MBA admissions consultants

mbaMission hosts a weekly blog series, “Admissions Myths Destroyed,” for our friends at Beat the GMAT (BTG). Check out the BTG site for fresh material and our site for “reprints.” The following piece was penned by mbaMission Founder Jeremy Shinewald:

Many MBA admissions officers will tell candidates that if they can complete their applications and submit them in Round 1, then they should do so. Most MBA programs will also tell candidates that they should try to avoid Round 3, because the majority of the places in their classes will have been filled by then. So, what does that say about Round 2?

As of late, a strange trend seems to have manifested: candidates have been calling mbaMission to ask whether submitting an application in Round 2 is worth it or whether it is simply too late at that point. Unfortunately, when one is competing with an unknown group of competitors, it is natural to be concerned about every perceived difference or deficiency. Some candidates grow concerned if they are a year older than the average at their target school, while others fret if they are a year younger. Many candidates worry if their GMAT scores are ten points under a school’s average. And, of course, some candidates worry if they submit their application in Round 2. However, the overall strength of your candidacy, which is a measure of many factors, is far more important than where you fit in relation to any single statistic—not to mention whether you apply in Round 1 or 2.

So, we too would encourage candidates to apply early, if they are ready, but we would not encourage anyone to give up on their MBA dreams for a year if it is just not practical to apply in Round 1. You may be surprised to discover that Admissions Committees encourage early applications but also concede that there is very little difference in selectivity between the first and the second round. To back up this statement, we offer a small selection of quotes from our own interviews with admissions officers:

“People ask, generally, is it better to apply in the first round or the second round or third round? We definitely advise people to avoid the third round if possible, because space can become an issue by the time the third round rolls around. But we do view the first two rounds as roughly equivalent.”- Bruce DelMonico, Admissions Director, Yale SOM

“[We] get about a third of our applications in Round 1, about 55% in Round 2, and the remainder in Round 3…We encourage people to submit their application when they feel that they offer their best possible applications. . . So, if you can get everything lined up and completed and you feel really good about it by October 10, then I would encourage you to apply in Round 1. But if it takes you a bit longer, and you want to take the time to look at your application again and maybe have somebody else look at it, then Round 2 is fine, too.”- Soojin Kwon Koh, Admissions Director, Michigan – Ross

“We look at statistics over the years—how many applications we got, how many we admitted and how many we yielded—and we try to even it out so we’re not being too generous in one round at the expense of another round.”- Dawna Clarke, Admissions Director, Dartmouth – Tuck