Calling all Waitlisted Applicants!! If you are waitlisted and have a choice between multiple programs or waitlisted and waiting to decide if you should take an offer this year or reapply next year, this topic is for you! Recently I had a chance to catch up with one of the former Admissions Directors about the waitlist process and I have learned a lot and wanted to share some of these tips with everyone. I will be posting these in multiple parts as I work through the notes and research.
This post contains excerpts from my interactions with Diana Economy, a former adcom leader at Michigan Ross for 10+ years. GMATClub thanks Diana for providing an insider perspective on how waitlists work and helping candidates navigate the uncertainty that comes with getting waitlisted at a top B-school.Q. Let's say I got waitlisted at an MBA school in a given round. What happens next and what are my chances of getting in?If you’ve applied to an MBA program that begins this Fall, chances are schools are still waiting to hear back from the candidates they’ve already admitted. Candidates admitted in the most recent round (i.e., March 2023) will likely have until approximately the end of April to make their deposit. After the deposit deadline schools will revisit their waitlist and may make admissions decisions for waitlist candidates in conjunction with their Round 3 / May decision-release date or off-cycle, depending on how the program manages their waitlist. Your chances of getting in are informed by the number and mix of people who accept their offer, spots remaining, and the quality and strength of your candidacy.
Q. Can I do anything to improve my chances of getting in?I know you’re not going to like this answer but…not really. There is little you can do to improve your candidacy in a short period of time with the exception of strengthening your test score if that was a weak point in your application. Follow the school’s guidelines and submit an update or confirm your spot on the waitlist if asked, but the reality is that updates have marginal impact on your candidacy, even if you’ve recently been promoted. Although promotions can signal professional growth and competitiveness, you haven’t had much of a chance to perform in that role to make much of an impact.
Q. How do I prepare myself for navigating the waitlist? If you’re on the waitlist at this point one thing you can do is continue to solidify your understanding of the school and your relative fit. You’ve probably watched all the videos, read all of the blogs, and listened to all of the podcasts you can handle, but have you talked to any students recently? Do you know the school well enough that you could make a very quick decision on your waitlist offer? Are you asking students the questions you really need the answers to in order to picture yourself in that MBA program? Keep in mind that talking to students isn’t a numbers game - find one or two students who align well with your career priorities and interests to ensure you feel confident accepting a school’s offer if they call. As school begins in just a few short months you may have a very small amount of time to accept your offer and make a deposit if you get in off of the waitlist. You may only have a few days to make a decision and make a deposit! I know this feels quick but the schools that do this do so to ensure they can quickly go to someone else on the waitlist if you won’t be accepting the offer.
Q. Is the waitlist weighted / ranked?No - I don’t know any school that does this. Some even call it a “waitlist pool” to further demonstrate that decisions on available spots are made from an available pool of candidates. Admissions teams are looking to bring in a diverse, well-rounded class and may be trying to fill gaps from the waitlist based on how a candidate’s background or experience may help to round out the class.
Q. Why is the waitlist so big anyway?Schools aren’t purposely keeping large waitlists to torment you - the reality is that yield rates can vary from year to year and enrollment goals have to be met, so a reasonable waitlist to accommodate for fluctuations must be maintained. I think candidates would be surprised to learn how many people make a substantial deposit ($2,000 - $5,000) to hold their seat in the class only to walk away from it due to a promotion or offer from another school. And do people double-deposit? Of course they do! And Admissions teams know that. The number of matriculants (people who have paid a deposit) can fluctuate quite a bit between April - July, necessitating the need for a reasonably-sized waitlist. Some schools reduce their waitlist beginning in May, particularly if they don’t think they can get international candidates a visa in time to begin the program. They may also begin to reduce the size of waitlist if they have a good handle on their intake and only retain those who have a better shot of getting in.
Stay tuned for subsequent parts about WLs for internationals, scholarships, waitlist updates, re-application and navigating waitlist+admit at different schools...Comment below if you'd like to know anything else about the waitlist apart from the topics covered/planned! Other GMATClub Resources for Waitlisted ApplicantsHow to Get Off a Waitlist? MBA Waitlist Strategies
_________________