Round 3 Financial Aid

I totally understand your situation. I am not saying that scholarships shouldn't be a factor in deciding where to go. What I am saying is that receiving a scholarship is a crapshoot so it is best to apply without the expectation that you will get one. There is more scholarship money available during R1 and R2 so if you want to give yourself the best likelihood of getting one then apply earlier rather than later. If you do receive a scholarship then by all means go to the school that's cheaper. I am simply saying it is best to cross that bridge IF you get to it because regardless of the round, ultimately only a minority of admits are awarded merit based scholarships.

I understood the point you were making. From what I have read I agree seems there's little funding in R3. Ideally I should have decided about business school earlier. There is next year but then that's another whole year. Think i'll have to push for round 2 and if I can't get everything ready then try my luck at R3.

For what it's worth there are no rounds with Columbia, they do rolling admissions. However the deadline for scholarship consideration is 9 January so you don't have much time. If you can't take the GMAT until Rd 3 I highly advise you wait until next year to apply. Especially if money is going to be an issue.

I think I can get it done, but will be a stretch and will have to fill in the application too. 3 schools all in under a month. The one year wait might be a little too long. But if the chances in round 3 are non-existent then that's what I will have to do unless can get ready for round 2.

Would be nice to hear from those who applied in r3 and if they got any financial aid or not.

Please don't take this the wrong way but your plan isn't feasible. Unless you are planning to take vacation for the entire month there is no way you can adequately prepare the applications, essays and recommendations for 3 schools in a month. If you are desperate to go to school starting in Fall 2013 then I would highly suggest you pick your top school and focus on it. You could definitely put together a strong application for a single school in that timeframe. Then apply to the others in Rd 3. Applications take a lot longer than you first think and you will have to spend a lot of time crafting your story for your first school. The other ones will go more smoothly but it is very time-consuming. You also need to coach your recommendation writers and do a lot of research about the specifics of each school. Not to mention the online application itself takes a number of hours to complete.

Speaking from experience, you don't want to put together substandard applications, get rejected everywhere then have to start again next year as a re-applicant. Being a re-applicant is difficult and frowned upon by some schools. It worked out for me in the end my second time around but it is not a path I would recommend to anybody. You would be better off delaying your application until you are thoroughly prepared.

You're absolutely right. It's a lot of work and there's no point in putting in 3 bad applications. I have to get the GMAT done first and see where I go from there. If I get a good score I'll concentrate on one application and then worry about the others.

Thanks guys, i am in a same situation as explained by gmat300. So was looking for help, your conversation has helped me decide exactly what to do next, as there so many things to be done in so little time.

One tip ( i have tried ) - keep in touch with the school adcom for which you wish to apply, so that they have you in their plans. Schools do take students queries seriously. I am currently in touch with an Assistant director of admissions as to clear my doubts and let them know my plans. This may help you during your selection time as you will have an advantage that someone from the adcom will know you and would have interacted with you apart from the interview.

Cheers Guys

We advise those candidates who are aiming for any type of scholarship to get their applications in as early as possible -- meaning R1 or R2. However, schools are getting much better at managing their resources and we have seen strong candidates who have applied in R3 get very attractive scholarship offers. Simply put, a school would rather award a scholarship to an outstanding candidate who applied in R1 over a mediocre one who applied in R2 -- just because they happen to have gotten their application in a bit earlier.

Kimberly Plaga
Senior Admissions Consultant
Manhattan Review

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