This year, Stanford University accepted only 5% of applicants. While enrollment is down in general, competition for spots at elite U.S. universities is on the rise. As a New York Times article reported last week, the competition is “more cutthroat and anxiety-inducing than ever.” These top colleges are receiving more applications than they’ve ever received,…
Tips for Executive MBA Reapplicants
If you have been rejected from an Executive MBA program, it often comes down to one of three reasons (or combination thereof): 1) Your academic record was not strong enough to convince the admissions committee you could handle the rigor of an EMBA program, 2) Your work experience was not sufficient/relevant enough yet to be considered a…
The Dreaded Med School Rejection: What Now?
Journeys with Joshua: Joshua Wienczkowski walks us through med school at East Tennessee’s College of Medicine with his monthly blog updates. Get an inside look into med school down South through the eyes of a former professional songwriter with a whole lot of clinical experience — thanks Joshua for sharing this journey with us! Update:…
Lessons from Accepted’s Admissions Director Survey
In November, Accepted surveyed MBA admissions directors at top MBA programs. We asked “What behavior or information would cause you to reject an MBA applicant who otherwise is a strong candidate?” and published the results here. Accepted CEO, Linda Abraham, gives her thoughts on the results, what was surprising about them, what was expected, and implications…
The MBA Admissions Directors’ Recipe for Rejection
We asked 14 admissions directors, “What behavior or information would cause you to reject an MBA applicant who otherwise is a strong candidate?” While the recipe for instant rejection may vary slightly from school to school, the common ingredients are ethical lapses and poor behavior. These are broad categories that each admissions director elaborates on…
When You Receive College Rejection Letters
Accepted’s college admissions expert, Whitney Bruce, responds to Suzy Lee Weiss’s Wall Street Journal op-ed piece, “To (All) the Colleges That Rejected Me.” When I work with high achieving students, as I presume Suzy Lee Weiss to be, we talk about failure. To the straight-A, student leader, it’s often a foreign concept in 11th grade….
Plan B for PhD Applicants
There’s no getting around it: rejection letters are discouraging. Especially when you’ve invested as much time and energy in something as you have in your PhD plans. What can you do when you don’t get in anywhere at all? Take a deep breath. This isn’t the end of your plans. Take stock. Did you make…
Rejected MBAs: Now What?
You just received your final rejection letter. You have four options. You can: a) Mope and sulk. b) Decide you don’t need or want an MBA. c) Reapply next year. d) All of the above. Listen, we’re not going to deprive you of your right to be bitter about rejection. Do what you need to…
It’s Not Fair! How to Deal with Dings
It may or may not be fair, but many of you are going to get at least a few rejections. What are you going to do about them? First and foremost—if you’ve gotten dinged at your top choice school, that doesn’t mean that you’re never going to get in. It doesn’t even mean that you…
