Hey bsklman,
Thanks for reaching out to me. At face value your question is simple, and the simplistic answer to your question is "yes." However, I don't think its as simple as that and I wanted to also make you aware of other issues you need to consider as a re-applicant - and they are not necessarily dependent on timing (R1 vs. R2). More importantly, have you gained any concrete insight into why you were rejected? For real, if you were "assured" that you were a strong candidate, what happened then? And what have you done to improve your standing. If you're just re-applying based on an assurance that did not prove to be sufficient, then history will repeat itself.
In general, your re-applicant status generally place you at a disadvantage. I always believe that re-applicants are behind the 8-ball. That is, they must go beyond the norm to show the adcom what they have done to improve their candidacy. However, the extent of this is specific to the individual programs you are applying to. I'm not sure how many of my other posts you have read, but I always state that you have to examine the actual re-Application form. How many essays do they allow you to fill out? In this case, but more the merrier. With more essays, you simply have a better chance of telling the admissions committee a story that makes sense for that school - this time around. Also consider this - the more re-applicant friendly adcoms can be found by their respective definition of "re-applicant." That is, how many years will they hold out as the re-applicant period.
Another consideration, were you waitlisted at any of the schools you applied to? Were you even interviewed? Being wait-listed is a good indication that your essays were probably pretty solid and that the adcom deemed you worthy of admittance, but you just needed a bit more of something to break on through to the other side. So what could that "bit more of something" actually be? However, if you were not waitlisted any where, you could have some flaws in what you are telling the adcom. Have you gotten any feedback on your essays from current or former MBA students? Please say "yes."
One other thing - for the schools where you could receive feedback from the adcom, did you elect to do so?
Anyway, there is no sense going into this year with a false sense of confidence. Figure out what went wrong - objectively - fix it and then reapply.
Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti
bsklman wrote:
My question is simple: I was denied round 1 and want to reapply to same schools plus some new ones. Do I need to get the reapplications in in Round 1? I was assured many times over that I was a strong candidate for the schools I applied to so will be attempting those again, and then adding in more back ups. Planning on six schools total. Thank you for your advice and for all of the time you spend on this forum.