For most applicants who are still considering business school this year, they will be looking at applying in round three or even in round four for their chosen schools. I'm often asked by applicants whether or not they should go ahead and apply at the end of the admissions cycle or wait until next year. Let's look at the pros and cons of each approach.
Apply Round 3 - Pros
One of the first questions I ask students is how set are they on going to school THIS year? Well if there is some extenuating circumstance that is essentially forcing the applicant's hand, then let's go ahead and apply. Applicants that fall into this category can include an international student whose visa is expiring or someone who was recently laid off from their job. So if you are set on applying in round three, the most important tip I can give you is adjust your school expectations. You might think you have a top ten profile, but you will need to apply to a much wider range of schools in order to make it in round 3. Also, lower ranked schools will probably have a higher percentage of seats available than higher ranked ones. Especially as waitlists at higher ranked schools clear and applicants "trade up" from lower ranked schools.
Apply Round 3 - Cons
It's fairly intuitive that most schools have already admitted a majority of students in their first few rounds of applications. While there is no firm number, you can expect that at least 90 per cent of seats have already been given away by a particular school, so the odds are definitely against you, and you'll have to be a fairly outstanding applicant to have a shot in round three.
Wait for Next Year - Pros
I'm a big fan of waiting for next year for fringe students. Especially those who have some kind of hole in their application, such as less than 3 years of work experience, a low gmat, a low gpa or less than stellar work experience. An applicant can use that extra year to add quite a bit to their profile. First, there is plenty of time to take a GMAT course and bump up a low score fifty or more points. Secondly, the applicant can search out new and challenging work assignments or leadership positions that would impress the admissions committee. Finally, the applicant can apply in the first round and open up more opportunities for themselves.
Wait for Next Year - Cons
If you don't think that your situation will be any better, then you might as well apply now. If your job is so consuming that you don't think you'll be able to focus on your application all that more over the next year than you were able to do this year, the extra time won't help you. Additionally, the competition for those seats are not going to get easier as more applicants come to the age where they will be applying to school.