It's been a pretty quiet week for me. I've been off from work since Tuesday, and with no interviews or applications to work on for the moment, my life has almost returned to pre-GMAT normalcy (with the added bonus of counting down the days until January 3). I have to admit that I'm coming off the high I had after my interviews last week, and a little bit of doubt is starting to creep in about whether I'll get an invite to HBS or Stanford. While I know that both programs say that they keep sending invites through January, I just can't help thinking that there's a good chance I won't be getting one. I know it's crazy to think that way at this point in the game, but there it is nonetheless. What's strange is as I think about what I would have done differently with the applications to those schools, the answer I've come up with is: nothing. Well, other than to correct those two typos in the HBS application. Looking back over those two applications, I think they do a good job showing who I am and what I've accomplished. It is a bit comforting to know that if I do end up getting dinged by those schools, it's not because of something I did or didn't do on my applications, but rather that those schools decided that I didn't fit in with what they were looking for in a student. Actually now that I've typed that I'm not sure if that's better or not. I know this is a bit of rambling, but hopefully this feeling of doubt will pass soon.
What is truly comforting though is that if I am turned away by Harvard, I'll be in good company.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Hey Mike,
I just discovered your blog. It's very interesting. It's been impossible to stop reading and get ready for work. I attended the Chicago GSB Live event also. There were 2 people mainly who were talking about interviews (at the very front table when Rose was talking), were you one of them?
Also, I was wondering if you could suggest couple of things, having gone through the applications already (I'm going R2).
1. Did you hire professional readers (accepted or clear admit)? I'm considering it, but not sure if I need to.
2. Do you think visiting campuses before applying is extremely important? (I have noticed that visiting has made me more or less enthusiastic about certain schools so I am sure the enthusiasm would come out in the application. However, for 1 school I'm not sure if I'll be able to visit and I'm not sure if I should try extra hard to squeeze in a visit somehow.
Thanks,
Nups
Mike,
I too have been wiating for invites and no word yet. And same as you I looked over my application many times trying to see if I could change anything :-). Good luck and I hope you get the invites.
Nupur-
Thanks for your comment and I'm glad you find my blog interesting. I was not at the GSB Live event so we must have missed each other in Chicago. With regard to your questions, I did not use any paid reviewers for my essays. In my personal view, the essays are meant to show the adcom who you are, so professional reviewers won't be able to add to or comment on how well your essays accomplish that. I think there are enough free resources available (including the accepted.com and clearadmit blogs) that give advice on how to frame your experiences in the most positive light, so for me the cost wasn't worth it. Again, this was just my view - plenty of people use paid reviewers and thought it valuable.
I think that visiting campuses is important, and you are right that a campus visit is a great way to build enthusiasm for the school as well as get insights and details from students to use in your app. I hadn't been to any of the schools before applying (due to scheduling issues) but now having done a visit at Chicago I would recommend a visit before applying. You know what they say- hindsight is 20-20.
Best of luck if you have any other questions I'd be happy to help.
Post a Comment