Recently Karen Marks, Tuck's Associate of Recruiting and Enrollment, wrote a post on Tuck's blog about the school's upcoming decisions for their November round. (Tuck's admissions deadlines aren't called Round 1 and Round 2, etc. Instead, they have an Early Round, a November Round, January Round, and an April Round.) This Friday Tuck's November Round applicants will learn their fates: accepted, denied, or waitlisted.
Most of Karen's post is devoted to answering questions that Tuck's waitlisted applicants will likely have:
First, let me explain how we decide to waitlist someone. Candidates are placed on the waitlist for a variety of reasons. Sometimes we need more information about an applicant, but see many positive qualities and are interested enough to seek additional data. Sometimes we have questions about English or quantitative proficiency, so we will encourage the candidate to retake their GMAT or Toefl or to complete additional coursework. In other cases there are no particular areas of concern but we are unable to offer admission at that point in our cycle.
Tuck is one of the better schools in terms of communicating with waitlisted candidates. If you are waitlisted by Tuck, you will be assigned a single point of contact, and that person will give you feedback on any outstanding questions that the admissions committee has. However, if they tell you that there isn't any other information that they need, you should believe them -- they have no incentive not to keep you fully informed of how they view your candidacy.
If there's big news in your life, though, this is always a good reason to reach out to your Tuck point of contact and let them know -- such as if you just got a promotion on your job, took a new job, or have recently achieved something else significant.
In terms of your chances of being admitted off of the waitlist and expected timing, Karen says:
Historically, we have admitted people from the waitlist every year - but the number varies, as does the profile of those admitted off the waitlist. Most of the time we do not admit waitlisted candidates until later in the cycle - usually not until the Spring.
So, be patient, follow the rules, take all the feedback you can get, and good luck!
If you need help in navigating Tuck's or any other school's waitlist, Veritas Prep's MBA admissions experts can help!
