Rounds Dilemma

Question

Hi Paul,

 I am a prospective Applicant applying to Fall 2007 MBA for 5 B Schools.

Round 1 - MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Carlson

Round 2 - Chicago, Wharton

Reason for applying to Chicago and Wharton in Round 2 is that their first rounds are normallin Oct and not in Nov, and I am thinking that extra 1 month can cost me on Application Quality.

So thats why I am applying for their Round 2, deadlines for which is in January.

Now my question is : Lets say If i get through my Round 1 schools and I am waiting for my Round 2 results. Can I defer the Admission decision for some time till I get my Rnd 2 results ? That way I can finally decide from all my admitted schools.

Lets say If I have to accept before the decisions fro Rnd 2 are out, can I still join other school ? I am Foreign Student so will have to convert my H1B to F1, will this have an effect ?

Thanks a lot
Suraj

PaulBodine · Answer

Suraj,

You're smart to think only in terms of submitting your best application rather than rushing it. The policies on notifying schools of your decision vary from school to school, but as a general rule I don't think schools will give you extra time to make up your mind since they have yield concerns to worry about and want to know ASAP what their class will look like. You probably will have to accept one Round 1 school's admission offer and put down a deposit to show your "bona fide." Then if a Round 2 school comes through for you, you can accept their offer but lose your deposit to the Round 1 school. 

Unfortunately, I'm not an expert on immigration status requirements so you may have to check with an attorney, immigration reference book, or perhaps B-school FAQs. 

Good luck,

suraj_sharma · Answer

Thanks Paul !

 This answers most of my questions, so I will probably go with this strategy only.

I am not thinking too much about the deposit, that I will have to forfeit, unless its a very hefty amount ? Do you have any idea on how much this amount will be ?

Thanks and I forgot to add, your book - Great Application Essays for Business Schools is a great book.

Suraj

Accepted.com · Answer

Suraj,

The deposit amount will vary from school to school, but it's usually high enough to make the applicant feel a "sting" for reneging on his initial decision. You should definitely ask each of your schools what their notification deadlines are. Some schools don't require round 1 accepted applicants to respond until after the round 2 decisions are out. For those schools, the strategy you described to me is a smart one and you probably won't need to submit that deposit. You need to know all those deadline dates.

Thanks for the plug of  my book !

Good luck,

Rounds Dilemma

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards