As essay questions and deadlines begin to be posted for most of the top business schools, one of the first questions that comes to mind is, “When should I apply?” or, more specifically, “What round should I apply in?”
With most schools, there will be three rounds of application deadlines: generally in September, early January and finally, April. So which round is for you? That’s easy:
1. The earliest round possible.
2. The round when you can submit your best application.
It’s fairly standard advice, because during the first round, business schools have an entire class to fill; there isn’t anyone who has already been accepted that looks just like you. By the second round, it is likely that number of candidates with profiles similar to yours may have already committed to attending the program so admissions committee is looking to fill empty seats with individuals who can bring different experiences.
The numbers seem to bear this out. Here is what I believe the acceptance rate is during each round for a top school: Round 1 = 14%; Round 2 = 7%; Round 3 = <3%. (I say “believe” because these numbers are unpublished so I am drawing on our experience at Stratus and some “inside” information we have accumulated over the years.)
The conclusion from this is to apply during Round 1!
Seems pretty straightforward until it isn’t. By that, I mean that for many people they simply can’t submit a good application in Round 1. If that’s the case, that’s the case. As I always tell my clients, a “good application beats a bad application any day.” If your application would be substantially better by waiting then wait.
A few caveats: first, given that you are reading this blog now, there is absolutely no reason that you can’t submit all of your applications in the first round. With more than three months to go, there is plenty of time.
Second, I see the worst-case scenario as the client who just misses Round 1 by a nose; clients who, if they just had another week, would have made it. My reaction to this is “C’mon, get it together.” As any of my clients will tell you, I am the sweetest guy in the world to work with…except on this issue. If you have a deadline to meet, then you meet the deadline, no excuses.
A final word about Round 3. Simply put, in order to have any expectation of being accepted in Round 3, you have to have a great excuse about why you are applying so late. And when I say, great; I mean GREAT: you were in the Olympics, on the space shuttle, or exploring the Amazon. Anything short of that, your chances of acceptance are approaching zero. In fact, the dean of admissions of one top school told me straight out, “We don’t accept anyone in Round 3.”
Okay then.
In fact, when a client approaches me about applying Round 3, I generally tell them not to bother and instead shoot for Round 1 for the following admissions cycle. This way, you have plenty of time to produce a great application while submitting it as early as possible.
This provides you the best chance of being accepted; and isn’t this what applying to MBA programs is all about?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]