What to do if Your Dream Business School Rejects You

Most business schools are bustling places. The admissions team members do not appreciate phone calls asking for feedback on rejected applications. Certainly not immediately anyway. Calling about your rejection, in fact, might put you on the admission committee’s radar for all the wrong reasons. The one exception is to obtain basic information about the reapplication process.

U.S. News and World Report recently wrote that rejected business school applicants can call the school to ask about its policy regarding reapplicants; then, they can see what, if any, additional information they can garner about their own application.

The big question is whether you want to continue to pursue your dream school or find a new dream. Most business schools allow you to reapply. If that’s what you’d like to do, you should seek out the rules of reapplication at your school of choice.

In fact, schools often recognize a person’s reapplication as a sign the applicant is determined to get into their program. The McDonough School has admitted roughly 50% of its reapplicants in the last few years, according to Heinrich.

“Successful reapplicants are those who have done self-reflection to see where they can improve, taken the steps to do so, and then communicated this to the admissions committee,” she says. “When I see an applicant who has taken significant effort to truly improve upon his or her previous perceived weaknesses, it shows me that he or she has grit and determination to work hard for what he or she wants, qualities that we seek in our student body.”

If you decide to apply to a different school, then you have to restart the application process. Research the program (if you haven’t already). Reassess your GMAT score, essays, and talking points. Customize the application for the new program. Consider applying to more than one business school if you didn’t the first time around.

Look at the class profiles at the schools that interest you to see what GMAT scores, grades, and experiences current students are bringing to the table. Do you match up? Do you have an area of weakness? How can you improve upon that area of weakness?

Consider retaking the GMAT if the school that interests you requires higher scores. Aspire to snag that promotion if you think it would boost your resume. Practice with mock admissions interviews and elevator pitches in which you best explain your reasons for attending business school.

Take the time to really think about your candidacy. Demonstrate examples of your leadership through your essays and interviews. Don’t just say you worked on budgets; tell the school exactly how much money you saved the company and how you did it.

“Determine what it will take for you to become competitive at that school and create a plan to get there,” adds Heinrich. “This might mean that you need a few years to transition into a new job, gain additional responsibilities at your current job, increase your academic profile, or simply gain more experience and perspective on how to make your application as competitive as it can be.”

Make sure you give thought to why you’d be a good fit at the school in question. Point out ways the school’s culture and your candidacy are the perfect match. Use specific examples – such as something you witnessed on campus that captured the vibe of the place – within your essays. Schools want to know you recognize their unique qualities, what separates them from the other business schools.

Obsessing only stresses you out more. Certainly, you should be thorough and thoughtful in applying to business school. But, you can also take a break – or two or three. Go for a walk. Unwind. Do the best you can, turn in the new applications, and dream on. One rejection is not the end of your story.

“We know applicants who did not get into their top choice school the first time they applied,” says Matthews. “They reapplied and were admitted to their top choice school. It can be done.”