Must read for reapplicants

Must Read for Reapplicants

http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/


Inquiries from students gearing up for the
reapplication process

MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

This time of year, we get a huge number of inquiries
from students gearing up for the reapplication process.
This makes sense, as this subset of students is often
driven to succeed, still hurting from the sting of getting
rejection letters, and aware that going at it alone all over
again might not make much sense.

And truth be told, hiring a vetted admissions consultant
is rarely a better investment than when you are
reapplying to business school.


However, there are a few techniques and things we
have discovered that can help all reapplicants, not
just those who become our clients:

• Nearly every school can be “reapplicant friendly”
so don’t be afraid to reapply anywhere and everywhere.
• Don’t read into application format.
• There are many forms of “updates.”
• Don't fear the overhaul.
• Don't panic.


Nearly every school can be “reapplicant friendly” so
don’t be afraid to reapply anywhere and everywhere.

The biggest mistake we see people make on the second
go-round is they avoid all the schools they just got dinged
at. This is not a good strategy.

Can you fold in some new ideas? Of course. But do try to
have a fresh start is a big mistake. For starters, you might
lose the bonus points that many reapplicants receive for
tenacity and demonstrated interest.

Second, you might be compromising your list of schools
for something that won't ever hurt you.


Even a school that is not known to be reapplicant friendly,
like HBS, usually has a larger reason.

For Harvard, they tend to favor younger students and rock
stars, so getting dinged can hurt your case on the latter
point (even if it is subconscious for the reader) and simply
make you a year older on the former.


Don't read into application format.

Columbia and UCLA Anderson feature reapplicant essays
only, where you provide "new" information, but not a fresh
application.

So surely they must be down on reapplicants, right? Nope.
We've seen Columbia respond very favorably to
reapplicants - especially those who apply very early for
Early Decision (we're talking July here). So don't read into
the fact that Kellogg lets you submit a whole new
application and a reapplicant essay, while UCLA doesn't.

They require different approaches, but one's not more likely
to admit you than the other on those grounds alone.

There are many forms of “updates.”

So many reapplicants get hung up on not having enough to
"update" the school on - especially when they were dinged
in Round 2 of one year and then apply Round 1 of the next
year. Don't sweat this.

In addition to new test scores, work promotions, new
experiences (life and work), and even classes taken on the
side, you also can have an updated perspective.

Better formed career goals, a better insight into the specific
school, better stated themes ... it's all updated and
improved.


And if they can tell you spent more time, did more
research, and maybe got some assistance in improving
those areas?

They will be happy, because you understand your own
candidacy better and are more prepared for b school.


Don't fear the overhaul.

Another weird myth that seems to persist among
reapplicants is that you can't dramatically change your
narrative in the new application.

The idea goes something like this: they will see my
application from last year and know that I changed
everything.

For starters, no, they probably won't. Admissions
officers have thousands of files to read - rarely are they
going to double down for one person.


But even if they did ... so what? People can't grow?
Evolve? Better themselves? Improvement is not a bad
thing, whether in understanding of self, writing style, or
even the packaging of your story.

You do every single person a favor when you get better.

Never, ever run from improvement because you think it
will somehow reflect poorly. It's pretty much impossible.


Don't panic.

The most common type of reapplicant we work with is
someone who got oh-so-close and barely missed. (Full
disclosure: this is partly because of our philosophy of
only working with candidates we believe we can help
reach their goals, so it is self-selecting.) The hardest
thing about working with this type of student is keeping
them calm.

They all want to retake the GMAT, no matter their score.
They want to take four new extension classes and join
five new organizations and generally transform
themselves. Going back to #3 on this list, the best
updates are usually in perspective and presentation.

In all likelihood, if you got close (getting waitlisted,
interviews without an admit, etc.), it means you don't
need to transform, you just need to tweak.

In almost every case, essay structure needs to be fixed
(business school applicants are the worst at structure,
no offense), career goals need to be better articulated
(our best guess is that 95 of every 100 MBA candidates
do not correctly lay out career goals and articulate the
appropriateness of the degree in question) and school fit
better demonstrated (more like 99 out of 100 candidates
miss critical DNA elements of the schools to which they
are applying, instead hitting only the shallow, basic, and
easily-researched aspects).


THAT is usually the way to a new result ... NOT trying to
become a new person.

We hope that everyone who reapplies this year reads
this post and is helped by these rules of thumb.

If you are interested in a free initial consultation, please email
mba@amerasiaconsulting.com. Our boutique approach pairs you
with one of the principals of our company, meaning you will be
working with someone capable of walking you through the above
steps and perfecting your application.

Finally, make sure to download our free How to Apply to HBS guide.

Must read for reapplicants

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Must read for reapplicants