Applying Round 2 via the "Stagger" - Must read for Rd 2 Apps

Right now many of us are in the flurry of early October deadlines such as HBS Round 1, Wharton Round 1, Stanford Round 1, and Columbia Early Decision. It can be hard to even think about Round 2, let alone put a plan together in order to maximize that particular stage in the process. That said, now is the time to be thinking about Round 2 for one simple reason ... the best strategy for flawless Round 2 submissions is to apply somewhere Round 1.

We call it the "stagger" strategy and for many applicants eyeing Round 2, they have already achieved it by applying to a place like HBS for Round 1. However, for many others, the decision was made - either a long time ago or very recently - to wait and apply Round 2. There's certainly nothing wrong with this decision - Round 1 is mostly hype and there can be a number of reasons to wait (retaking the GMAT, waiting on a promotion, taking time to submit good essays, recommenders aren't up to speed, haven't visited campus, need to narrow down the list of schools, etc.).

That said, everyone should try, whenever possible, to submit at least one Round 1 application. This way, the burden of the work that makes up the process is staggered over several months and rounds of submission, rather than compressed into a small window that culminates in January.

Another way to look at it is "priming the pump." Candidates often place a false sense of security in a Round 2 strategy. They make the decision to wait, let out a sigh of relief ... and then wait way too long to fire things back up again. Throw in the double dose of holiday fun and the months of November and December go by in the blink of an eye.

By applying somewhere Round 1, you are making sure that this doesn't happen. You are forcing yourself to work through an entire application. By the time you get ready to apply Round 2 in earnest, you will be way ahead of the game:

- Your recommenders will have been selected, vetted, and prepped and they will have already completed letters.

- You will have worked through the essays and resume for an application, which means you will also have a good handle on the key themes that you need to be broadcasting.

- You will have developed a working relationship with a consultant, if you are using one.

To sum it all up, you will have a running start and be more than halfway home for any given application, rather than be at a standing start with zero progress if you choose to wait.

So how do you stagger? Two ways:

1. Find a late round one deadline for a school you like and go after it. Ross (Oct. 25), Sloan (Oct. 26), Duke (Nov. 1), and Stern (Nov. 15) are all elite programs with deadlines that are still a month away (or longer). UNC, Tepper, Texas, and others are also top institutions with late deadlines. For the super ambitious, UCLA (Oct. 20) might be possible. Tuck and Cornell have four rounds of admissions and so Round 2 (Nov. 10 for Tuck, Nov. 9 for Cornell) is really like Round 1.5. And anyone interested in Columbia who didn't apply Early Decision can simply pick a date and submit via the rolling admissions process.

2. Create an imaginary round one deadline. If none of the above schools appeal to you, take one of your round two applications and simply treat it like it has a Nov. 15 round one deadline. If you are serious about it, this will give you the same impact.

This is a strategy that we recommend to our clients and it has been very successful, both in terms of creating good results and also keeping everyone sane, confident, and even healthy. You don't want to be the procrastinator who finds a false sense of security in the idea that "January is a ways off." We even create financial incentives for our Round 2 clients to adopt this strategy, providing price breaks if they are willing to stagger. That's how important it is.

Hope this helps all of the Round 2 applicants out there!

Respectfully,

Paul Lanzillotti