Darden 2012 - Calling All Applicants

I don't think it would make much of a difference between round 1 or round 2, at least not through any of the literature I read when I was applying. I know plenty of people who got in round 1, as well as round 2. So I don't think you're standing at a disadvantage simply because it's round 2. However, there are 'personal differences' between 1 and 2 and here's my take:

For round 1, you're new. You're a freshie. You know practically nothing about the school application. You're simply shooting darts in the dark and asking a newborn monkey to sing and dance (ok, not that bad but you get the point). Unless you hire an admissions consultant, you're really on your own in terms of your application. How to best word the essay or how to best describe your extracurricular activities/awards on the application are going to be a mystery. So basically, at the end of the day, you're still fairly new. That means your application is only going to look better and better, with each application as a real-time practice round. So if you're keen on going to Darden, you may not want to work on that application first.

For round 2, you're like a junior in high school. No longer the freshman who gets punked on. You know a lot more about what you're doing and what you should be expecting to do. Chances are, you will turn in even better applications than those of round 1. But anxiety is going to run wild in round 2. Not only are the deadlines set in January of 2012 (for you), but you'll also be hearing how your friends and people on GC got into their schools in round 1. This sets a panic attack (for some) and is not a good feeling. For round 2, if you weren't successful in round 1, this is practically your last chance for admission (given the fact that round 3 is a dead fish in the water for most applicants). If round 2 doesn't work out, you're basically out of luck for one whole year and the whole process starts all over again. Unlike round 1, which has round 2 to back itself up, round 2'ers don't get a 'third' chance.

There's my simple take on round 1 and 2.

As for me, I graduated with a biology degree thinking that I was going into med/research. But it was only after I started doing research that I realized it's not what I want. After graduating from college, I started to work at weird jobs until I was able to land a more of a corporate position with a global pharmaceutical company. I wasn't thinking about b-school when the offer letter came from the pharma company, and I was really only thinking about how I don't have to worry anymore about life. My work at the company aligns with the operations department - ensuring that the workflow in and from pre-clinical drug can be initiated, developed, and transformed to clinical trials with minimum hiccups. While I don't work on the bench, I support the scientists in their everyday lives and make sure that we're able to make the company a first-rate company and reducing cost (of commodity, of consumable, and of equipment) without sacrificing scientific function. Then after several months (to a year), I got a bit bored at my position. At that point, I started to think about what I wanted to do as the next part of my life and while I explored, b-school came on the radar and as I read more about what b-school entails, I grew more interested. So then I studied for GMAT and eventually took a huge leap of faith and went for b-school admission.