March 20, 2008

Waitlisted at Ross

I got WLed at Ross and with this I am at cross roads in my decision making.

Ross is my top choice school owing to my inclinations to consulting and entrepreneurship. Ross has a strong consulting program and its highly reputed for entrepreneurship and research institutes. As per my understanding, wrt to the cultures, I believe Duke and Ross have similar cultures. Duke being more student driven and friendlier culture than Ross. All said, I would choose Ross over Duke if I get admitted.

Ross would release its waitlist decisions by May-15th (Yeah thats really really late). I need to send in the Duke acceptance and initial deposit by Apr-15th. As I am an international student, I also have to worry about the long drawn visa process, relocation and stuff. My prospective Duke classmates have already started finalizing accomodation and roommates. I should get started on my loan process for Duke by May. I am seriously considering mailing Ross Adcom about my Duke admit and requesting them to release my decisions early. Although, I know this would not be practically possible and I also wonder if it stupid and unwise to do so. But this is my best bet else I have to forget about Ross whatever be the case..

Also folks who have experience with waitlists, please share your experiences and suggestions on what to do and not to do to convert a waitlist..

Aside from all this, I received an interview invite from Cornell today much much after the R3 decisions have been announced :D. Cornell hadnt completed reviewing a part of the applications by the decision date. So most of them got their decisions on the R3 decision date while the unfortunate ones are as good as R4 applicants. Crazy stuff. Their mail also seems to suggest that they provide only on-campus interviews..

5 comments:

JulyDream said...

Asking Ross if you could find out sooner would not be a bad thing, IMO. In the world of business, the worst they can say is no, and then you're no better or worse off than you are now.

Second thing to consider, if Ross is your dream school, would you be willing to reapply next year and give it a shot or do you want an MBA this year? Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with waitlists, but I do send my best! :)

wanderlust said...

hey...i'm replying to your comment on my blog. i didn't do much to convert the WL. i wrote the admissions director short letter (300 words) summarizing recent professional and personal accomplishments, i.e. promotion, coaching my special olympics bball team in a tournment, etc. i also explained how i continued to meet more alumni and learned more about the program, and how i am convinced that it is THE place i want to go. i made contact w/ adcom twice...left a brief question on the discussion forum, and then the letter. good luck!

Blue Robot said...

hey..

good luck with Ross waitlist.. I am in the same boat:( But, I guess I will go to Duke even if I get admitted to Ross.

I believe Duke fits me better and I am giving it an edge because of its location (RTP area and weather) and culture (not that I dont like Ross's). Also, I dont want to drain myself by waiting till May. Rather, I would prepare better for my visa and moving.

Also, I wont be able attend BDW

Cheers..

PS: around 10 people from Bangalore have got into Duke and we have some active discussions going on. Send me your email once you have made your decision. I will rope you in :)

MBAandBeyond said...

@Paige,

Thanks for your comments. Although Ross is better school IMO, I would not want to wait another year and go thro' this all over again.
And Duke is a great school to be :)
I have mailed the Ross adcom. Hoping for the best!

@Globetrotter,
Thanks so much for the suggestions. They were of great help.

@Helluva Journey,
U from bangalore too? We need to talk..

globetrotter said...

hey there..just got back to blogosphere..Ross it is for me. From my research it seems to have the edge over Duke when it comes to consulting. After going to both admit weekends I felt more at home in Ann Arbor. Are you still on the WL ?