Should You Apply Round 1 or Wait for Round 2?

Should you apply Round 1 vs Round 2? HBS deadlines are just 13 weeks away. At this stage, many applicants realize that work projects or personal commitments have consumed more time than expected. Consequently, the application process feels more rushed than originally anticipated. This is also the time when many applicants start wondering whether they should just push their round one applications to round two. Right now, you still have plenty of time to get your act together; but here are a few other items to consider when making this decision over the coming weeks.

While there’s no conclusive data to support it, many applicants believe their chances in R1 are higher than in R2. I believe this logic too. In R1 you start with a blank slate. By R2, admissions committees have already started building their classes. Our former adcom team recommends R1 especially for certain applicants. These include those with 4+ years of experience. They also include people from overrepresented industries like consulting and finance. The reality is that MBA Round 1 vs Round 2 acceptance rates fluctuate from year to year. Yet we know clearly that R3 is always a very low acceptance rate round for most US schools. I like to be conservative. If you can apply R1, go for it. But only if you won’t submit a second-rate app.

For your mental health, we know something by this point in the process. Many applicants strongly desire to ‘be done with it already.’ We get it. You spent a few months studying for the GMAT. You’ve talked to your recommenders. You’ve memorized the schools’ websites. You’re ready to do this. Then hopefully you’ll know the outcome. You can start planning next year.

That said, we always appreciate someone gunning to a finish line, but we do not recommend sacrificing one ounce of quality just to apply round 1. This is a competitive process – you have to bring your A game. If you don’t have time to execute on your plan of retaking the GMAT, writing essays and learning about the schools concurrently over the next 13 weeks, then you may want to start thinking about plan B. Our advice for people having this internal debate right now is to keep marching forward but focus on quality over speed. This process takes hard work. Don’t dilute it and submit anything but your very best. When deciding between MBA Round 1 and Round 2, your application quality matters more than speed.

On the other side of the coin, just being stressed and maybe a little nervous doesn’t warrant panicking and punting to R2 simply for the comfort of time (or continuing to spin your wheels). Once you can say ‘I’ve done everything I possibly could’, then go for it.

If you decide to wait, give yourself a break. You’re making the right decision to put yourself in the best position for success, but deciding to do so is hard and can feel a bit like defeat. So go ahead and reward yourself with a week or two off. Reconnect with your friends and family. Go to the gym. See a movie. Do whatever you need to do to clear your head, and get ready to come back to your applications with a fresh set of eyes and a renewed focus.

If you’re wondering whether your application is ready for R1, feel free to reach out. We can give you some feedback and/or you can run your application through our Trial Run process so that a former top 10 adcom member can simulate your application review before the real thing.