Well said. Most business conferences are willing to accept anyone who is motivated to attend and pay the requisite fee. Why does EA appear to insist upon making the bar seem so high and exclusive, in that applicants need to be examined and judged in advance, with answers needing to comply with such a precise format? It seems strange that EA wants to try to keep people out but also is worried about falling numbers. If EA wants to increase attendance, simply make it easier to apply! This would certainly encourage me to apply, attend and contribute again, rather than feel I have to jump through hoops and maybe waste my time doing so, each time.
The acceptance rate being 84% makes me think that most admittees could be admitted using a less time-consuming application process. Maybe there could be some criteria that would allow someone to submit an abbreviated application if done by an early deadline, and receive either an admission or a request to submit the full application by the final deadline?
Hey Jason! This is a cool idea. At the same time, we face capacity constraints and aren’t always able to implement changes that would increase application review time or add more moving parts. In general, I’m wary of the application review process becoming too convoluted—I want to save people time, and also, I think it’s okay to ask people to fill out the application. Applicants are very welcome to use bullet points, the application doesn’t need to be long or polished by any means. The system should also save your responses from previous years, to save some time.
Well said. Most business conferences are willing to accept anyone who is motivated to attend and pay the requisite fee. Why does EA appear to insist upon making the bar seem so high and exclusive, in that applicants need to be examined and judged in advance, with answers needing to comply with such a precise format? It seems strange that EA wants to try to keep people out but also is worried about falling numbers. If EA wants to increase attendance, simply make it easier to apply! This would certainly encourage me to apply, attend and contribute again, rather than feel I have to jump through hoops and maybe waste my time doing so, each time.
The acceptance rate being 84% makes me think that most admittees could be admitted using a less time-consuming application process. Maybe there could be some criteria that would allow someone to submit an abbreviated application if done by an early deadline, and receive either an admission or a request to submit the full application by the final deadline?
Hey Jason! This is a cool idea. At the same time, we face capacity constraints and aren’t always able to implement changes that would increase application review time or add more moving parts. In general, I’m wary of the application review process becoming too convoluted—I want to save people time, and also, I think it’s okay to ask people to fill out the application. Applicants are very welcome to use bullet points, the application doesn’t need to be long or polished by any means. The system should also save your responses from previous years, to save some time.