Check out The Smart Timeline for 2014 Round 2 MBA Applicants for tips on how to stay organized and submit rockin’ R2 applications!

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This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.

Accepted.com’s experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn’t, so contact us to get started now!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Bruce DelMonico, assistant dean and director of admissions at the Yale School of Management, offers these tips for candidates hoping to put their best foot forward. His general advice addresses the importance of presenting yourself in a genuine way, rather than trying to package yourself as whatever mold you might imagine the admissions department is looking for. “Many applicants get tripped up trying to get inside our heads,” he says. “Don’t out-think yourself. Tell us about what you care about, not what you think we want to hear.”

Earlier this month on the Chicago Booth School of Business‘s MBA blog, associate dean Kurt Ahlm echoed a similar sentiment when he criticized some applicants’ tendency to focus on being remembered rather than authentic. By crafting an application that accurately reflects your past, aspirations and personality, you’ll naturally stand out. At the same time though, Ahlm reminds aspirants to not hold back when it comes to sharing details that will help the school understand your path and how you’ll contribute to the Booth community.

Meanwhile, Yale’s DelMonico urges applicants to be up front about their weaknesses.  “Everyone has weaknesses,” he stresses. “We’ll see them, so you’re better off acknowledging them and incorporating them into your application than hoping we’ll miss them.”  Make sure though that you don’t make the rookie mistake of trying to pass off  being a perfectionist, or a workaholic, as your principal fault!

For Booth applicants still struggling with their essays, Ahlm advises spending a few weeks in self-reflection and doing some deeper thinking before sitting down to hammer out those answers. While acknowledging the fact that great essays can come in many forms, he says all have at least three elements in common:

Spark – what gets you up in the morning? What do you love? How do you want to change? What motivates you in your career?

Clear goals – try not to speak in generic statements and maybes. Make sure your goals make sense and are achievable. Do you understand the industry you are striving to work in? Have done your research?

Fit – you have to know where Booth can fill in the gaps for you and what you can’t get anywhere else. 

Yale SOM applicants who have already completed a first or second draft of their essays should take these next few weeks to proofread and polish to ensure that they are hitting all crucial points, advises DelMonico, who suggests asking a trusted friend or family member for feedback from a fresh pair of eyes.

Finally, both DelMonico and Ahlm recommend MBA hopefuls attend one of the informal social events over the holidays to further forge a connection with the b-school community you’re targeting. The various Yale Winter Break Socials and Chicago Booth Student-Hosted Winter Events  around the globe are a great way to hear first-hand about the MBA experience and can only help you cement your decision of why your school of choice is the right fit for you.

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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

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By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools.

Accepted.com’s experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn’t, so contact us to get started now!

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.

As a former Admissions Dean and Director, my job was to project the number of offers I could make given the Dean’s enrollment target and my projected applications.  The projections are typically quite accurate and based on several factors including the number of GMAT/GRE reports sent to a given school, the overall number of test takers, the number of inquiries a director observes compared to the number of inquiries year to date.  With this information at hand, a director instructs his or her admissions team to invite a percentage of the applicant pool to interview (or in the case of open interviews, advises his or her team to make a percentage of offers).

When the admissions team begins to make offers in round 2, the director uses the same percentage because he or she does not yet know the yield on any of the decision he or she has made round 1.  Round 1 tends to be a smaller pool and more clear cut (very qualified candidates and also weaker candidates that believe that Round 1 gives them an advantage over round 2).  Schools tend to encourage round 1 applications to smooth out the bottlenecks in round 2 because round 2 tends to be 2 to 6 times the size of round 1 and the adcomm is not only reviewing and interviewing applications in round 2, but also trying to yield the round one candidates.  Once first round admitted applicants begin to make enrollment deposits (typically in round 3), the director will adjust the percentage of admits for all subsequent rounds and for the waitlist, often looking at the waitlist at the same time he/she is reviewing round 2 or 3.

So, what does all this mean for you?  If you aren’t ready for round 1, don’t worry.  Your chances of getting in for round 2 should basically be the same for schools that do not roll their admissions.  If you are ready to apply in round 1 and the MBA program admits you, you have the advantage of knowing your fate earlier, obtaining financial aid, visas, housing and getting to know your classmate and you can alleviate your safety schools from your list, sit back and relax.

By Natalie Grinblatt Epstein, former Admissions Dean/Director at 3 top business schools. Natalie would be happy to advise you as you apply to business school.