So your friends have all been accepted to business school, but you haven’t even applied yet. Think you’re out of time?
This time of year can be exhilarating or maddening depending on your position in the application process, but if you haven’t yet applied to your target MBA programs, fear not---round three deadlines in some cases are several months away. There are some schools who will even consider applications on a rolling basis well into the summer.
If you find yourself in the rather unenviable position of applying in round three this year, know that as round three typically goes, this year should be better than most.
The roaring economy and low unemployment rate has kept the volume of applications low and there has simultaneously been a dramatic drop in international applications to US business schools. Typically, round three is very difficult one in which to gain a positive admission decision, but these factors will work in your favor as you pull your applications together.
Know that most seats at top schools are already filled and it’s likely that schools have extended more than enough offers to prior applicants to round out their incoming class for the fall.
Having said that, you must also remember that schools hedge against applicants turning them down vs. saying yes (known in business school world as yield). Schools want every seat filled and they will generally err on the side of offering too many admissions invitations than not enough. Somehow schools find a way to squeeze in an extra student or two, and they can always offer deferred admission to folks (similar to an airline overbooking a plane). Schools rely on their own history of yield to determine how many invitations they extend, but it’s not an exact science, so if you feel you have a strong profile, it’s advisable to go ahead and submit round three applications vs. waiting until the fall.
By strong profile, we mean you have a competitive GMAT score and a good story to tell.
Having attended a top 10 undergraduate college is a real plus. If you lack in any or all of these areas, you might have an uphill climb in round three, but you never know---perhaps you have an interesting hook in your story that will resonate with the adcoms, or will fill a gap in their student profile. Schools are always hungry for a diverse class and often, round three is used to seek out the unicorns, or at least the type of folks they somehow didn’t see enough of in the earlier rounds.
If you are wondering if you fall into the unicorn category, reach out to us. We’d be more than happy to give you a profile evaluation and speak frankly about how we view your chances.
To find out more about your options and how we can guide your business school application process, email us at mba@amerasiaconsulting.com or contact us via http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/contact.
There are a few reasons why you might want to figure out what the perfect timing to submit your MBA application is. In this blog post we will help you navigate which round you should aim to apply to. Consider your personal readiness, visit enough schools, is "early action" an option, and what about the third round?