Applying on Round 1 or Round 2 - Which is a better MBA Admissions Strategy?

F1GMAT: Applying on Round 1 or Round 2 - Which is a better MBA Admissions Strategy? Will B-Schools compare R1 and R2 candidates with shared background?

David Petersam(AdmissionsConsultants): If admissions committee members are organized and on top of their internal processes, yes, they are probably trying to get a sense of who they have in the pipeline for R2. This wouldn't matter for the strongest applicants but it might for the ones who are on the fence (meaning reject vs. waitlist, or waitlist vs. admit). The schools want to manage their numbers closely to make sure that they don't take weaker applicants early on if they don't need to. On the other hand, if they get a smaller R2 pool than expected, they might take more from R1 or have a larger waitlist.

I've also been asked if schools might use this overlap between the two admissions rounds to compare candidates with a shared background – for example, whether a school might look at both R1 and R2 applicants from the same field or industry and deny or waitlist some R1 applicants if the R2 candidates are stronger.

I doubt that most admissions committees would have enough time to get into that level of detail. They're most likely to look at numbers that they can run from the database – for example, overall application numbers, statistics, and the percentage of applicants from a particular industry, function, or location – rather than sort through specific apps. That holds true regardless of school size, even if a bigger school does have a bigger staff.

As for whether a school might check all of the applicants from a specific firm – maybe, if they are trying to manage the level of admits closely for a certain firm or industry or from a certain geographic area. If they have a great database and can easily run a report that gives them a view of applications by firm, industry, location, or whatever, they certainly might use that to help them make R1 final decisions. Wouldn't you?

What's really happening behind closed doors in these final days of the R1 waiting game – which is different for every school! Remember, the schools operate just like a business, with many variables that can be rearranged to meet specific targets and with operational and technical considerations. If they are short-staffed or have more apps than expected, the school will be working like mad just to make their deadlines for responding. If they are very organized and have great systems, they can take the time to slice and dice the numbers and use them to their advantage!

About David Petersam

David Petersam is the president and founder of AdmissionsConsultants, Inc., launched in 1996. He graduated from the University of Chicago with an MBA.At
Chicago, he gained an insider’s knowledge of MBA admissions, working in
the admissions office there and contributing to admissions committee
decisions. Prior to his MBA studies, he was a Certified Public
Accountant. On college and graduate admissions, Petersam has been
quoted in the New York Times, featured in T.V. and radio programs, and
has published a guest column in the Washington Business Journal.