You should be intentional about your strategy regarding when to submit your MBA applications.
While some b-schools utilize a rolling admissions process, most schools still stick with the traditional rounds structure. If you are going round-and-round in your mind about when to submit, you really need to get organized and decide how to allocate your applications across the various rounds.
Conventional wisdom dictates that the earlier you apply, the more likely you will be admitted.
This approach definitely pays off if you have a strong profile and take advantage of the early action rounds. If you are new to the MBA application game, early action is a relatively new invention that schools came up with a few years ago to help combat melt and boost yield from their applicant pool. In exchange for more favorable consideration, applicants agree to lock in with their chosen school if admitted. Getting these commitments in early better helps schools manage their class size and ensures a core group of qualified students will be in place long before the mad scramble of the late rounds ever arrives.
Still, some forget that the most competitive applications also come in during round one.
If you have some challenges in your application and you have missed or decided to skip on early action, you may consider also skipping round one, which often attracts the hard-charging, uber-organized type-A achievers to apply. This early invitation to join the coveted ranks of accepted status can be tempting, since you generally find out before the holidays and can begin making plans, but don’t cave in to the alluring and reassuring comfort of certainty if you have concerns about the strength of your background or qualifications.
Round two is usually a smaller pool, and often a bit less competitive than round one.
Round two also obviously gives you more time to prepare your materials and write your essays. You should always try to avoid feeling rushed in this important process of self-reflection and analysis, since doing so will only reflect poorly in your presentation. Better to wait for a less crowded round and have put more thoughtful reflection into your story than to simply find out earlier.
Round three is generally considered the most difficult to navigate.
Since most of the seats are filled by round three, it’s often more challenging to get a “yes” from the adcoms, who at that point are searching for specific types to fill holes or gaps in the student body makeup. But instead of simply putting all your applications in round two, a good strategy might be to allocate a few for each round, potentially saving some of your “safety” schools for the last round. If you are lucky, you will have heard from one of your dream schools by then and can scrap the notion of having to do any third round applications at all. Plus, you save a few bucks on application fees!
For information on how we can guide your business school application process, email us at mba@amerasiaconsulting.com or go to http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/contact