Monday, December 22, 2003
As the holiday season creaks by, I am becoming more and more resigned to the fact that I may not be invited to interview at Stanford. Starting today the GSB will be closed down until Jan 5 (see their website). If R1 decisions are to go out by January 21, I'm guessing the last interview invitations will go out the first week of January to give people at least one week to set up an interview. With the holiday closure - that means one more week on interview invitations.
So I'm questioning the strength of my application. Admitting me will not drive up the school's average stats (it won't make them drop either). I think my profile fits into the school, but what if my application wasn't outstanding enough to be one of the few that warrants an interview request? The estimate is that Stanford will interview about 30% of its applicants this year. So if I don't get an interview I'll feel like I'm not special enough to be one in three. And that's a tad bit depressing. My entire life I've risen to the top, it'll be tough to deal with the rejection of no interview. I'm trying to stay positive. Afterall, there is at least one more week of interviews to go out, and hell, SOMEBODY has to get those invitations, right? I might just be one of the lucky ones. And even if I get an out and out ding from Stanford, I know it doesn't mean I'm not good person - it will just mean I'm a good person who won't be going to Stanford. (I think there's something to be said about the mercy of the early Wharton ding!)
So instead of focusing on self-doubt, I'm trying to create the BEST R2 applications I can. I still have my essays to do. And I'm thinking of using my consortium application to apply to Darden. The one thing that makes me a little wary of Darden is one of the main reason of student pride is that they work harder than anyone else. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with hard work. One reason I'm applying to top tier schools is because I like an academic challenge. That being said, I think doing work for the sake of saying you work really hard is asinine.
Oh and let me just say, Alex Brown, Tanniah H, Fanatical Fan, and the rest of the Wharton S2S crew have the patience of Job. It's amazing how many people will ask the SAME question on the SAME thread that someone JUST asked. I find myself saying, "geez they JUST answered that." I think I'd be a bit more snippy than they are. But I guess this patience and the transperancy of the admissions process are some of the reasons I'm slowly falling in love with Wharton (and isn't slow love better than a crazy fast lust-fest?)
So I'm questioning the strength of my application. Admitting me will not drive up the school's average stats (it won't make them drop either). I think my profile fits into the school, but what if my application wasn't outstanding enough to be one of the few that warrants an interview request? The estimate is that Stanford will interview about 30% of its applicants this year. So if I don't get an interview I'll feel like I'm not special enough to be one in three. And that's a tad bit depressing. My entire life I've risen to the top, it'll be tough to deal with the rejection of no interview. I'm trying to stay positive. Afterall, there is at least one more week of interviews to go out, and hell, SOMEBODY has to get those invitations, right? I might just be one of the lucky ones. And even if I get an out and out ding from Stanford, I know it doesn't mean I'm not good person - it will just mean I'm a good person who won't be going to Stanford. (I think there's something to be said about the mercy of the early Wharton ding!)
So instead of focusing on self-doubt, I'm trying to create the BEST R2 applications I can. I still have my essays to do. And I'm thinking of using my consortium application to apply to Darden. The one thing that makes me a little wary of Darden is one of the main reason of student pride is that they work harder than anyone else. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with hard work. One reason I'm applying to top tier schools is because I like an academic challenge. That being said, I think doing work for the sake of saying you work really hard is asinine.
Oh and let me just say, Alex Brown, Tanniah H, Fanatical Fan, and the rest of the Wharton S2S crew have the patience of Job. It's amazing how many people will ask the SAME question on the SAME thread that someone JUST asked. I find myself saying, "geez they JUST answered that." I think I'd be a bit more snippy than they are. But I guess this patience and the transperancy of the admissions process are some of the reasons I'm slowly falling in love with Wharton (and isn't slow love better than a crazy fast lust-fest?)
