Current student here, and Hermes member, and chatted with an Adcom member about this the other day.
approx 40% of students are admitted EA. That leaves 60% for the rest of the process. A significant amount of apps come in for the merit fellowship deadline. There ARE spots available (she said "every year, one or two amazing students applies on the last day, and THEY GET IN - but it's a really bad strategy").
Realistically, your chances are better earlier on. They read applications as they come in, so your chances definitely diminish. If you were always going to definitely get in, you're going to definitely get in. If you're on the fence - then it's not a great position to apply in (and honestly EA is your best chance).
Also, re J-term. If you want an internship - that program is not for you, so be careful with debating it unless you're going back into the field you came from or don't need an internship to pivot.
CBS scoops up most of their applicants before the EA deadline - admits from that round are contracted to stick with CBS and so the admission rate is a bit higher. It's tougher to get into schools that have an EA round when you're applying later in the season. CBS is the pinnacle of that.
My advice would be to apply if you can repurpose these essays/recs for other schools (like if you are also applying to INSEAD or HEC January intake) but would not count any chickens for a good result applying in March. It's the official deadline, but with rolling admissions and lots of seats taken in EA, it's definitely chancy.
The very principle of rolling admissions is that they technically not saving spots for April. In fact they don't even have merit scholarships after Jan. Your odds are better if you are highly diverse with great stats; they have had trouble finding a Samoan feminist with a 750 working in entertainment or whatever underrepresented industry. If you are prepared, apply ASAP not March.
Also, if are a good fit, you have plenty of time to apply to January term; that app opens in June but there is plenty to get done before then
tomianttomiant
Does CBS have any open spots after March for their August full-time applicants? Their deadline is 10 April so it would be logical to assume so. I have tried checking but is extremely hard to get better answers, any info is greatly appreciated. Thank you