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The Ideal Time to Apply
What is a typical admission process?
Many schools use rounds of application, whereby they determine three rounds of
deadlines, typically in November, January and March for a September class start.
At this stage they gather together all the applications that are of interest to
them and start to make decisions whether you are in, out, or placed on a wait
list.
Other
schools use a rolling admissions process. This means quite
simply that they are constantly receiving and reviewing applications throughout
the academic year,
or consider on a first come first serve basis.
They accept or reject the applications as they are reviewed
and provide a
response within four to six weeks of reception.
The ideal
time to apply
So
when should you submit your application?
The deciding factor must be to apply to school when you have prepared a
top-notch application.
Apply early! It is said that Stanford GSB
allocated 40-50% of its places in first round, 30-40% in the second round, and
only 10% in the third or last round. Stanford is a school to which it is always exceptionally difficult to be admitted, but in
Round 3 it is nearly impossible.
On the other hand, if meeting the November deadline means a poorly prepared GMAT test, with hurried
essays that lack of definition and impact, you'd be better waiting for the next
round.
In other words, applicants are
of course accepted in the final round. If you are choosing between a hurried
dossier with an average GMAT score for the January deadline, versus a
thoughtful, persuasive dossier and a higher GMAT score for the March deadline,
take your time, do a good job and apply for the later deadline.
In sum, applicants are
encouraged to apply in the first or second rounds because it allows you more
flexibility because you are notified earlier and have a larger window in which
to make your decision. Also, schools tend to admit a much larger number of
applicants in the earlier rounds than in the last, although there is always room
in the class for exceptional applicants.
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