To Delay an Acceptance or Not

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To Delay an Acceptance or Not

by tariqal » Thu Dec 29, 2011 2:53 pm
So, I'm stuck in a position that I thought would've been a no-brainer a little more than a month ago and I thought I'd throw this question out there to you guys, and perhaps others could benefit from it as well.

I recently received acceptance into my top choice B-school in Canada (Ivey) which came as a major relief, of course. (I'll probably go into more detail about that process/experience in another thread, but am open to any questions and would love to help in anyone else's Ivey app process).

The thing is, Ivey's academic calendar starts much earlier than most other schools' do, i.e in March, thus I'm in a bit of a grind concerning whether I should accept the offer or sit on it a bit so that I can give myself a chance to at least put in my application to another school I was interested in, IESE. Since IESE's calendar starts in the Fall, their application process will take a little longer and I will only hear back from them after Ivey's deadline to accept their offer passes.

What I love about Ivey is their case-based method, the great faculty, the fact that it's a one year program and their great reputation in Canada (my home country). IESE, on the other hand, is a great international school in Spain, and while it is a longer 2 year program, it also provides the opportunity for an internship and/or exchange programs at top-tier American B-Schools. Both schools are reputable for their entrepreneurship tracks (with IESE probably more so), but I think IESE will also be tougher to get into (considering I don't even have that stellar a profile).

Can anyone recommend ways in which I would be able to better assess this decision? Should I go ahead and accept Ivey or is trying for IESE worth that extra effort and uncertainty? What are others' experiences with requesting a deferral on offer acceptance decisions?

Curious to hear your 2 cents! Many thanks in advance!
Source: — The Application Process |