Here’s to you, top-tier Ivy League business school. After a grueling, frantic, emotionally draining application period, as well as a two and a half month period waiting for admissions decisions, the wait is finally over. You even invited me for an interview, for which I flew across country to attend on a red-eye flight on the only date that you had available, which was also my pregnant wife’s due date. No problem, I know where my priorities lie, anything for you. I took time off work to attend every on and off-campus admissions event I possibly could. I networked like a ninja and got alumni recommendations and current student endorsements. I gave this application everything I had and then some, hoping that perhaps a gracious and benevolent deity (I’m not discriminating any particular religion, as I was praying to all of them at this point) would see my hard work and sacrifice and grant me admission.
I waited for the admissions decision day with bated breath. I didn’t get a wink of sleep the night prior, and who could? This date had been burned in my mind for months. And then it came. I rescheduled all of my meetings, closed my door, and sat in my office waiting for my phone to ring. I had seen this entire scenario play out in my dreams for consecutive nights now. I would sit in my office, and get a phone call from the admissions director (whom I’ve never personally met, but whom I know from watching the admissions videos on repeat). We would chat for a little bit about the exciting months ahead and she would congratulate me again on a job well done. And as I hang up the phone, angel choirs sing and a pepper-haired Tom Brady tells me I’m a champ. It’s played out so perfectly in my mind every time. And there in my office I sat, waiting. But the phone call never came. I got your email around 3pm. And unfortunately, you were unable to offer me admission to your business school at this time.
What you don’t see is how furious this makes me. No matter how much bullshit you try to feed me about “so many qualified applicants” and how it “doesn’t reflect personally on you or your professional achievements”, I’m not buying it. Let’s call a spade a spade. I wasn’t good enough to get in your program. Whether it was my grades, my GMAT score, essays, interview. It doesn’t matter. You just gave me the academia-equivalent of “it’s not you, it’s me” and I’m supposed to pretend it’s not personal?
What you don’t see is my ever-depreciating self-worth. This was supposed to be my ticket to a career in finance, a new beginning for my family and me. I come home and unsuccessfully try to crack a smile before kissing my wife hello. She knew that today was the day. And now she, too, knows the result. I hold my newborn daughter in my arms. I’m sorry I let you down, honey. This was supposed to be for them. This was supposed to be about giving them a better life than they have now. I crumple down on to my bed, too exhausted and drained for words, knowing that I died a little inside today.
What you don’t see is me dusting myself off and picking myself up off the pavement. At this point I’ve resolved that your denial of admission is not going to be the end of my pursuit of a career in finance. It’s going to be a new beginning.
You don’t see my renewed sense of purpose and drive, as I make my way toward the short stack of acceptance letters and welcome packets in my home office. It’s time to do some serious work on the computer. I humbly accept an offer of admission from my number 2 choice, as well as the full-tuition scholarship that comes along with it. They’re a target school too, so while they may not be you, I’ve still got a decent shot at breaking in to finance from here as well. You don’t see me cold emailing, in hopes of networking before school starts and maybe even finding a pre-matriculation internship for the summer. You also don’t see that I’ve even gotten emails back from some alums who I’ve reached out to. No offers yet, but I’ll work on that.
And while I’m not quite over your rejection yet, you have motivated me to be a better person than I was when I applied to your school. If anything, I’ve learned that our pursuit of success doesn’t end or begin with an admission letter. Success is a process. And with every fiber of my being, I resolve from this moment on to succeed in spite of your rejection.
So here’s to you. And here’s to me showing you and your ilk what you’re missing out on.
Heavy read.
Here, this is from me to you: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zmJVk3rKp3E/TQ_4DmzctSI/AAAAAAAAACQ/kMl6oxIiJ…
Almost as good as the real thing right?
Congrats on your 2nd choice. Considering you are accepting a full-tuition scholarship to a target I don't think you should be so hard on yourself. Assuming HBS rejected you and you got a full ride at, oh I dunno, Stern maybe - I think you should have made the choice to attend the full-ride target even if you were accepted to your 'dream school.' Take some of the money you're saving and put it in your retirement account for peace of mind, buy your wife a fancy dress for holding you down through the process and put some money in your daughters college fund for her future. You're better off and I'm not trying to let you down easy either :)
Semper Fi, guy. You'll land on your feet.
Does a missed MBA admission really warrant another essay? Weren't the three you sent bad enough?
You weren't good enough. Stop acting like your bold to post something on an internet forum and go do real work to earn a spot.
first world problems
good one bro
good one what? It was meant to be both rude and discriminating.
Haha, you showed him!
But seriously, op, its not that we fall that is important. Its learning how to pick ourselves up. Glad that you see this.
Christopher Nolan called, and he wants his quote back.
Srru I u don't go to prince ricin do Rutgers u r a non regret fo Lizzie
Guys...I think it's trying to communicate...
I feel your pain friend. I know this feel all too well. Best of luck.
Knowing that I have friends that didn't get in anywhere, I have trouble pitying someone who only got into their number two choice that is also, apparently, a finance target school.
Sorry, I don't have much sympathy for someone who is accepting a fucking full-tuition scholarship to another target. I probably would have accepted the full ride anyways. You being able to provide for your children and give the rest of your family a better life did not hinge on this admissions decision, because you already had a top opportunity in the bag.
This is like being rejected by Goldman Sachs and feeling shitty about yourself because you had to accept a higher paying offer at Morgan Stanley or JP Morgan. Get over yourself.
my feelings as well
Ouch .... blastoise and the Rutgers card.
if your entire self worth hinges on getting into a school, then you really don't belong there.
A well written and an enjoyable read. However, I think your last sentance needs a little levity. Perhaps, instead of writing:
Instead you could say:
Just my $0.02.
OP, really appreciate the read, been there too, ignore the haters, and good luck!
This guy is a douchebag. You're talking about picking yourself up from a damn rejection letter. People in this world have real problems and you take 30 minutes out of your life to write this frivolous doodoo.
In parts of Southern Africa, over half of the children under 18 have lost a parent to AIDS.
You just took a full-ride from a target school, vs. potentially accumulating a mountain of debt and years of debt servitude from a school of similar quality with similar exit-ops (especially in these MBA saturated labor markets).
Call them up and thank them for making what should have been an easy decision even easier, and be sure to ding their grads when its recruiting time 4 years down the road :)
I think that, while the story is probably true, a lot of it is intended to be sarcastic and read for humor. Especially the parts about letting his family down. By the time I finished reading this I was cracking up. Just my take, but I think that the OP is trying to point out the absurdity of how serious many people (including himself) take the admissions process.
I know exactly where you are right now. For me it was law school admissions, but all the same. I ended up going to law school at a semi-target w/ near full ride. However, I never got over it. During law school, I just felt the whole time that I didn't want to be there, further I just didn't have the motivation to put in the gruelling hours at a place I didn't want to be at. After graduating, with suprisingly good grades for how much I hated it, I turned down law firm jobs went into finance, partly because I hated law school so much. I wish to this day that I didn't take that admissions and tried again the year later after having retaken the LSAT or did some more legal interning. I was fresh out of college at the time, not married with kids, so I probably could have taken another year and reapplied, you might not be able to. I truly do empathize with you and wish you the best!
HASA DIGA EEBOWAI!!!!!!
I know how you feel. Keep your head up!
Is this a satire?
"I’m not discriminating any particular religion, as I was praying to all of them at this point"
Most of them don't like you praying to another deity. That may have been why misfortune may have befallen you.
Good way to take it bro. Being disappointed, disheartened, sad, upset, and/or frustrated are all normal feelings. Don't feel guilty or bad about feeling that way FOR A LITTLE. Accept it and come back with twice the heat.
I was exactly where you are last year! Why invite? Why pay for my trip? Why say you need students like me then reject me? The MBA process is Hell! But once you have a decent offer you will love the school that accepted you and scorn the school that burned you. The person who comes to my mind all the time is Warren Buffett and how he was rejected from HBS.
has to be a joke
This post just got picked up by business insider...
so did you get in?
Was iPhone typos I think iPhone is garbage compared to bb
http://www.businessinsider.com/open-letter-to-business-school-2013-3
i'm pretty sure this is a joke.
if it's not, then it's pretty funny
First time for everything. In this case, bitching about a full ride to a target school.
You realize this entire process is a crapshoot? The trick is not to care Where you dont get in so long as where you do takes you where you're going.
My first choice Waitlisted me, but my 2nd is prob even better regarded For what I'm looking to do. I'm grinning from ear to ear.
I'm sure everything will work out in the end and it will be right. It seems like a good rejection--having a full ride to a target.
I seem to be the only one that thinks this: the shitty thing is sacrificing your wife's due date; no school should be perceived as worth that. Many people talk about sacrifice without knowing it; that truly was a sacrifice. Hopefully you were home when she delivered.
Hilarious how many of you ignorant fools are reading this and crying yourselves to bed tonight.
Someone host a candlelight vigil.
I was mildly sad for you until you casually dropped the other acceptance letters. It read like you were shot down approaching a 10 that you had been obsessing over, only to go back and lick your wounds with a 9 that has a trust fund, knows how to cook, and fucks like a banshee. Get over it man.
After re-reading this post, I have to say I think it's dangerously close to kys territory. You miss or almost miss the birth of your first kid for a fucking MBA interview? You have to settle for your second choice school with a full ride? Cry me a river. People like you are the reason people hate Wall Streeters. How entitled can you be? How can you have your priorities so wrong? You keep this kind of attitude going, expect to get divorced and have kids that hate you.
You need to rethink your life Chief.
Maybe I'm giving OP the benefit of the doubt here, but this has to be satire because nobody but Brady would be this ridiculous about b-school... I'd safely assume this is a stretched version of what actually happened to him. And if not, then it's probably time for him to find a funny farm that airs CNBC.
Edit: Based on that John Wooden quote in his signature, I'm retracting my previous statement and assuming this guy really is serious and should probably k his s.
1.) rejection sucks. I feel your pain. 2.) Rejection is not necessarily final. I got rejected from Princeton twice.
3.)I didn't bother getting rejected from HBS because they had a $250 admission fee that I was too cheap to pay. 4.) some people may be aware of the fact that I am not the biggest fan of MBAs. In twenty years you may look back on avoiding $200k of debt as serendipitous.
Hmm, fact that OP is really upset didn't get into HBS, and mentions Tom Brady, makes me wonder about who wrote this...
this dude is a mega pussy....boo fucking hoo..you probably make more money than most people in America and you're sad cause you couldn't get into a school full of hob knobs. Dude..if you really want to make a better life for your family, start your own business or use your savings and start investing it. Working for someone else is just a ticket to the poor house and mediocrity
Calm down people. He's just on a higher level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Great writing OP, and my deepest sympathy.
Sallie Mae would still hook you up with $200k if you want the experience.
Which is the most prestigious rejection letter?
haters gonna hate
If this drivel isn't satire he should reassess his priorities and appreciate what life has offered him thus far. The KYS idea may not be too bad, but then WSO will receive some equally pathetic suicide note, no bueno.
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