should you put stock in what they are saying?

Tips for reapplying to business school: Getting feedback, determining why you got dinged

Tips for reapplying to business school: Getting feedback, determining why you got dinged

If you have decided to give another attempt at a school where you were rejected, one of the most valuable things you can seek is feedback on why you didn’t make the cut last time.

Some schools will actually provide this information if you ask for it, so don’t be shy about reaching back to them.

5 Pieces of Advice for MBA Reapplicants

5 Pieces of Advice for MBA Reapplicants

The following are 5 pieces of advice that can help anyone who is going through the MBA application process for a second time.  Finding the energy, passion, and confidence to embark upon any kind of repeat journey can be tough, so we hope this proves helpful and gives you a little wind at your back. 

Why You Just Got Dinged (Probably) from Business School

Why You Just Got Dinged (Probably) from Business School

Other than "bad luck" or "well, this school is one of the hardest in the world to get into" or "you never should have applied to this school," these are the three most common reasons that people get dinged.  Put differently, they are the three reasons you could have avoided:

Reactions to HBS Admissions Decisions

Reactions to HBS Admissions Decisions

Time for a quick blog post in the wake of HBS sending out its three waves of decisions (October 6, 8, and 14).  You can read the whole thing or you can just read this line, probably: don't take this stuff personally, understand there are a ton of great schools out there, and keep moving forward.  Need more?  Okay, let's break it down, with three Golden Rules for receiving a decision of this magnitude. 

Tips for Reapplying to MBA Programs

Tips for Reapplying to MBA Programs

So you've been rejected at business school? Solicit feedback from the admissions committee, alumni or even current students.  This is the first step in successfully getting in the subsequent year. Then assess your feedback efforts through this questioning framework: