Applying on Round 1 increases your chances of being accepted to an MBA Program?

Stacy Blackman: Most candidates we speak with wonder which round they should apply to. Planning your application schedule obviously requires that you know your deadlines. Schools will generally announce their deadlines over the summer months. While every school is different, most schools have a number of deadlines, known as “rounds.” Deciding in which round to apply can certainly complicate your planning. Frequently, the first deadline, round 1, will take place in the Fall, the second deadline, round 2, in the Winter, and the third deadline, round 3, in Spring. For each round there is a full admissions cycle and a unique set of notification dates. There are exceptions to this all over the place with some schools having fewer or more rounds and many variations on dates. That said, when faced with several different options, applicants want to know: “which round is the best round in which to apply?”

For many, there is a frenzy involved with trying to submit applications in round 1. So much so that you might wonder what the other rounds are for. If everyone needs to submit applications in round 1, who exactly is being admitted in round 2? The answer: a lot of people are admitted in round 2, and if your application is not ready, you should not be afraid to slide to round 2.

All things being equal, round 1 may be a bit of a smarter strategy. At the beginning of round 1, all of the seats in the class are available. At the beginning of round 2, a bunch of seats have already been given away, and you are also competing with those on the waitlist. But then of course, there are those who say that all of the top candidates are applying in round 1—and you are up against the toughest competition. So then, maybe it is best to apply round 2. Hmmm…this is confusing…

The truth is that the admissions committees know what they are looking for. They have become pretty good at estimating numbers, and evaluating and accepting applicants that fit their criteria. The best strategy is not to play the game of which round, but to submit your application as soon as, but not until, it is ready. Recently, I spoke with a client who believes she can raise her GMAT from 650 to 700, but it will mean waiting until round 2 to submit applications. My advice? Go for the 700 in round 2. Always make sure all aspects of your application are the strongest they can possibly be, and then submit. Never sacrifice quality just to get into round 1.

Final rounds for a given school (be it round 3 or round 4) are often a bad strategy. For many schools, this is the time they are focused on completing their class and picking very specific profiles. In addition, if you submit an application in March and are not admitted, you do not have much time to regroup and improve your profile before reapplying in October for the next season.

For many people it is difficult to submit all applications within one round. A better strategy may be to stagger rounds—choose a few schools to target the first round, and a few more for a later round. Once you have decided on the rounds that you are going to target, you can begin to map out your timeline and the associated schedule. As with much of this process, you need to be flexible. If you find that you are facing a deadline and the application is just not ready to go, you can always submit later.



Stacy Sukov Blackman has been consulting on the MBA application process
since 2001. She earned her MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of
Management at Northwestern University and her Bachelor of Science from
the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Stacy has worked
with the admissions committees at both schools, conducting alumni
interviews and evaluating applicants. Stacy has published a book, The MBA Application Roadmap,. Stacy has been profiled in several publications, including Fortune Magazine, BusinessWeek and the Wall Street Journal.
Visit StacyBlackman.com