Round 1 vs Round 2 for class of 2016

Question

Just a curious question. I've read that R1 traditionally has fewer applicants than R2.

However, when looking at gmatclub's stats for this year, it's clear that there are a lot more R1 applicants than R2 applicants for pretty much all schools.

Does anyone have any sort of thoughts regarding this? Whether or not gmatclub is a representative sampling (at least for this year)? Or if R1 was much more competitive this year compared to other years and perhaps R2 will be less competitive? Perhaps more and more prospective students are looking into bschool and preparing earlier leading to more early applications? Or is it just that more users will register for gmatclub when decisions are released for R2?

CobraKai · Answer

I wouldn't read too much into it. Since GMATClub is self-reported, you're never quite sure what's going on. Some people don't list any of the schools they're applying to, and some will actually remove a school from their profile once their dinged, so these numbers aren't accurate and aren't representative.

kdkpsj · Answer

Well, keep in mind that GMATClub, just like any other online forums, only represents a small portion of whole population. Many top business schools receive applications from more than 5000 applicants each year, and yet, GMATClub statistics represent only 300-500 applicants.

Also, keep in mind, those who are attached to GMATClub strong enough to update every application they submit know the fact that there is a better change at R1, therefore, tend to apply at R1.

DefyingGravity · Answer

I think it's largely just a factor of self-reporting. People are more apt to update their profiles after an admit.

Another theory is there have been a lot of reports about last year's significant increase in number of GMAT tests taken, which was caused by people rushing to take it before the test change. Perhaps some people took the test last year, so they had more time to work on apps for round 1 this year.

jumsumtak · Answer

Some of the reasons have been already mentioned. Also, we may assume people on this forum tend to be the ones who start early, or clearly, are extra motivated, putting in the extra effort to submit their apps early. However, I would wait to see R2 numbers post the decision date. btw, have you looked at previous year's threads? That should give a better picture.

farful · Answer

Part of the reason I was asking is because I have looked at older threads. But maybe you're right and I should wait until Round 2 to get any sense.

Here's a picture by gbrooks6687: https://i.imgur.com/9T2gi8F.png (Maybe this wasn't the best to link since Tuck has EA which screws with things...)

From what little I know about the bschool app process, nowadays it seems like more people know they want to pursue bschool months/years in advance, while this may not have been true traditionally. Maybe partly because bschool has become more competitive through the years. If my assumption is true, it would only make sense most people would apply in Round 1 - especially for all the reapplicants, since there is the most amount of time between R3 from last year until R1 of this year.

I'm just rambling random thoughts while I wait a few months for decisions to come back....

CobraKai · Answer

Keep in mind that Tuck's EA is non-binding, so it acts as a Round 1.

Yes, there are always people who are well-prepared and know well in advance they want to go to B-school and apply Round 1. Then there are the procrastinators who intended on applying Round 1 but couldn't get their act together in time and apply Round 2. Then there are people who decide late that they want to go to B-school next fall and apply Round 3. You're always going to have a mix of the above folks.

Round 1 vs Round 2 for class of 2016

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