Just wing it and see?

[casper]

I wasn't planning on applying to grad school until next year but I was wondering if I just rushed together an application to see what happens. Would it hurt me next year if I don't get in this year? I figure I'll just study for the GMAT for a couple weeks, throw together an application, and see if I can squeak in by the early May deadlines for '09. I'm not going to be applying to any top schools and I wont really care if I don't get in but I am worried about if this will look bad if I want to re-apply next year. I figure the most I have to lose is some time and a couple hundred bucks.

[Scottie@VeritasPrep]

What is your reason for rushing to complete an application at this point? Typically R3 is the toughest round and most applicants have been planning and working on their applications well ahead of the deadline. If you cannot dedicate the time to submit a thorough, well-written application then you probably are wasting your time. And do you really want to go to a program that will admit you based upon substandard work?

[casper]

It's a long story of why I'm rushing this and it was not my intent, but I started looking at application deadlines for '09 to see what they normally are for when I apply next year and saw that I could send in an application this year in time. So I figured why not just see what happens? I'm just concerned if it will hurt me if I don't get in and re-applying next year.

[Scottie@VeritasPrep]

Re-applying should not hurt you in terms of how the business school views your application. However, you will need to identify why you were dinged (poor essays, lack of work exp, etc.) and specifically address those areas before re-applying or you will be wasting your time in the re-app process.