Ep 94 | MBA Reapplication Strategy: What Successful Reapplicants Do Differently

What should you do if your first MBA application cycle did not go as planned?

In this episode of The mbaMission Podcast, host Harold Simansky is joined by mbaMission Founder Jeremy Shinewald and MBA Admissions Managing Director Debbie Choy for an in-depth conversation about the MBA reapplication process.

Together, they discuss what it really means to be a reapplicant, why reapplying is not a “scarlet letter,” and how applicants can use a previous rejection as an opportunity to build a stronger, more authentic candidacy. The conversation explores how schools evaluate reapplicants, whether admissions committees revisit past applications, and what kinds of changes matter most the second time around.

Harold, Debbie, and Jeremy also share practical advice on refining career goals, adding new data points, addressing weaknesses such as test scores or school selection, and avoiding the common mistake of simply reusing last year’s materials. Along the way, they offer real reapplicant success stories that show how thoughtful reflection, stronger positioning, and clearer storytelling can lead to admits at top MBA programs.

Whether you are preparing to reapply this year or considering a longer-term strategy, this episode offers a realistic and encouraging roadmap for approaching the process with greater confidence.

Book your FREE 30-minute MBA admissions consultation with Harold or another one of our experienced MBA admissions consultants by filling out this form.

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Transcript

Why Reapplicants Fail And Red Flags

Harold Simansky 0:00

A lot of people who come back as reapplicants, they say, but I listened to my friend, but I just sort of did what he did or what she did, and immediately that's sort of a red flag.

Jeremy Shinewald 0:09

One thing applicants really, really worry about is are they gonna go back to my old file?

Debbie Choy 0:15

You want to make sure that your new application adds new data points if they do go back to their old file.

Harold Simansky 0:21

The bottom line is they already know something about you, maybe they've already gotten some element of the origin story. It's like, okay, what happens next?

Debbie Choy 0:28

As a re-applicant, don't be afraid to cast a wide net.

Harold Simansky 0:32

Once you've been through the application once, you just learn so much just going through that process. So almost because of that reason alone, you're going to have a better application. Today we're diving into a topic that so many applicants can relate to. What to do when your first MBA application cycle does not go as planned. Reapplying can feel daunting, but it can also be a tremendous opportunity to redefine your goals, strengthen your story, and ultimately achieve success. To help unpack how to do that effectively, I'm joined by MBA Mission Managing Director, Debbie Choi. Through Debbie's work at MBA Mission, she has seen firsthand what separates those who simply resubmit from those who truly rebuild their candidacy. We'll talk about the right way to assess your previous application, what changes schools want to see the second time around, and we will even share some inspiring re-applicant success stories. So whether you're gearing up for round two or just curious about what it takes to bounce back stronger next year, this episode is for you. You are a re-applicant, applying to maybe your dream schools that didn't work out before, maybe applying to some other schools that you didn't even think about last time around. Today we're here to talk about what it means to be a re-applicant, some do's, some don'ts. And helping us today is our colleague Debbie. Hello, Debbie, how are you? I'm good. How are you, Harold? And from what I understand, you help people with a lot of reapplications. That's something that to some degree all of us do, but the reality is I think you have some really unique insights. Also, having some insights today is my co-host, founder of the firm, Jeremy Scheinwald. Hello, Jeremy.

Do Business Schools Revisit Your Old File

Jeremy Shinewald 2:14

I I I want to ask somebody off top if I can, and I don't want to put anyone on the spot, but was were any of us re-applicants?

Harold Simansky 2:21

I was a re-applicant at MIT slot. I got waitlisted in actual fact, things weren't quite working out for me on the personal side. It wasn't quite the time to go. I then reapplied, and at the end of the day, I sort of got to where I needed to be.

Jeremy Shinewald 2:34

Okay. I I only applied once, uh, and um very happy with where I went and how my life worked out. But I it I didn't even sort of I think I had a lot of the preconceived notions that people have about re-applications that it was like a scarlet letter and that you would never get in as a re-application, as a reapplicant. Not true. That's one of the things we should talk about today.

Debbie Choy 2:51

Actually, the good news is schools welcome re-applicants. Yeah. Um, and in fact, at HBS, 10% of the class are re-applicants. Right. But it doesn't mean it's easy. And I think that is the tough part that I always try to level set with my clients who are re-applicants. Um, is that um, you know, it's uh you may have been through the process, you may know what it's like to write essays, put your application together, or even go through the interviews. But the second time around, it's actually harder.

Jeremy Shinewald 3:25

What one thing I I a quote that I love to use is from MIT Sloan's old admissions director, Rod Garcia, who was there for, I don't know, 700 years or something like that. And he once said to me, a rejection is not a life sentence. He said, you know, like it's just people have to have to change their perspective on it. It doesn't necessarily mean it it, yes, there might be a small group where it's like you have to look at the tea leaves and say, maybe I'm looking at the wrong schools or maybe it's unrealistic for me. But there's a good swath of people where they just made a choice among very competitive applicants. For whatever reason, you didn't make you didn't make it this year, but it doesn't, it's not a repudiation of you as a human being or as an applicant, and you very well might get in next year. And simple as that.

Harold Simansky 4:07

No, that's right. But to be a re-applicant, what does it actually mean? Does that mean sort of copy and pasting last year's application and just sort of, you know, hope that the world has changed a little bit, which it does. In actual fact, it does, or is it a full teardown? Think about everything from goals to future career path, whatever it might be.

Debbie Choy 4:25

Yeah. How do you recommend that? That's a really great question. And I never recommend cutting and pasting from your past application. Um, it think about um, they want to see reflection. Schools want to see that you have reflected on this setback and that you have identified ways to move beyond it, to improve. So think about the three big areas that schools are looking for in terms of improvements. Think about your career goals. Um, of course, they want to see refined career goals. They want to see that you have actually done some work, talked to alums or mentors as to whether your career goals still make sense. And I would say 99% of the re-applicants that I work with refine or polish or tweak their career goals in some way.

Harold Simansky 5:11

Debbie, I think that's an important point. We're generally talking about tweaking. We're not talking about going from I want to go to be X to something that is anti-X, that is completely different.

Jeremy Shinewald 5:23

If you want to be one of our success stories, sign up for a free consultation with a member of our full-time MBA admissions team. Since we've worked with tens of thousands of applicants over the past two decades, we can give you our honest opinion on your chances and help you put together your very best application. That is not a sales call, but rather your first session with one of us for free. We can give you a profile evaluation, answer specific questions about the process, review your resume, talk about your school choices, and so much more. Sign up at nba mission.com slash consult. We look forward to working with you. Right, but like I would say, like, yes, if you were if you were in the financial services world and you said, I want to, I want to move into hedge funds one year, and the next year you're like, I want to be in product management at Apple, it would be really radical. But I think there is room to say, you know, in an optional essay or in your career essay. Like over the last year, I've been, you know, I've done some soul searching, I've realized that um I've refined my career goals. You know, I need to explain why you don't want to go to hedge funds. And you could say, I'm, I'm, I'm now um interested in in a you know, internal corporate development job. I've got this experience, I've I've been in banking, I want to go work in the internal MA function, you know, be tactical. And here's why. And like that's okay. You know, you could you could uh theoretically have gone into either path. And now you've got a more thoughtful path that you're ideally you're saying it because you feel like it's true to you and you've got the experience, and that's fine. It just shouldn't be radical.

Debbie Choy 6:46

Yeah, absolutely, Jeremy. And what's even better is if you have made some step towards your future career goals, whether you are um, you know, getting a promotion, you got a promotion, whether you're you know, shifted your role somewhat or taken on an external project with uh, you know, somebody or a firm, you know, uh sidekig, you know, in that career neo career goal. I think that's even more right.

Authentic MBA Goals Beat Trendy Buzzwords

Jeremy Shinewald 7:13

There's a catalyst. A catalyst. Something has excited you about in the last year, and now you're like, this is I've done some thinking about it, and I I did some, I don't know, I did some project or there was there was some experience that I had that that allowed in my my theoretical world someone moving into corporate development, and now I'm I'm really turned on to this idea, and it makes sense for me.

Harold Simansky 7:29

Yeah, yeah, I I actually see it saying the same thing but slightly different. And what I mean by that is I will see people who come back as reapplicants, I will read their application, that first application, and I say, Well, that's not authentic. I understand why you were rejected because you tried to craft a career goal that you think they wanted to hear, that you thought the admission committee wanted to hear. That you you know that a lot of people after business school go to private equity. At that point, you said, Well, I want to go into private equity, even though it made no sense. I dealt that this morning. Yeah.

Jeremy Shinewald 8:00

I had a brainstorm with some this morning. I was like, this person kept saying, you know, is this enough? Should I be saying private equity? Like, you're you're not on a private equity track. Like you're in finance, but like you don't have to talk about it. You don't have to think this excites the admissions committee. They want to know what works for you.

Harold Simansky 8:15

You will be a re-applicant if you keep going down with that. Exactly. Yeah. Product management is the natural thing for you. Guess what? You actually like it. Tell that story. Don't start creating a story that you think someone else wants to hear. Or or or worse, and I'll sort of put in a slight uh criticism, I would say, to a lot of people who come back as re-applicants. They say, But I listened to my friend, but I just sort of did what he did or what she did. And immediately that's sort of a red flag. You're not living your life.

Debbie Choy 8:42

And for Stanford, a lot of people write about uh entrepreneurship, even though it has nothing to do with their background or what they want to do. So that is not authentic. Yeah.

Jeremy Shinewald 8:52

We should do an episode on like on like how to become a reapplicant. Because like these are the mistakes you will make. Um, I think just in terms of the application process itself, there's a lot of variation from school to school in terms of you know your ability to like some schools will make you complete an entirely new application a year later.

Harold Simansky 9:12

Literally.

Jeremy Shinewald 9:12

Others will ask you to write one reapplication essay. Um, you know, I think even like what are two schools? You could almost like I this is unconventional, but sometimes almost like lobby a little bit and be like, I'd like to, I'd like to do complete the re the entire new um the entire new application if if you'd allow me to. I've seen I've had an applicant at the same time.

Harold Simansky 9:33

Like that just happened to me as well.

Jeremy Shinewald 9:34

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And an applicant at one school is like just like I feel like I've got more of a story to tell. I don't want to just write one essay. So like, you know, Harvard, Stanford, you're applying all over again. New slate. Um, Columbia typically has had like a re-applicant essay. Um, you know, some ask for both. Some will say, like Warden will say, complete this entire application and a reapplicant essay.

Harold Simansky 9:56

Yeah.

Jeremy Shinewald 9:56

One thing applicants really, really worry about is are they gonna go back to my old file? Like And that's right. That that is always a concern, absolutely. Yeah. And like, you know, what what do you tell that applicant who's who's who's like has that has that nerve of it?

Policies Vary By School For Reapplicants

Debbie Choy 10:10

Yeah, absolutely. And I think the best plan is to expect them to go back to your old file. And of course, the hope is they don't. But um, you know, we cannot control what schools do, even if their policies says we don't, right? So you want to make sure that your new application adds new data points if they do go back to their old file. And at the same time, make sure that your new application is relatively standalone so that if they don't go back to your old file, they're not wondering what is talking about, right?

Harold Simansky 10:45

But we'll sometimes talk about a reapplicant as you're writing a sequel. The bottom line is they already know something about you. Maybe they've already gotten some element of the origin story. It's like, okay, what happens next?

Jeremy Shinewald 10:57

I I think I think a great point to make is that I'm not even sure that many schools go back, and and it's it's they they're not transparent about these things. It's really hard to know. If you ask an admissions officer, a lot of them say, like, yeah, we might. Like I remember you and I were chatting with Donald Levinson about that. We we might. Um, Donald Levinson, the MIT admissions director. But I think I think you should just approach this as if they are, like, and as if that's that's not like dreadful if you if you did a good job of it. Um but like my inclination is that a lot of these admissions officers are busy, they've got like a big caseload, so to speak. It takes a lot of like extra effort to go back and like, okay, I'll read a whole bunch of old files. I've got this big stack here. My sense is that it it they're not maybe meticulously looking through. They might quickly look at a report that was that was done at the very end of your report.

Debbie Choy 11:51

Exactly, right. And I think that they might do it at a later stage. So when you get to the interview stage, for example, we know Harvard definitely does at the interview stage, or in the final look of the file. They might, you know, refer to some things to see what really has changed.

Standalone Story With New Data Points

Harold Simansky 12:06

Yeah, yeah. And in fact, we're talking about re-applicants as it's simply one big thing. Every reapplicant looks the same. And there are many different types of re-applicants with the notion here of there are folks who they gotta fix something. If you fix it, it works well. If you go in there and get a terrible GRE uh or GMAT score, we know what the problem is. Right. Go ahead, fix that. At the same point, is if everything is sort of mushy, if the story again isn't authentic, if there's things that it just doesn't feel like it's coming together, by all means, you can be a very successful reapplicant. You gotta work hard at it, though.

Jeremy Shinewald 12:38

Right. And we always at the at the end of the year, we always send out an email to our to our our data. So sign up for our sign up for our for our emails uh and uh and you can take us up on a free consultation with either of my people. Anyone who hasn't worked with us, um who's received rejection, we'll do some free what we call ding reviews. So you've been dinged by the admissions committee. And inevitably, when you have those conversations with the applicants, nine out of 10, 19 out of 20 of them know where they went wrong. They're like, okay, you know, I my GMAT didn't work out. I I couldn't get it, I couldn't get it done in time. And I just I tried, or yeah, I recognize now looking back, you know, I'm I didn't have much beyond my professional experience. I'm now building my profile, or uh, you know, some other version of the stuff.

Harold Simansky 13:29

Taking HPS Core, um taking MBM math, something like that.

Jeremy Shinewald 13:32

Yeah, yeah. Usually there's like a lot of awareness of of why of why one didn't get in. Every once in a while, and then every once in a while, someone's quite crestfallen about the whole thing, and and they just might be in that category of like, hey, it didn't work out for you, and and there's nothing wrong with you as an applicant. I I once asked uh Harvard's D. Leopold uh, you know, how many more people she could admit for admit from the pool. And I wish I remember it was either I I think it was, I think she said like all like maybe a little more than half of a of a class. Like she had so basically said there are probably 500 more people in the pool who I could admit to the and not water down our quality. So you could be one of those 500 people.

Debbie Choy 14:14

Yeah.

Jeremy Shinewald 14:14

Um, and and it so it doesn't you might not have done anything wrong, you might have done a lot right.

Debbie Choy 14:18

Yeah, yeah. Sometimes is a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jeremy Shinewald 14:23

That's right.

Debbie Choy 14:23

Yeah. I had a client a few years ago in the blockchain industry, and that was that happened to be a time when still pretty new, it was unproven, so to speak, right? So, you know, fast forward a few years now, if he had applied now, being in the blockchain industry, I think that would have gotten a lot more credibility and a lot more understanding.

Fix The Obvious Weak Links

Harold Simansky 14:45

Oh, listen, I think we may be at one of those situations right now with international students. Uh there's chaos out there, to be honest with you. It's just a very hard time to sort of read the tea leaves. Maybe it'll be working for international clients great this year. I'm not so sure. Maybe it's better next year when some of the visa issues will be worked out a little bit more.

Jeremy Shinewald 15:04

And what I would say there is that is that where there's risk, there's reward. So I think if you're applying this year, you're probably applying to a thinner international applicant pool. All the applicants this year, I I don't have any, and I don't think we have anyone from the NBA mission world who couldn't get a visa this year. Everyone arrived on campus. And so, you know, by next year, maybe that situation has calmed down. I think another good example of of that sort of like of the of the you know your blockchain uh issue on like a macro level, sometimes the year's just much more competitive.

Harold Simansky 15:33

Sometimes you have a you know, a COVID year or something like that, or um, or a financial crisis year, or the meta layoffs, the meta-tech layoffs of actual half a million people at work is crazy.

Debbie Choy 15:45

Yeah, and the tech pool has suddenly doubled, right?

Jeremy Shinewald 15:48

So yeah, it's uh or like and deferred applications are becoming more popular, they're eating up portions of the class. So even if the even if the the number of applications is held constant, there's sort of fewer available seats in the class. Let's talk about those deferred applicants. So what happens if I applied and got rejected as an HBS 2 plus 2 or you know, a Schwartzmann applicant at Wharton or whatever it might be? You know, it's four or five years later. Yeah, I'm applying now. Do I care about that, uh, about that application I put in with the when I was a senior?

Market Cycles And Timing Factors

Debbie Choy 16:22

Well, technically, uh a lot of schools will ask you, have you ever applied before? So technically, you should check the box on the application form. The good news is so much has changed that I wouldn't worry too much about, you know, what I wrote four or five years ago. Um, I would worry more about crafting that new application. Um, what we see anecdotally, and also I think it bears out in some of this uh statistics, is that deferred applicants actually tend to be more successful when they do reapply four or five years down the road. It could be that they've been through the process before, so you know they know what to expect. It could also be that, you know, when you apply four or five years ago, you know what the admissions officers were looking for. So maybe you craft your career in a way to look for, you know, recognition, to look for promotions, to, you know, work closer with future recommenders. You craft your career in a way that sets you up better for as a re-applicant. So that's you know, kind of my take on it.

Harold Simansky 17:24

Right. And listen, what I also say to folks is once you've been through the application once, you just learn so much just going through that process. So almost because of that reason alone, you're going to have a better application as a re reapplicant.

Debbie Choy 17:38

You learn so much about yourself.

Harold Simansky 17:39

That's right.

Debbie Choy 17:40

Right? That self-reflection of thinking about your future career goals, imagining, you know, five, 10, 15 years out, what you want to be. Um, so I think that really helps.

Harold Simansky 17:49

Yeah, yeah. Let me just mention one other piece of it, which I think is important, where you almost lean into the reapplication process. And let me tell you what I mean is there are folks who say, I'm gonna give Harvard, Stanford, and Warden a try. And the reality is is you you uh feel comfortable doing that, knowing you can apply the following year, because at that point you're on this 18th month process. You're really embracing this notion of reapplicants actually enhance their chances, and you're saying, okay, I'll shoot for the moon this year. If it doesn't work out, I'm already so much smarter, I'm gonna go right back at it. I'm gonna get that marginal benefit of A, being a reapplicant, that boosts things. B, actually having gone through the process once, that boosts things. Maybe moving from a round two to a round one, that boosts things. And at the end of the day, being a re-applicant and thinking very strategically about it is is something of a great approach.

Jeremy Shinewald 18:42

So let's let's let's talk about, let's let's make it real. Let's let's let's talk. Why don't we all go through and we'll talk about uh a favorite applicant, a re-applicant or two? Um you're our guest, why don't you go first? Um Thank you, Jeremy. This is your home, but but you but you're a guest. Go for it. So tell us about the reapplicant.

Lessons From Deferred MBA Applicants

Debbie Choy 18:57

Well, actually, uh I have two examples, but I'll you know, talk about the first one. Um one of my favorite clients in oil and gas um in the Middle East and uh very strong applicant. Um and then as I read through his past application, I noted that he uh his career goals were not as crisp as I would like. He had a lot of leadership experiences in extracurricular activities, and he uh focused a lot on that in his uh narrative, his storyline. And I said, look, at the end of the day, Harvard, he was reapplying to Harvard, his dream school. Harvard is looking for professional achievements. So why don't we focus more on that? Why don't we talk more about your leadership and the impact that you're making at work? Because of the work that he does, which is super technical, you know, I really served as that bridge between what he does and translating it to something in the essays that, you know, even the lay person can understand. Um so that's where we spent a lot of time. Um, and also on his recommendation letters as well, um, that um, you know, he he didn't even have access to his recommendation letters the last time, which is something of uh, yeah, is something of a blind spot for a lot of reapplicants is you know, whenever I ask them, hey, can you share with me your app uh recommendation letters from the last time? And they say, Well, I don't have it. So, you know, that's an area that uh I see a lot of um success in helping re-applicants kind of work through and improve.

Strategic Reapplying And Round Choice

Harold Simansky 20:29

No, no, that makes sense. Let me share was maybe my favorite re-applicant story. A guy reapplying to Harvard, he had gone, reapplied to Harvard second round, really a strong applicant, really a strong person, had been at a company for quite a bit of time. At that point then, didn't get in, and he actually said, Let me change up some things in a very dramatic way. He switched jobs. He then applied round one. And what I always tell people, you can switch jobs. You have to explain why, and then why you then want to go to business school six months later. And he was very clear about that. He made it, he made it very clear in his application. I am switching jobs in preparation for me to go to business school. I am taking a new job for me to learn X, Y, and Z, which I can learn in six months. That's all that I need. In fact, it it actually made the length of his job, meaning as short it was, something of almost an advantage. So he was very thoughtful. It also laid the groundwork of I'm doing this now to test it out, and then I'm going to business school to really double down on it. And he got one new recommendation, which I think was really important from the company hit switch to. I think that was really important. But then he got it to Harvard, wonderful experience, and in candidly, being a reapplicant, he understood what he needed to do to make himself a much better applicant than which he did.

Reapplicant Success Stories

Jeremy Shinewald 21:47

I I'll I'll I'll share a war story too. I I uh I had an applicant um who uh was just fantastic, just everything about her just did everything exceptionally well. Well, she was from a different, you know, a slightly different industry, like nothing that unusual, but I don't want to discuss it because it would be revealing of her personal details. Um, and just like everything she did, just oozed confidence. She always did everything a little better. And her GRE was just middling to low, and it drove her bananas. And uh, and and I said, you know what, apply. Like, you know, we're we're all the way there. Like she was working on it, just apply. And she got interviews and she didn't get in. And she was very disappointed. Um, but you know, she reapplied, we worked together, and lo and behold, her GMA, her GRE score went up um, you know, a few points to into like a competitive range, you know, at the same heart and soul in the applicant, the application, the same individual, um, slightly refined goals, but like it wasn't like she copied and pasted, but it was like to her, it was fairly obvious that that um that everything was really strong except for her score. And again, so much effort and like she got in, she went to HBS and is now a consultant at McKinsey and is very, very happy. And and she just she she looks back on that time as in that first year and was just like, God, I was so stressed out, and I was so worried about this test, and it felt like such a such an obstacle. And and at the end of the day, you know, she overcame it and she's there. She's wonderful.

Harold Simansky 23:23

Yeah. Just again, somewhat parenthetically here. If someone is going to be a reapplicant and has really struggled with their tests, that's the time to really think about I took the jury, let me switch to the GMADs, some cases, let me switch to the executive assessment. This is the time to do that, as well as that maybe just gives you that little bit of boost that you need to actually get in.

Jeremy Shinewald 23:41

You know, one re-applicant strategy that I that I remember using with this applicant is she was so disappointed. And I said, you know what? It's okay. You've got you've developed relationships with the admissions officers. Just reach out to them and say, it was disappointing to go through like in a positive way. You know, I'm I was you know ultimately disappointed not to get in this year. Um, but I really appreciated, you know, the interest you took in my application over the last year. And I just want to let you know that I will be reapplying in in the fall next year because I'm determined to be at your school. And and then when she reapplied, she sent them a note saying, just following up on this, on this, on this email, I have reapplied. I just want you to know, and I'm looking forward. And she just found a small way to ensure that she was relevant, that like she wasn't just lost or forgotten in this process. And and that that can go a long way. I don't know that that made the difference for her, but like someone had to have, I believe that someone had to have said, like, this is a good, thoughtful, conscientious, dedicated person. She will accept us if we accept her. I just I think it it made a very subtle, important difference for her.

Debbie Choy 24:46

I think that's a very smart move. I've had clients that have follow-up on relationships with admissions committee officers at Columbia, for instance, and uh even had uh some feedback uh as to what aspects of their candidacy to improve. In some cases, the the the adcom person even suggested, hey, have you thought about the JTRM program or other programs might be a better fit? Um and uh in this case, you decided to reapply, but to the regular program. And I said, look, you've got to follow up with the admissions officers and explain a little bit why you decided to reapply as opposed to switching to another program. But keeping that relationship going, I think is super important.

Harold Simansky 25:27

No, I think that's right. And actually, sometimes I look for that. There are certainly some schools, for example, I had a woman applying to Tuck, and Tuck is a school very focused on the why Tuck piece of it. Very uh, what I would say, personal. The application is very personal. And kind of lay I read her application. It was good in some ways, but it could be written for any school. Right. So the key to her reapplication, successful reapplication strategy was to really go in, visit, make personal connections, drop even some names in the application itself, talk about those things are only Tuck. And again, that's the only way she changed her application. And she was successful now.

Debbie Choy 26:03

Yeah, I had a re-applicant who tuck, same thing. He spent most of the year networking with Tuckies, and uh, you know, really got that firsthand knowledge about the tuck culture and what it's like and really demonstrated it in his re-applicant essays. Um, and I think that made a ton of difference.

Harold Simansky 26:21

Right. Listen, I don't want to be flip here, but I'll be a little flip. So you know, one thing you have to, but I have to be. It's like Jeremy said, we do a lot of ding reviews and I'll look at things. I'll talk to the person first, look at their resume, then I'll read their application. And sometimes I think to myself, I have no idea who this person is. Yeah, I've just gotten to know a person, I read the application, I'm like, like what just happened here? There's a short circuit. I think this notion of when you reapply, this really thinking to yourself, how do we authentic? How do I tell my story, not the story that I'm that they think I should tell? I think that that is a very powerful way of getting a much better application.

Build Relationships With Adcoms

Debbie Choy 26:59

Yeah. And also just in terms of the general strategy, as a reapplicant, don't be afraid to cast a wide net. Yes. Um, include some schools that you haven't applied to before, and you might be surprised at the results.

Jeremy Shinewald 27:11

Right. Great point. Awesome. Well, um, thank you for being here, Harold. And uh, you know, and and uh to have to be in San Francisco with Debbie. Uh so nice to see you. Glad we came out here.

Debbie Choy 27:24

My pleasure. Yeah.

Jeremy Shinewald 27:26

And uh we'll have to come back. I guess we have to come back. Sure, sure, sure. Listen, I'm always up for it. Well, maybe we can do one of those things like the Muppets where we just like we change the background and it looks like we're in San Francisco.

Harold Simansky 27:35

So I have an idea. How about if we shoot our podcast next time in Hawaii?

Jeremy Shinewald 27:40

Hawaiian chance.

Harold Simansky 27:40

Oh, yeah. Or with Hawaiian background in Boston.

Jeremy Shinewald 27:43

I think I'm going for the Hawaiian chairs. Hawaiian chits. There we go. Great idea. There we go. We need more props. Yeah. Thanks for being here. Good to see you. Thank you. Best of luck if you're reapplicant. Exciting news! You can now access OnTrack by MBA mission for free. Take our two-minute onboarding questionnaire to personalize your learning path. Choose the free plan, and you'll have unlimited access to our complete modules on MBA application timelines, standardized testing, your professional background, community leadership, school selection, and more. You'll also get access to select lessons from our brainstorming, personal statement, essay, resume, and recommendation modules. It's a great introduction to the on track platform and will help you jumpstart the MBA application process. Get started today at ontrack.mba mission.com.