When to Push Your MBA Applications to Round 2
Originally pushed on September 1, 2016. Updated on August 23, 2024.
HBS and Wharton applications are due in less than 2 weeks. Kellogg, Stanford, Columbia – just one week later. If you’ve been planning to apply in Round 1, we know you’re likely ready to ‘be done with it already.’ We get it.
But let’s take a pause. Feeling tired or frustrated isn’t a great reason to force an application through, even if you believe that there is a slight advantage of Round 1 vs. Round 2 (it’s very slight, we promise, and in no way compensates for a sub-par application!) You’ve worked so hard to this point – don’t submit anything but your very best.
Every year, we work with clients who end up pushing to Round 2 for a number of reasons and they are truly better off for it. So if you’re wondering if applying in Round 2 might be the better plan for you, read on.
4 Questions to Guide Your Decision
We’ve compiled a list of 4 questions to ask yourself in order to determine if pushing your applications to Round 2 is the right call:
- Are your essays as strong as they can be? In fact, in addition to asking yourself this question, ask two friends to look over your essays. Did they both have the same takeaways regarding your story and goals? Did they find your story inspiring? If not, get back to writing.
- Have you addressed any major weaknesses in your application? For example, for those with weak undergrad GPAs, have you completed (and gotten an A in) an extra finance or accounting class?
- Are you comfortable with your GMAT/GRE score? If not, do you believe you could meaningfully improve it if given the time to focus on it (and balance writing essays, etc.)?
- Did your recommenders have enough time to put thought into what they were writing?
If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, don’t do it – you may want to wait until Round 2.
On the other side of the coin, if you answered ‘yes’ to all of those questions, don’t panic and punt to Round 2 simply because you’re nervous to click “submit”. Once you can say ‘I’ve done everything I possibly could’, then go for it.
Punt to Round 2 and…Move Forward
If you decide to wait, don’t be hard on yourself. 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. Just keep the end goal in mind–you walking onto the campus of your dream school as a student in less than 12 months.
If you decide to push your applications to Round 2 and feel your could use an extra boost to get over the finish line, please reach out to our team for a free initial consultation. We can give you specific feedback and a plan for how we can help.
Best of luck to everyone!
Katie is a passionate mentor and coach, helping her clients craft a unique, compelling story by leveraging her experience as a corporate executive, alumni interviewer, and campus recruiter. Before completing her MBA at Kellogg, Katie spent five years in banking where she learned practical finance skills as well as how to operate in a demanding, high pressure environment. She pursued an MBA in order to transition to an industry role where she could utilize her finance knowledge to drive change within an organization. Post-MBA, she worked in finance and strategy for a leading CPG firm, progressing to an executive role leading the finance function for a $2B business segment. Her experience managing diverse teams led to a passion for developing others. In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, she led her firm’s MBA recruiting efforts and served as an alumni admissions interviewer for Kellogg.