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R1 vs R2 Application

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R1 vs R2 Application

by glorialau87 » Wed Oct 12, 2011 1:09 pm
Hello consultants -
I would like to pick your brain on the rounds to apply to top MBA programs. How much of a difference/advantage, if any, would it give a candidate applying in R1 vs R2, assuimg that my materials will be the same and no major shakeup happens in between? Obviously, R3 is completely out for me, so I'm not taking that into account.
Thanks.
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by essaysnark » Wed Oct 12, 2011 1:22 pm
Hey glorialau87--

Not sure if this is a hypothetical question or not, given that Round 1 deadlines for many top schools have already come and gone (or are about to)... if someone weren't already preparing their Round 1 application it's probably a little tough to get started. Maybe you're close with your app and were evaluating whether to proceed or not?

In any event, it is usually an advantage to submit earlier, provided that you're ready. We cover this subject a lot on our blog - here are a couple articles about it:

https://essaysnark.blocked/2011/07/ ... equal.html
https://essaysnark.blocked/2011/09/ ... und-1.html
https://essaysnark.blocked/2011/09/ ... -idea.html

For most schools, the exact-same profile applying in Round 1 vs Round 2 would have an easier time getting an offer in Round 1 - however if your application is strong, then you should be in fine in Round 2 as well. There's just more competition in Round 2.

A couple schools strongly encourage earlier applications (Ross is one); and for schools that offer Early Action or Early Decision rounds, those are definitely the way to go if that school is your #1 choice.

If you have a low GMAT score or a marginal GPA and you can use the time from now to the January deadline to increase the score or take a class, or otherwise improve your candidacy, then you should DEFINITELY wait. Those actions far outweigh any advantage that an earlier-round application might provide.

So, unfortunately, the answer is IT DEPENDS. But generally, we advise earlier rounds wherever possible.

Hope this helps!!
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by glorialau87 » Wed Oct 12, 2011 1:34 pm
Hi essaysnark -
Thanks for the great insights. This is not hypothetical questions. I have submitted 2 R1 applications already and I have a few more to go (most are at least 70% complete). I just thought I would ask and see if I would want to leave 1 or 2 to the second round. I am a re-applicant this year and when receiving some personal feedback from last year's application, the admon told me to apply again in R1 this year. The fact that I may have a switch in teams in a few weeks prompted me to hesitate a bit here.

But I'm still leaning on R1 because:
1) I'm ready to apply and have read that this could be a slight edge for myself
2) even with a switch of team (progression in a sense), I would not have much to talk about with the new position by R2 deadline and the leadership experiences and accomplishments are not going to as significant as my current position. I thought I could bring that up during the interview if I can fortunately get one?
3) I have no plan to retake the GMAT after writing 5000 times and I am not waiting for any major update on my professional or personal life.

Thoughts? Should I proceed with R1?

Thanks again.
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by essaysnark » Wed Oct 12, 2011 1:55 pm
Aha - now we have something to go on - let's dig into your situation.

As a reapplicant, EssaySnark *always* recommends reapplying in Round 1. This shows commitment/enthusiasm - in fact, a few schools even require reapps to come in the first round. We'd go with the advice you got from the adcom about this.

For the schools that you are applying to "fresh" - it might make sense (this is a big "might") to hold one back for Round 2. The only reason to do this would be if you don't make progress with the Round 1 apps - if you haven't even been invited to interview, for example - then you know that something is still off with your strategy. You've probably already done a lot of course-correction since you didn't make it in last year, so hopefully you've accounted for whatever wasn't working before. But, as a safety measure, you might want to hang onto one of your top-choice schools to target in Round 2, and then use those Round 1 apps as your guinea pigs. For many Round 1 schools, you'll know by late November if you're in the running (interview invites) and for some you'll get a final answer in mid-December, which would be enough time to pull together a Round 2 app if you needed.

So, we're also leaning towards Round 1 for you, for the same reasons that you were thinking of. You could possibly hold one of them back just for this strategic issue. You wouldn't do so based on your profile alone.

If you want EssaySnark to check out an essay or two for you (for free), send it over and we'll give you a quick thumbs up/down review.

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by glorialau87 » Wed Oct 12, 2011 2:06 pm
Essaysnark - you are awesomeeeeee!!!!

I did receive 2 interview invitations last year applying to all R2 at that time. This is how I got on the waitlist afterwards but eventually received the ding after waiting through the whole summer (and almost had a heart attack I received an update, and just update, on the waitlist situation). And the school was kind enough to offer a personal feedback session with me. I feel good about my chance of getting at least 2 more interviews from the 6 (now maybe 5 if I decide to hold back one of them to R2) schools I'm applying R1 for. And I already had one interview with Duke during their Open Interview period a couple of weeks ago. I can't say for sure about getting an acceptance, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up on a waitlist somehow (don't get my wrong, I'm still confident about myself, just preparing for all kinds of outcome).

How can I get my essays to you guys for a quick review? Should I email? Where to? I would love for some awesome feedbacks on my essays (and no complain on the FREE-of-charge part!). I have been reading your blog entries and understand the emphasis you guys put on R1 (IF YOU ARE READY). I fall into that category you mentioned as someone who would WANT to go for R1: GMAT 700-ish, 3.6 GPA.

Thanksssssss!
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by essaysnark » Wed Oct 12, 2011 2:13 pm
Well glorialau87, if you made it to interviews/waitlist in R2 last year, then there's a real good chance you're gonna get all the way in this time with R1! We've seen people breeze straight through the application process in cases like that - many schools appreciate the fact that you haven't given up and they often respond favorably to reapplicants. We've even seen previously-waitlisted reapplicants to Columbia, for example, get admitted without an interview! Hopefully you have a similar experience this time around ('cuz yes, a whole summer on a waitlist is nervewracking indeed!).

You can send your essays over to essaysnark [at] gmail.com, we'll be happy to check them out for you.
EssaySnark has MBA application guides for HBS, Stanford, Booth, Wharton, NYU and pretty much any other school you can name - including a fully revised and expanded 2015 Columbia essay guide!
https://essaysnark.com/bookstore/
* * * * * * *
The Indians' Guide to Getting In maps out everything you need to evaluate your own profile and select your schools. https://essaysnark.com/ssguide/quicksnar ... ans-guide/
* * * * * * *
MILITARY CANDIDATES! We've got some pro bono offers just for you: https://essaysnark.com/military-mba/
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by MBAPrepAdvantage » Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:19 am
If a school has an Early Decision or Early Action round (e.g. Columbia or Duke) then applying in that round gives you a significant advantage. Otherwise, applying round 1 versus round 2 is normally a marginal advantage; round 2 actually be an advantage in certain cases where the number of applicants fell between rounds by a larger amount than anticipated. Finally, for certain schools with four rounds (e.g. Haas), applying in round 2 only gives a marginal advantage over round 3. Applying to the last round of a school is a significant advantage since schools at that point use this round to fill gaps.

Best of luck,
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by apphelp » Tue Nov 01, 2011 11:42 am
Hi,

You will find this article very useful
https://blog.apphelp.co.in/2010/03/09/is ... s-round-2/

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