Early Decision Round

[mygmat.2009]

For the MBA programs that offer binding and non-binding early decision rounds, is that mini-round considered more competitive than Round 1? i.e. Will the school have a certain number of seats in mind to fill in with exceptional candidates that apply at an early stage? Who should consider applying to the Early Round? Also, what happens if the applicant is denied early decision, does the school automatically push his/her application to the R1 pool?

Thanks.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear mygmat.2009,

Early Decision is not usually seen as more or less competitive than Round 1. It is usually viewed quite similarly. Schools that offer an Early Decision round do vary in how they operate though with regard to offering admission to those applicants. There are some that will roll applications to Round 1 as they do not want to continue to evaluate that applicant against the next round of applicants. Other schools do not roll applications and simply make an admit/waitlist/reject decision. Most schools have a policy that if you are denied admission at any round, you cannot re-apply until the next admissions cycle, so you would not be able to request your application to roll to Round 1--the school has to move it. Once again, there could be some variance in that there is a school that will allow you to request your application to be moved, but that is the exception rather than the rule.

Good luck,
Lisa

[mygmat.2009]

Thanks for clarifying Lisa!

So who would you advise to apply in an early round, i.e. what sort of criteria/qualifications would position an applicant at an advantage to apply early?


Thanks,
Sam

[student22]

Very interesting topic, and I actually have a question.

I previously thought that, (all things being equal), you would have a better shot at early decision, since it prevents you from negotiating financial aid, and locks you into that school. But, since you said that early decision is not any less competitive than other rounds, what advantage does the candidate have to apply early decision?

It can't just be to save a couple hundred bucks on other application to other schools?

[Lisa Anderson]

I advise my clients to apply Early Decision if the school is their top choice and they would go there over any other school. When you apply Early Decision, you are essentially communicating to the school that it is your first choice and you plan to attend if admitted. So, if that is not the case, then it is probably best to apply in the next round. In addition to potentially saving some application fees to other schools, the advantage to the applicant is that you are done with the admissions process early and can start to make your plans to attend business school sooner. There is also a slight advantage in the admissions process in that you are conveying you would attend there if admitted. Schools do want to yield the right applicants from the pool of admitted candidates--if you apply Early Decision, you are committing to attend if admitted. So, if you are a strong applicant that can add value to that school, then the school will want to "lock you in" early for the class.

Best of luck!
Lisa

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Do schools offer less financial aid to people who do early decision? It seems like if you said its your top choice and will enroll if admitted, they wouldn't need to offer as much scholarship money or financial aid to people applying in these rounds.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Vanilla Gorilla,

That is a plausible and possible outcome, yes. Some schools do offer less in terms of scholarship to early decision, but that is not always the case. There is wide variance on the scholarship offers for schools with early decision rounds as philosophies in this regard differ. Likewise, the philosophies on scholarships in general are different as some schools do not offer any awards larger than 50% or some other amount. In essence, the scholarship award should not matter to folks applying early decision--they have declared this to be the school they absolutely want to be at should they be admitted.

Regards,
Lisa

[mygmat.2009]

I disagree with the last part: "scholarship should not matter to folks applying ED".

While applying during an ED round shows dedication and clear preference for a certain program, it has nothing to do with the applicant's affordability. I'm sure there are many qualified applicants out there who may not be able to attend due to the fact that they simply can't secure the $$.

[money9111]

I disagree with the last part: "scholarship should not matter to folks applying ED".

While applying during an ED round shows dedication and clear preference for a certain program, it has nothing to do with the applicant's affordability. I'm sure there are many qualified applicants out there who may not be able to attend due to the fact that they simply can't secure the $$.

I think the schools are correct in this regard... if a student has applied ED then I know that they really want to come to my school without a doubt.

If the student can't ultimately afford it... then why did they apply (in that round at least)? Most people "can't afford" to pay for business school outright... which is why there are loans.

[mygmat.2009]

Are you saying that schools take advantage of applicants that show extra loyalty by not giving them scholarships they deserve? In my opinion an ED applicant who qualifies for a scholarship should have an advantage getting that scholarship BECAUSE he applied ED. Now thats the logic in my head, whether it happens the other way in real life is another story! But if it does, it would be unfair because then schools would be using scholarships purely as means of increasing their yield as opposed to giving them to deserving applicants.

[shaselai]

I would really like to get into B-school next year so would it be a bad strategy to go for ED on 3-4 schools and figure out what happens later? I mean I might get penalized monetarily but that is the only "negative" compared to the "early knowledge" ? Plus the odds of me getting into them all is probably not that high..

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear shaselai,

Many applicants apply to multiple schools ED, so you would not be the only one employing that strategy. I think it is probably fine to apply ED, but if you are offered a seat at more than one, you should only make one commitment to attend.

Good luck,
Lisa