Ding at Stanford

Yesterday I got the most expected news imaginable - a Stanford rejection. Given that I never got an interview, it was the least disappointing rejection (of any kind) that I've ever gotten in my life.

Tomorrow is Wharton's d-day. I'm trying not to be nervous, but it's hard because I know that the school calls admits in the morning. So you know that a thousand or so people are going to be waiting by their phones starting at 8:00am EST.

I'll let you know how this goes. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

More later.

Waitlisted at Chicago

I found out yesterday that I was waitlisted at Chicago Booth. I guess I was already braced for it given that I didn't get an admit call the day before; a waitlist was the best result I could expect, so I'm at least happy about that. Overall though - feels bad, man. I really liked the school when I visited, and the students there seemed a lot more "down to earth" than most of the others I've met. I'm staying on the waitlist, but I know that this result doesn't bode well for my upcoming Wharton result. Earlier in this blog, I said that of all my applications, I felt most confident with my Wharton app. We'll find out a week from tomorrow whether that holds water.

I'm hearing that Booth tends to pull a lot of people from their waitlist over the summer, but honestly I'm not sure I can wait that long. I don't want to spend too much thinking about it or I know it'll consume my day-to-day life.

I know I should be happy/grateful that I was at least WL'd at Chicago, and more importantly, that I already have an admit at Columbia. But it's hard to get out of a funk when you know that a school didn't really want you.

More later.

Quick interview recaps

So I had my interview with Chicago a couple of weeks ago and my interview with Wharton last week. I would say they both went okay, but not great. I don't think I left a lasting impression or anything, but I also don't think I screwed up in any fundamental way.

My Chicago interviewer was a nice guy, a second year planning to stay in Chicago to do finance. I think he literally said "wow" after every response I gave, so it was hard to get a read on him. He had a good bit of follow up and seemed to understand my line of work. My interview lasted about half an hour.

My Wharton interview seemed a little cold and overly "procedural". Essentially it was a walk-through of my resume, four behavioral questions, and a "why MBA and why now?". My interviewer was an admissions committee member, so it was difficult for me to talk about my experiences without getting into too much jargon. Also lasted half an hour.

I want to get into a more detailed debrief after my decisions to both of these two places come out later this month.

Also still holding my breath for a Stanford invite. According to the GMAT Club forums, only 2 people have gotten invites so far, but it seems like everyone seems to "know" 1-3 people who've received invitations. Waiting for my Stanford application decision is like watching a pot boil, so I don't want to speculate too much about it.

I also need to start filling out my CBS financial aid forms.

I'll be back later this month to go over my final decisions.

More later.