For many candidates, Round 3 is a time to sit back, relax and wait for the MBA admissions committees to make their decisions. However, for others, this round is a time to be conservative and apply to a safety school. But what constitutes a safety school?

Although determining exactly what a safety school is can be difficult (given that many variables are involved and the definition can shift depending on each candidate), a good place to start is with scores. If a candidate’s GMAT score and GPA are significantly higher than the target school’s averages, then the school is—at first glance, at least—a “safe” choice. So, for example, if you have a 720 GMAT and a 3.8 GPA and you are applying to Emory’s Goizueta School (average GMAT 680 and GPA 3.3), you are off to a promising start.

Next, you might consider your work experience relative to the target program. For example, many Goldman Sachs investment banking “alums” apply to and are admitted to the so-called M7 schools (Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, Chicago, Columbia and MIT). So if you happen to be such a candidate, choosing a school outside this tier would certainly make you more competitive (keeping in mind scores, community service and recommendations as well).

Finally, you might consider the general selectivity of the program. If you consider yourself a competitive candidate at Columbia Business School, which accepts 16% of applicants, applying to Texas, which accepts 34%, may be a safe option.

Before you start applying to any safety schools, however, you should ask yourself this relatively simple question: “Would I go if I got in?” Spending time applying to an MBA program that you would not be willing to actually attend is pointless. If you choose to apply to such a school (as some do), anyway, you will, rather ironically, find yourself with no “safety” net at all.

Many MBA applicants express profound concern about the impact of being laid off. Will the admissions committee view a layoff as a sign of failure?

One thing to remember is that many candidates share this worry—thousands of MBA candidates worldwide, in fact. For the admissions committees to dismiss all such applicants outright is simply not practical. In addition, the MBA admissions committees know that the current global financial crisis and the subsequent recession are at the root of the problem, not necessarily the individual candidate’s performance. Indeed, layoffs and firings are not the same thing, so admissions committees will examine your application with that in mind, seeking your broader story of success.

If you have been caught up in this unfortunate mess, what is important is that you can show that you have made good use of your time since the layoff—studying, volunteering, seeking work, enhancing your skills, etc. Each candidate will react differently, of course, but you need to have a story to tell (whether you are applying in the late rounds or even for next year) of how you made the most of a difficult situation.

Many candidates will work painstakingly on their essays, prepare rigorously for their interviews and endlessly contemplate their choices of recommenders. However, applicants tend to leave the short answer section of their applications to the last moment, and some will simply paste in information from their resumes or from their applications to other schools.

However, the short answer sections—meaning the actual questions within the application about your work and community experiences, hobbies, etc.—should definitely not be ignored, and should be completed with the same spirit of diligence that you would bring to all the other aspects of your application(s). We advise candidates to refrain from just pasting bullet points from their resumes into the short answer section, and to instead take time to truly contemplate the questions that are asked and write out the answers in full sentence form. (Further, bullets from a resume often lack the necessary context, so they rarely make effective answers for this portion of the application.) Although the information conveyed in the short answer section is important, we believe that what is really crucial is that candidates give care and thought to all aspects of their applications.

Although the receptionist in the Admissions Office is not a “spy,” and your tour guide’s main concern is not to inform the admissions committee of your actions or comments, both of these individuals will likely feel compelled to report any bad behavior to the admissions committee. We spoke with one former receptionist (now an admission committee member) at a top-ten school, who said that if she encountered rudeness from a visiting candidate, she would make note of it and send a message about the incident to the Admissions Director, who would subsequently remove the candidate from consideration for admission. Most candidates are on their best behavior anyway, but we nevertheless offer this important reminder.

With MBA admissions offices releasing second-round interview invitations in a few weeks, we thought we should explore an issue that brings endless paranoia to MBA candidates: scheduling interviews. Many schools will give applicants a significant window in which to schedule their interview. So, does scheduling an interview early convey that you are being too aggressive and do not have any other irons in the fire, or instead that you are eager to act and impress the admissions committee? Does scheduling an interview later give the impression that you are less interested in the program, or instead that you are highly sought after and are interviewing at multiple schools?

The reality is that there is really no difference between scheduling your interview early on during the time window offered and scheduling it near the end of this time frame. The MBA admissions committees recognize that you, like all candidates, are busy and that your schedule is in flux as a result of work, community and personal commitments. The committees focus on the interviews themselves, not on when they are scheduled. So pick a date that works for you—a day and/or time when you know you can be comfortable and relaxed, not distracted—and start preparing!

Given that you have significant time still before next year’s first-round deadlines, you have the opportunity now to take some “extra” steps to ensure you submit your strongest applications possible. One such step is doing some background work on your recommenders to make sure your choices are indeed “safe.”  After all, if you are playing by the strictest interpretation of the rules of recommendations, you will not know what a recommender will be writing about you. So, by doing a little intelligence work, you can better understand whether you are making the right choice, before you commit to a certain individual.

By doing some “intelligence,” we mean that, where possible, you should contact past colleagues in a discreet and diplomatic way to find out what their experiences were like with your potential recommender. For example, was your potential recommender a generous advocate or was he/she a disinterested third party who had a tendency to be harsh? Clearly, learning more about your target recommender’s approach in advance can help you understand whether or not you should offer him/her this important responsibility. Past colleagues can also guide you in how best to manage your recommenders, which can be just as important as choosing them. Knowing up front that your recommender is a procrastinator or performed better after being given a list of accomplishments from which to work can help ensure the best letter possible and can prevent you from inadvertently antagonizing your recommender or delaying the process.

These days, as candidates consider their strategies for the coming MBA admissions cycle, many have a logical question in mind: How many business schools should I apply to? The answer, of course, varies dramatically from applicant to applicant, but the golden rule is that you should only apply to an MBA program if you have enough time to make your application the best it can be. So, if you have time to “perfect” only three applications, then you should focus on applying to just three schools—and not consider submitting five “average” applications.

In terms of a target number—assuming that time is not a factor and you can commit yourself to all of your applications—five or six is generally optimal. With five or six applications, candidates can apply to a mix of reach, competitive and safe schools and can thereby truly cover their bases. Of course, each applicant has his/her own risk profile and timing to consider, but for most candidates, applying to too few schools can increase the risk of not being admitted, and too many can be overkill.

Last week, we focused on what approach waitlisted MBA candidates should take when they are asked to not send any follow-up information. This week, we examine waitlist situations in which the school asks applicants to provide updates on their progress. In the first scenario, the frustration candidates experience derives from a sense of helplessness, but in the second, candidates tend to lament the lack of time in which to have accomplished anything significant, often thinking, “What can I offer the MBA admissions committee as an update? I submitted my application only three months ago!”

First and foremost, if you have worked to target any weaknesses in your candidacy—for example, by retaking the GMAT and increasing your score, or by taking a supplemental math class and earning an A grade—the MBA admissions committee will certainly want to hear about this. Further, if you have any concrete news regarding promotions or assumptions of additional responsibilities in the community sphere, you should definitely update the MBA admissions committee on this news as well.

Even if you don’t have these sorts of quantifiable accomplishments to report, you should still have some news to share. If you have undertaken any additional networking or have completed a class visit since you submitted your application, you can discuss your continued (or growing) interest. (When you are on a waitlist, the admissions committee wants to see that you are passionately committed to the school.) And even if you have not been promoted, you could creatively reflect on a new project that you have started working on and identify the new professional skills/exposure that this project is providing or had provided (for example, managing people off-site for the first time or executing with greater independence). Finally, the personal realm is not off limits, so you should feel free to discuss any personal accomplishments—from advancing in the study of a language to visiting a new country to completing a marathon (just as examples).

With some thought and creativity, you should be able to draft a concise but powerful letter that shows your continued professional and personal growth while expressing your sincere and growing interest in the school—all of which will fulfill your goal of increasing your chances of gaining admission.

In recent weeks, many candidates have received a response from MBA admissions committees that can sometimes be far more frustrating than a rejection: “You have been placed on the waitlist.” So, what should you do when your status is uncertain? The first thing is to listen to the admissions committee. If the admissions committee tells you not to send follow-up material of any sort, then do not yield to temptation and send material that you think will bolster your case. If you (misguidedly) choose to send additional information when it has not been requested, then you will most definitely identify yourself in a negative way—not the type of message you want to send to the group that will decide your fate.

Are there any exceptions to this rule? Yes. If you know a current student or an alumnus/alumna who can tactfully, diplomatically and independently work on your behalf, you can have this third party write a letter to or otherwise contact the admissions committee on your behalf. But, again, this is acceptable only if this individual truly understands the delicate nature of the interaction. If you have no such person on your side, you will have to wait patiently, as difficult as that may be.

Next Week: Responding to admissions committees that do accept additional information.

As the second round of application deadlines approaches, many candidates find themselves immersed in stress, busy juggling multiple essays and constantly revising their resume. And often in the midst of all this, an alarming question will suddenly spring to mind: “What if my supervisors don’t get their letters done by the deadline?”

In our opinion, the easiest way to ensure that your recommenders complete their letters on time is to present them with your own deadline—one that is a bit earlier than the school’s. If the application to your school of choice is due on January 15th, for example, tell your recommenders that you are submitting on the 8th. (Incidentally, submitting your application early can be good for your sanity as well.) By setting this advanced deadline, you can put some additional pressure on your recommender on the 8th (if he/she has not finished the letter) and should still be able to submit on time (i.e., by the school’s official deadline)—and not have to deal with a major problem, had your recommender not been finished on or by the actual deadline day.

Most people work to deadlines. Alleviate unnecessary stress by setting your recommenders’ deadlines one week early, and “enjoy” the application process a little bit more.

For more information on properly selecting, communicating with and managing your recommenders, check out our Letters of Recommendation Guide.