Second or Third round??

All else equal, the earlier the better. However, if you can't put together a competitive application by the round 2 deadline it is probably best to apply to round 3 with a better application.

Agree with the above. Definitely better to apply early, especially if your'e hoping for a better shot at scholarship $$. However, I wouldn't rush it and get a shitty gmat score + a sloppy application.

is getting all your shit done this year then applying round 1 super early next year and being uber prepped out of the question?

Double check this but I am pretty sure that it takes 20 calendar days for GMAT to report official test scores to schools. This means that you would have to take the GMAT around Mid December if you wanted to be ready for Round 2 at a school like H. I would recommend that you take a 1 of the MBA.com practice test this weekend (with the essays) to gauge your baseline. If you score above 660 I suspect that you can spend the next 30 days studying and do well enough on the real thing to be competitive for the schools you listed (based on GMAT only as I do not know your stats). Round 3 is for suckers. Waiting until Round 1 of next year is another good option as well if you can stay in the same job.

My other stats (total work experience, GPA) fall withing the ranges of all the schools, though near the lower end for H/W/S. I've only been in the industry for 2 years but spent 4 in the Army as an Intelligence Analyst...so that could work in my favor, potentially.

Staying where I am for another year might be possible...though I have never addressed this directly with my bosses. If I explained the situation to them, they might be willing to let me stay since the position was premised as a 2 or 3 year gig. I think I do decent work so I doubt they would have a problem letting me stay because of that, it's more a question of how hiring a new analyst after me fits into their fund life, etc...and I just don't know the answer to that question.

I've thought about waiting until next year, but I've been trying to decide if it's worth it. I'm trying to determine the marginal benefit of going to Fuqua or Darden over the others I've listed, assuming I could get an offer from one of them but not from Fuqua or Darden. Part of me says getting into a decent school would provide me the access to the same jobs...or nearly the same jobs...as the others might. I would like to continue working in PE, but realize the market has stiff competition and few jobs right now, so I am also willing to go into IB and see where that takes me...whether I stay there or find a buyside opportunity down the road. My intent is to stay in the south/southeast so I think the names carry pretty similar weight (in general) and they all have strong alumi bases in the region...though some are likely stronger than others.

I guess the hypothetical question is, if you get accepted to Emory or UNC in round three, but not Duke or UVA, do you just go this year to one of the 'lesser' choices or do you say no and risk reapplying with a somewhat stronger application the next year with the hopes of getting into the 'better' school? Obviously there really isn't a right or wrong answer here, because you can never know the outcome one way or the other...however, I'm interested in troubleshooting both ways and seeing which offers the better outcome.

Things to note about my current gig...I don't think I will have anymore responsibility in the next year that I haven't already encountered...so I'm not 'growing' if you will...also the salary is well below street partially because I'm at a pretty small fund and partially because I graduated from a unknown private school (so part of getting an MBA is to provide some 'instant credibility' to my resume) in 2009 and was unemployed for a year...so it was somewhat of a concession and I didn't feel as though I was in a position to negotiate. The point there is, I don't think I will get paid any higher if I stay another year and I don't think I can negotiate any higher salary, because they could just higher someone new and save the money...so still not in a good position to negotiate.

Sorry for the long explanation and I appreciate all the input.

Regards

I'm certainly no expert but I am currently going through the process now, so take this with as much salt as you would like. From what I have read, there is no significant difference in terms of competitiveness between Rounds 1 and 2 (with the notable exception of Stanford which suggests R1 apps on their website). However, virtually every top school states on its admissions page that R3 is significantly more competitive because the majority of the class is already chosen. This is not to say that great candidates don't get in R3, but why put yourself at a disadvantage? I would wait until next year.

if youre a white male in finance i think being fully prepared for round 1 is the best rather than rushing round 2 with crap apps and getting into a choice below where you wanna go and have to write re-app's the year after

Don't apply in round 3. I agree with ShortTheWorld's advice. Rushing Round 2 apps could be a very costly mistake and I don't think Round 3 is even worth it as a white / male / finance. Extend your employment by a year and take a stab in round 1 next year.

Thanks guys.

Regards

Maybe if you can rock out a solid GMAT in time you can get a solid shot in at Fuqua or one of the other schools for round two -- have you done all your research and know what you want to say?

I am going to scramble and try to get my Darden application in by the round 2 deadline. If I tank the GMAT I will just push it back, retake the test and apply to all of the schools in the third round and hope for some traction. I realize that isn't the best option, let alone a good one, but I don't think there is any downside in applying third round other than the cost, which is minimal, and the time it takes to fill out the applications.

If I get accepted into one of the schools then I will decide at that time whether I want to go or not. I think that is the best way to hedge my bets at this point.

shorttheworld...what do you mean by research and 'what I want to say'? Are you referring to researching the schools and the possible interviews or are you talking about the essays?

Regards

Researching the schools and why you want to go for the essays. There is a lot of downside for third round since financial aid has dried up and also it is MUCH harder to get accepted..

I don't like making this sort of comment, because it's a bit self-aggrandizing, but I think you should hear this: if you get your ass massively and rapidly in gear, you can make R2, and it is very much in your interest to do so.

I didn't start my applications, including essays, GMATs, and school selection, until right before Thanksgiving weekend two years ago and I made all second round deadlines and matriculated to HBS (OP - pm me and I will prove this by replying from my HBS email, though I rarely check my WSO messages). I took the GMAT new years eve 2009 and spent the Thanksgiving holiday and the christmas holidays locked in my room studying and writing my essays. I applied to seven schools - got in 3 (Booth, Sloan, HBS), was waitlisted at 2 (Columbia, Fuqua) and was dinged at Wharton and Stanford. The area it hurt me the most on was in the researching the schools bit, where the feedback on both waitlist schools was that I didn't show sufficient interest in them in terms of visiting, etc. I am not saying this is easy - I had to be relentless, but you were in the army, so you probably know how to buckle down under time pressure. But the decision point is now, and it probably requires that you be at least a decent natural writer and test-taker. Good luck.

Yeah, I would say that while my last job (investment management role) was fairly demanding, the work load had pretty low variability and pretty good predictability, much better than some other roles, but honestly I didn't get much done except when I was on vacation. The key for me was using my vacations around the holidays (4 days at Thanksgiving, a week from Xmas to New Years) almost totally for this and putting in 12 hours a day (had some meals with parents over the holidays but that was basically it), but I also recognize in many ways I was very lucky - although I may not be that smart, I test pretty well and can write fairly rapidly, and obviously I was very lucky in terms of outcomes, when many folks who are just as qualified if not more aren't.

In retrospect I was incredibly naive about the process - no one from my firm had gone in a decade, none of my college friends went into finance (though I went to a school where many did), and I didn't work in a major financial center. I didn't seriously consider the MBA or that I could be a decent candidate until I did a job interview with a recent GSB grad who made the case to me I should go and would have a shot, at which point I figured as a white guy in finance I would need to apply R2 and rushed to do it. With taking the GMAT on new year's eve there was no margin for error, but I knew from practice tests that I'd test ok, and that my college GPA/college prestige would mitigate any flaws, and luckily I did well. If I were you I would take a GMAT practice test (computerized) ASAP and figure out based on that and how that looks relative to the school and your own academic record (bearing in mind that schools do care about you beating their median and care about the GMAT more if your undergrad was not as prestigious) and then see if you can make it. It's not an ideal situation.

I recommend the Princeton Review and Real GMAT books and Richard Montauk's How to Get into Top MBA programs, though other books provide a similar view with less data/quotations/examples, which I personally find helpful but some people can skip.

One other thought for you given what you said about your background: If I had thought of it earlier I would have done more research and applied fewer places. I also think if you're at a smaller shop (as I was) there is more variability in outcomes and less predictability - it's fairly easy to guess the top analysts at McKinsey or Goldman will get into certain schools, the next best to certain schools etc. In some sense at a smaller place there is less of a peer group to compare to (I had almost no one at my level) and folks with that kind of background tended to have more dispersion of results, as I did so that may force you apply more places.

My honest advice is to stage the bet - do the reach and maybe the target level schools (eg Darden, Fuqua) early if you can, put off the others, but if at all possible to go for it. The essays are very reusable so the marginal work to do one versus four isn't that bad. Your situation is clearly difficult - given your age and demographic (6 years out, male, non-minority, right?), it's clearly better to apply now and I make this post just say that in the right circumstances it is possible.

However, only you know what is feasible given the constraints you're working under, how much time you need for the GMAT, and whether you can plausibly make the next year (if you go around the horn and wait) productive either at work or through leadership in a community organization perhaps. It sounds like with whats on your plate it may be tough to do - I wish you luck whatever you decide.