Should I cram for Rd 1 or postpone my application to Rd 2?

Good question, and trust me you are not the only candidate making this decision right now. I think you are already leaning one direction and probably know the right answer in this situation. You really don't want to submit an application when it is not your best effort. Outside of the huge regret factor if you receive a negative decision you are also applying to some of the best schools in the world. So that means there will be stiff competition. With this being said i would take your time and put together the best applications possible for your other schools giving each one the same attention you gave to your HBS app.

Hope this helps!

Hello Ryan

Applying in the first round is always advisable, but it will be of little use if the application is not up to the mark and is rejected ultimately. Since you are applying to these particular schools, it is very important that your essays be tailor made for each school. The additional three months will give you sufficient time to work on them. Obviously there are demerits of applying in the second round but a well written application R2 application will have better chances of getting selected than a hushed up R1 application.

It is very important that you don’t let Stanford, MIT and Wharton know that you applied to HBS in round 1. You should not let any of these schools think that you prefer Harvard above them. So, in your application and any subsequent communication with the admission committees of these schools do not mention your HBS application.

You can check out this article to get a better idea. https://www.interviewbay.com/blog/applyi ... u-the-edge

All the best

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Application Reviews & Mock Interviews by Alumni of Your Target Business School.

I hate the idea of cramming what is such an important piece of work to make a round one deadline. You'll probably only get one chance at this so you want to make sure you put your best foot forward and don't apply until you are truly 100 per cent ready. I would recommend postponing to round two. You seem to have a pretty good profile, so don't think it is a huge risk.