My response:I received an application fee waiver from [XYZ Business School]. Do they just send out these emails to improve their numbers by rejecting more applicants or does it make me a potential candidate? I would like some guidance so I won’t waste time doing such applications just to be rejected.
With the increasing competition among bschools, admission teams are under pressure to increase the number of applications. It's also tougher and more expensive for bschools to acquire and convert international applicants.
As part of their marketing investment to reach out to prospective applicants, many business schools buy leads from test prep and test management companies. These leads are very cheap and available in bulk.
While they can filter their emails based on parameters such as GMAT score, many might just send them en masse to the entire database they've purchased, since there's not much for them to lose. Some might be offered freebies like application fee waivers to encourage them to apply.
So, when you get such an email, don't read too much into it.
Remember that the application fee is only one part of the overall 'cost'. Applying to every additional program will still require a significant amount of research and effort on your part.
Apply only if you are really interested in the program and if (based on your independent research) you think you have a good shot at converting it.