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JayBB
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Strategy for Dividing MBA Schools by Round 16 Oct 2014, 14:35
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Hello hello. My plan is to apply to: Wharton, MIT Sloan, Columbia, Booth, Kellogg, and Yale (as of now, in that order).

Wharton - Stretch
Columbia (ED?), Kellogg, MIT, and Booth - I'm competitive
Yale - Strong

I'm looking for some advice as to how to split these schools up, preferably 3 in R1 and 3 in R2.

-Do some schools give off the impression that R1 is more advantageous in their eyes?
*I realise MIT has 2 Rounds as opposed to 3, so this is the kind of info I'm looking for
-Is applying to 3 per round feasible with a FT job?

What are people's experiences with dividing up their schools between rounds? Any advice as to how you would split up mine?

Please feel free to document your experience, and how you divided up your schools. Thanks!
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phlaym39
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Schools: Haas '17 (A) Stanford '17 (D) Sloan '17 (D) HBS '17 (D) Kellogg MMM '17 (M)
GMAT 1: 740 Q48 V44
Schools: Haas '17 (A) Stanford '17 (D) Sloan '17 (D) HBS '17 (D) Kellogg MMM '17 (M)
GMAT 1: 740 Q48 V44
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Strategy for Dividing MBA Schools by Round 18 Oct 2014, 10:36
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If you plan on applying in the 2014/2015 season, you've already missed R1 for many of those schools.

I considered splitting schools up over rounds but eventually went all in for R1. I looked at the deadlines for the schools I was applying to and they were well spaced out over September:
HBS: 8 Sept
Kellogg & MIT: 23 & 24 Sept
Stanford & Haas: 1 Oct

The timing allowed me to keep revising and reworking my essays as the month progressed, but the things that were common to all applications were already done by the first deadline so there was no need to worry about those.

Many of the things you need to do for one application, you'll need to do for the others incl. GMAT, transcripts, resume, recommenders. I batched similar tasks together, e.g., if I uploaded my GMAT score and report, then I did it across all my applications together. I just felt that was more efficient. The only real difference is in the essays, but even those generally have similarities. For the 11 essays I needed to write, I wrote about 6-7 distinct essays. The other essay prompts were similar enough for me to use one of those essays and customize to meet word count or customize to the school's identity, etc.

I also wasn't sure that I'd be able to go through the ups and downs of waiting for interviews and notifications, potentially getting dinged and still staying motivated to keep applying in the next round.

If you plan well enough in advance, you should be able to get through all the school's applications together.

I know this isn't a split over 2 rounds but hopefully this perspective helps you.
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JayBB
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Strategy for Dividing MBA Schools by Round 19 Oct 2014, 23:15
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phlaym39
If you plan on applying in the 2014/2015 season, you've already missed R1 for many of those schools.

I considered splitting schools up over rounds but eventually went all in for R1. I looked at the deadlines for the schools I was applying to and they were well spaced out over September:
HBS: 8 Sept
Kellogg & MIT: 23 & 24 Sept
Stanford & Haas: 1 Oct

The timing allowed me to keep revising and reworking my essays as the month progressed, but the things that were common to all applications were already done by the first deadline so there was no need to worry about those.

Many of the things you need to do for one application, you'll need to do for the others incl. GMAT, transcripts, resume, recommenders. I batched similar tasks together, e.g., if I uploaded my GMAT score and report, then I did it across all my applications together. I just felt that was more efficient. The only real difference is in the essays, but even those generally have similarities. For the 11 essays I needed to write, I wrote about 6-7 distinct essays. The other essay prompts were similar enough for me to use one of those essays and customize to meet word count or customize to the school's identity, etc.

I also wasn't sure that I'd be able to go through the ups and downs of waiting for interviews and notifications, potentially getting dinged and still staying motivated to keep applying in the next round.

If you plan well enough in advance, you should be able to get through all the school's applications together.

I know this isn't a split over 2 rounds but hopefully this perspective helps you.
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Thanks for the reply. I actually plan on applying next year or the year after, sorry, I should have clarified that. Your response definitely helps. I'll make sure to keep in mind the school-specific dates. Only having to do 3 a round just sounds so much easier haha.
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VeritasPrepDozie
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Strategy for Dividing MBA Schools by Round 20 Oct 2014, 19:07
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Thanks for the clarification, well I would consider a few things. I tend to recommend a more balanced approach with your applications meaning including a mix of reach/competitive/safety. I like this approach because if you potentially into a school you are really excited about you can end avoid some 2nd round apps. On this same line, depending on how round 1 goes you can become more aggressive with applications or less. This will also give you an idea of where you fit in the process if you are receiving acceptances and interview in round 1 this would be a good sign for your candidacy. I generally subscribe getting some your top schools in R1 (if you're ready)

For you I would potentially balance your rounds 3 a piece because anything more than this is a lot for one round especially when you should have the time since you are getting started early:
R1:
Columbia
Wharton
Yale

R2:
Kellogg
Booth
MIT

This is one option that would balance your application load while spreading out a bit the types of schools you are applying to that may provide insight on whats working with similar school types (Finance vs Gen Mgmt)

Hope this helps