Sinking at HBS

HBS Round 2 decisions are out exactly 8 days from today. I dont have an invite yet so 99% chances are that I am sunk at HBS, however to quote HBS Adcom "interview invites go out till the very last day" leaves a glimmer of hope, albeit fast disappearing. I am almost prepared to get the ding on March 29th barring a miracle at this point.

Now, the HBS app took up most of my time and it was the toughest as well. A back of the envelope calculation reveals approximately 150 hrs of my time working on those 7 required and 1 optional essay and atleast 80-90 hrs of my wife's time helping me with drafts, revisions, activities sheet, resume etc. The result of this massive effort? An HBS application that both my wife and I were quite confident and happy about. Got my HBS app read by an alum and a current student and got both their blessings. But, still no interview and doesnt look like I am getting one either.

Another thing the massive HBS exercise did was that it left very little time for Wharton which was due only 2 days after HBS. Not that I didnt work hard on Wharton but the fact is that I am waitlisted and perhaps spending some more time on the app might have led me to do something differently or better. I will never know that for sure and it is futile to go back and think about these things now.

What I have thought about though is Wharton's waitlist process. In the spirit of fairness they refuse to accept any updates or additional information from a waitlisted candidate. However, they accept the same (ofcourse only genuine updates) from a candidate before the decisions are released. One doesnt know how their internal decision making works so outsiders wont have a clear picture of why it is so. I am still alive at Wharton so I'll draw away positives from that, I just wish that waitlisted candidates were given the opportunity to atleast present any significant updates regarding their application.