Round 1 deadline -- four weeks in

It’s exactly four weeks since our Round 1 deadline, which seems like a good time to drop a quick note on what we have been up to in admissions and what’s happening next. At this point, the vast majority of applications are complete and ready to read. Only a handful of applicants are still missing materials, and we emailed those people who are missing materials yesterday, so anyone who didn’t receive an email should assume that their application is complete (it’s also possible for applicants to check their status on their online status page).

Once complete, each application receives two independent reads by different members of the Admissions Committee. Applications are read in random order and as a result, applicants can be invited to interview at any time in the round. Applicants can also be invited to interview at any point in the admissions process – whether early in the round after a preliminary review of the file or later in the round after a first or second read (or in some instances after coming before the Admissions Committee).

At this point, we have extended invitations to roughly a third of the first-round applicants we ultimately plan to invite to interview. More interview invitations are being sent out on a rolling basis, and may be extended up until the middle of January, so if you haven’t received an invitation yet, that is not necessarily a sign that one is not coming. Plenty more are on their way. We know that waiting can be difficult, but we appreciate people’s patience. Our review process is robust, so things can take some time.

Once an application receives two reads and, if applicable, an interview, it comes to the Admissions Committee for a decision. Admissions decisions are made collectively by the Admissions Committee using a consensus decision-making model. All first round candidates will hear from us by January 16, 2009. Some decisions may be released before that date, but the majority of candidates will hear on or a little before the deadline. Because applications are reviewed in random order, the timing of a decision is not an indication of the final outcome.

I’ll post more later in the round to let people know where things stand in the round.

Bruce