Peterson's Crafting Your App Page 8
exact numbers, you may very well have a chance at one of the top
schools. But those are your long-shot schools. You are almost a sure thing
at many schools. And there is a long list of schools in the middle at which
your application will almost surely receive serious consideration but is not
guaranteed for acceptance.
Given these considerations, you should select two or perhaps three long -
shot schools. As the term long shot implies, the odds of your being
accepted at these schools are not very good, but the potential pay-off
justifies the gamble. On the other hand, you should also select one or two
sure-thing schools. To do this, you may have to apply to a school in your
geographical area that doesn't enjoy a particularly good reputation or to a
school that is located in another part of the country. The rest of your
applications should go to your good-bet schools--schools for which the
chances for acceptance are 40% to 75%.
As you prepare to implement your strategy, make a realistic assessment
of your chances. Candidates unfortunately tend to overestimate the
importance of what they believe to be their own interesting or unique
factors. It is not unusual to hear candidates make statements such as,
"Well sure my GPA is a little low, but I had to work part-time while I was in
school", and "I know my GMAT score is not that good, but I was a member
of the University Senate." These are valid points and are usually taken into
consideration by admissions officers. But the question is how much weight
they will be given for they (or some similar point) are true of most of the
people who are applying to business school. For example, if you are
thinking of applying to Wharton and you have a 3.25 GPA and a GMAT
score in the 75th percentile, then there had better be something really
Hedge your bets. Apply to some safe schools, some reach schools,
and more bread-and-butter schools.
