The Tuesday Q&A: Is Round 1 Better Than Round 2?

May 29, 2012 :: Admissionado Team

QUESTION:

I am from China and want to apply to business school. I saw that lots of schools are starting their applications now, and HBS has already released their questions. Is it better to apply as early as possible? Round 1 has better chance than Round 2?

ANSWER:

Yes, you are correct. You always want to apply as early as possible. And this is especially key for International applicants like you. You NEED to apply early in the process.

There are simply too many International folks out there (Chinese especially) looking to go to good programs.  And there are only so many spots to go around (and not many!) So YES, apply Round 1, apply Early Decision…anything at all that you can do to be considered early.

Not only will your chances be better, but you’ll also give yourself the opportunity to apply to different schools in later rounds should you not get accepted in Round 1. And, of course, if things in your life get busy and you don’t get to all those apps in Round 1, you’ll still have Round 2 to get the rest in.

Bottom line: the earlier the better, that’s for sure.

And now that schools are starting to release the essays, there’s no better time to get started than right now.

Good luck!

— Jon Frank

[Got a question for Jon? Send it over: info@admissionado.com]