In the spirit of applying to MBA programs...smart-assery at its best

Billy is currently applying to several MBA programs across the country.  He has devoted countless hours to studying for and taking the GMAT, researching programs, and writing essays.  This is his third time applying to MBA programs: the first time he applied was in 2006.  He applied to 4 different schools and got rejected at each and every one of them.  A complete FAIL, right?  Well, not really.  He ended up staying in Utah for a few more years and meeting me, so it all worked out in the end.

He made the mistake of applying without having the necessary requirements for business school (he had limited work experience, a lackluster essay, and wasn't even sure why he wanted to go to business school, which was apparent in his interview).  The second time he applied, he got into Tulane University.  He was supposed to enroll last fall.  However, one thing led to another, we fell in love, and he decided in May to stay to allow me to complete my PhD.  Things ended up working out in the end: he bought Higher Ground Learning, which will end up boosting his resume even more, making him a more competitive candidate for the programs he's applying to. 

One of the first schools he ever applied to was Cornell University.  Unfortunately (but fortunately for me and baby D), he didn't get in.  So he wrote this in response (he wrote it to Duke as well, but Duke didn't respond):

 December 21, 2006

Liz Riley Hargrove
The Duke MBA Daytime
Office of Admissions
The Fuqua School of Business
Duke University
1 Towerview Drive, Box 90104
Durham, NC 27708-0104

Dear Liz:

The rejections committee at The Thomas Household has met to comprehensively
review your rejection letter for my admission to The Duke MBA class of 2009.
Regretfully, after a careful review and consideration of your rejection letter, we
are unable to accept your rejection of my application.

We appreciate the time and effort that was taken to review my application and to
complete the rejection letter. This was a difficult decision for us, as competition
to deny my admission to MBA programs was especially rigorous this year.
Unfortunately, due to the unusually high volume of rejection letters we received
this year, the committee was forced to accept rejections from some fine
institutions.

I thank you for your effort to reject my application to The Duke MBA and wish you
the very best of luck in your future rejection letters. I’ll look forward to receiving
an acceptance letter shortly.

Sincerely yours,

William Thomas
Duke MBA Class of 2009

This letter elicited a response from the dean of admissions who personally called Billy and had a long conversation with him where he gave him some advice and pointers on his application and implored him to apply again in the future.  I guess being a smartass can get you places...sometimes.