CS @ HBS

It’s already June and schools are starting to release their application deadlines for 2007/8 (class of 2010). Many applicants are starting to ask themselves – “When should I apply?”

Most business schools have three admission rounds – i.e. three different deadlines for submitting applications and, consequently, receiving interview invitations and final decisions. Exceptions to this rule are Columbia Business School and other schools with “Rolling Admissions” (a process without deadlines), schools that have four admission rounds or schools with two Intakes. There are also other, more esoteric, admission schemes.

In this post I discuss the majority – schools with the three rounds, with the following submission deadlines:

• Round One – Mid October – Mid November
• Round Two – January
• Round Three – March

And you get a final decision (admit/reject) by:

• Round One – late December – January
• Round Two – March-April
• Round Three – May

For Israeli candidates (or just Hebrew readers…), here’s a site that contains the deadlines and notification dates of the leading programs. (note that right now it’s still not updated to 2007/8)

So, in which round should you apply?

Round One
Pros

• Top reason: although admission officers usually attest to the contrary, I do believe admission chances, for any candidate, are better in Round One. Why? In one (not pretty) word: Quota.

In more words: Well, admission officers always claim that “there is no quota of candidates of any type” – meaning they supposedly won’t have a problem admitting, say, 50 Israelis in one year. In reality, however, that is not the case. Is it a coincidence that every year, in the top schools, the percentage of international students is always 30-40%, usually conveniently hovering around 1/3? I don’t think so. I think top schools could’ve easily “filled in” their classes with international students if they wanted to, but they don’t. Same goes to students of a certain nationality, a certain profession, even a certain gender to a lesser extent. Sometimes officers implicitly admit this:
“… I would say that round three is essentially used as a “shaping” round — looking for candidates who round out the profile of the class.“ Deirdre Leopold, Executive Director of MBA Admissions & Financial Aid, Harvard Business School (source: BusinessWeek, May 31, 2007)

So the conclusion is that if a lot of Israelis were admitted in Round One, chances of Israelis applying in Round Two are slimmer… I’m talking about Israelis since, naturally, this is the group I know most. And now begins “the vicious circle” – if Israelis know that Round One is better (based on statistics from previous years, rumors and advice), many of them apply in Round One, and many are admitted in Round One, less will be admitted in Round Two, and next year new applicants will hear that Round One is better, more will apply in Round One, and so on…
(or in a twisted paraphrase of Marx, “consciousness determines reality” – and vice versa…)

This particular reasoning might be less relevant to Americans.

Continuing with other Pros:

• “Get rid of it” much earlier – the application process isn’t very pleasant, and like with every unpleasant task in life (GMAT…), it’s better to put in some concentrated effort and be done with it.
• Receive decisions earlier, and apply in Round Two to more schools if necessary.
• Much more time to prepare for school itself (moving, getting a visa, quitting work, travelling).
• More flexibility in attending schools’ “admit weekends” and other events.

Cons

• Less time for applying: writing essays, taking care of recommendations, (re)taking the GMAT, conducting a schools visit, networking with students and alumni.
• For Israelis, deadlines usually coincide with the Jewish holidays (which is good because you’ll have some time off work, but this time is usually full of family obligations and other holidays stuff).

Round Two
Pros

• More time to prepare.
• Learn from experience of applicants in Round One – their essays and interview experiences.
• Still enough time to prepare for school.

Cons

• The possibility of a smaller chance of being admitted – same reasoning as above.
• Mirror image of the other Round One pros – the entire process drags on for months, anxiously waiting for results after seeing your friends being admitted in Round One, no chance to apply to emergency schools if things don’t work as planned.

Round 3 – just don’t. Wait a few months and apply Round One of next year.

Summary
If you’re already seriously thinking about applying, and especially if the GMAT/TOEFL are already behind you, you have plenty of time on your hands. Therefore, I suggest aiming for Round One for most schools, or at least the schools you want most. If necessary, leave a couple of schools as “backup” for Round Two. However, try to start with writing the essays of the schools which are not your favorite ones – as your writing will definitely improve from essay to essay.

Of course, if you’re reading this and it’s already late September, or you just know that you have time constraints that won’t allow you to complete your applications in Round One, then… don’t. Of course it’s better to apply in Round Two with well-prepared applications than in Round One with half baked ones.

Having said that, a personal anecdote – last year, as Round One deadlines were approaching, I pretty much had everything  ready but wasn’t 100% sure of my essays. I thought more time with them would improve them (which was probably true…). I talked to a few students, who gave me different and sometimes contradictory advice. At the end I decided that maybe I’ll manage to make some marginal improvements, but all in all I’m satisfied with the content of the essays. So I did apply in Round One, and the rest, as they say, is history (or HBS).

Lesson learned? One needs to learn, somehow, when is the right time to “let go” of the application. Obviously you can polish essays forever – one word here, another there. The question is does this polishing worth another round, considering the pros/cons above.

After you decide…
Plan a rough schedule of the next four months until Round One deadlines. As I said, you have plenty of time, and you should try and finish everything way ahead (meaning at least a few good days) before the deadlines. I’ll publish a post about recommended timelines (and my own timeline, which isn’t a recommended one!) in the new few days.

As always, feel free to leave comments / ask questions!

And the usual disclaimer: these are only my opinions, I’m not affiliated with any admissions office, don’t blame me if you submit everything two years before Round One deadlines and get rejected from all places.