“You know I love you, but…”

So, my sister and I were discussing how beginning sentences with "You know I love you..." fills the listener with an ambiguous sense of dread. We agreed to use that sentence construction more often. Her example: "You know I love you, but you can't keep wearing that skort in public".

Getting waitlisted is definitely one of those “you know I love you, but…” moments. “You know we love you, but your GMAT is too low”. “You know we love you, but we have 10 other applicants just like you, and you’re the least qualified.” Ouch.

Seeing as an admit in the hand is worth 2 admits in the bush (or whatever other analogy I can torture on short notice), I had decided before the application process not to accept a spot on any waitlist. I’d cast myself back into the pool and apply again.

I didn’t want to twist in the wind for a few months before having to tell my employer that I was or wasn’t going to stay. I had planned to focus my energy on revamping my application, acquiring feedback, preparing to apply earlier (R1 instead of R2), and tweaking my schools list. It’s a personality preference—I’d rather have the ball in my court, so that I could do something, rather than waiting for someone else to decide.

Luckily, I did get in, and didn’t have to worry about being on a waitlist. That said, I’m glad I thought it through before it was even an option.