Hi All.
I have been preparing MBA application for a few schools (all of which are top10)
And I feel quite ready to submit my applications to few schools.
I know that it is still quite early and well before the deadline (December).
Does it put me at any advantage (even slightly) applying much earlier well before the deadline?
Thanks for any feedback or comment.
While I'm not an authority, the schools that aren't rolling admission make it clear that they don't prioritize based on when you apply within a round, so you're handicapping all the extra time you could spend reviewing and retweaking your app & essays. For the few rolling schools (i.e. CBS) maybe it does matter but I'm not going to conjecture there. I submitted the day before the deadline in R1. What if a big move comes at work that you could have incorporated, but now your app is set in stone? What if you open your app a week later and see a typo you want to fix or something you didn't phrase right (I GUARANTEE that will happen!)?
I'd let them sit. Attend a few more info sessions and see if you can improve on the apps based on what you hear. The schools like that anyways. Also, as a SMALL data point, a few weeks before the deadline I ended up at a small, invite only CBS event - the rep there made it clear they were only inviting promising candidates who had started, but NOT submitted, their applications. Cool perk. I ended up not enjoying the event and ended up dropping my app in R1; that in itself saved me $250 or so. Another perk. Not CBS bashing that's just the one example I have where pushing off an application submission ended up was tangibly worth it.
EDIT: One other CBS specific point - do wait for them, but don't wait until 2 weeks before the deadline if that's one of your targets. As a rolling school if you apply after the other schools make their decisions (CBS R1 goes late) they see themselves as second choice - they're pretty finicky about that. But Oct/Nov at least should make them look like a priority. I've had this confirmed by an ex-admissions officer there (during a free Stacy Blackman consulting session).
Have you done the free app reviews by consultants on P&Q? That's another thing you could do while you're biding your time. They're not always right but can't hurt.
Thanks for your feedback. Truly helpful. So in your opinion, what would be ideal timeline to apply for CBS as regular admission. FYI, CBS is my 3rd choice school...
I'm confused about being "ready": only about half of the essay questions just came out within the last week or so and many of the applications aren't even live. (That means the actual application, which has a bunch of short answers that are part of the evaluation, doesn't yet exist.) Which schools are you ready to apply to?
[Yes, CBS is out, but if you are not applying early decision, they won't look at your app until October 8, and it is the only application that is rolling.]
Also, for HBS, which went live today, June 1, it makes zero difference. To quote HBS Director of Admissions Dee Leopold from her blog (dated August 20, 2012)
Also the deadlines for first round are in September and early October, not December.
Sorry for the confusion I caused. Indeed I feel only quite ready for CBS application for now. For Sloan, yes the application is not open thou I have major application essay complete and I assume short answer questions (50 words) are quite similar to what CBS has. I guess I probably just continue revising them and let them sit until deadline
CBS queues the applications in 2 groups: Early and Regular decision. If you are regular decision they will read in the order received, but will not start reviewing until after the last day of the early decision period, which is October 7, 2015.
Note that MBA admissions committees will not consider your application complete unless your recommendations have been submitted, and that's not the kind of thing you want to rush.
As for Sloan, I believe they follow the Harvard policy of "game on" once the deadline has passed.
Definitely take your time! This isn't a sprint and there's no prize for finishing first. Don't apply on the deadline day itself but whether it's 3 months early or 3 days, it doesn't matter if the school isn't rolling. Walk away from your apps, come back to them with fresh eyes, it's all part of the process!
Should I apply early or wait? (Originally Posted: 07/31/2016)
I know a lot of BBs already started their recruiting, whether it be AM/IM/PWM/IBD. This is still quite early in the recruiting cycle and I have yet to complete my internship. Should I wait until my internship ends and apply around late August or should I apply now? If I apply now, I can only put what I have done on my resume and I feel like I would not be able to produce the best cover letter I can. The upside is that my application has a higher chance of getting read. However, if I wait until my internship ends, I will have a more complete resume and perhaps a more polished/better quality cover letter, but then the trade off is that my application might not actually end on HR's hands. What do you guys think is more important, getting read or having a more complete CV?
Getting read. Apply now. Discretely.
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