If you have been put on waitlist then this does not imply that you have been rejected. It is neither yes nor no but may be situation for you. It basically means that you fulfill the criterion that the school is looking for, but still there are some other factors because of which you may have not been admitted. In short the admission committee is not fully convinced about giving you admit in their school, but yes is willing to give you a chance.
Every school has its own differing attitudes on the wait-list policy. For example Harvard does not use the wait-list to reevaluate credentials and Wharton has "no additional materials" wait-list policy. However, few B-schools do invite additional information from wait-listed applicants such as new GMAT scores or a promotion at work. Some schools even provide the feedback on weaknesses and gaps in the waitlisted candidate’s applications. If you have been wait-listed by the latter category of school make sure that you do not ignore the instructions provided to you by the same. For example if in its feedback the school says that you have low GMAT score then they expect you to give the GMAT again and improve your score. If you have been put on wait-list by more than one school, then in such a case you should re-examine your application. Consider applying to other schools that may have a different take on your application.
The competition for getting to a b-school is very intense these days as the number of applicants are growing each year. For example MIT Sloan waitlisted about 150 applicants which is 5% of the total application pool—50 of whom were ultimately admitted, according to data the school provided to BusinessWeek.com. Quoting from BusinessWeek.com: "At B-schools such as Darden that have multiple deadlines, being put on the waitlist is often more like a deferral—waitlisted candidates from Round 1 are considered along with the rest of the applicant pool from the next deadline, becoming, in effect, Round 2 applicants. Schools with rolling admissions may waitlist more people early on in the process until the admissions office has a better handle on what the entire applicant pool for the year will look like". Wharton evaluates R1 waitlist with R2. In case you are a strong candidate when compared to the R2 pool then you would get an admit. So basically some schools may use wait-list policy as a yield management tool, while others may consider it as a we may consider you list.
Treat the wait-list as an opportunity since it is not a “no”. There are large numbers of applicants who are admitted off of the waitlist in most schools. Schools have varying policies, but in most cases, submitting a higher GMAT score, a letter updating them on your progress, visiting the school campus etc can really help getting in. It’s important that you convey to the school that you remain interested and would attend if admitted.
"The 9 Mistakes you do not want to do when on an MBA Waitlist"- Linda Abraham founder and president of Accepted.com
1. Ignore the school instructions on how to improve your profile.
2. be modest about your recent achievements.
3. Hide your genuine interest in the school
4. Don't seek expressions of support (read:unsolicited recommendation letters)
5. Plan a one-time deluge of correspondence
6. Fail to re-assess your profile and/or act on re-assessment
7. My favorite sin: Complain to the Ad COM about the agony of being waitlisted
8. Accentuate Ad Com's attention on weaknesses of your profile or apologize profusely for the mistakes in your application
9. Play schools off against each other
Some good links you should visit:
Business week's survey of top b-school waitlist practices: How to survive the waitlist
MBA Podcastor: Getting off the Waitlist: How to Improve Your Chances of Getting Accepted
Accepted.com: Waitlisted
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