When determining the best time to submit your MBA application, keep in mind the following: your school preferences, financial need, and the amount of time you’ll be able to spend polishing your application materials.
Rolling Admissions
Only a few top-tier MBA programs, including Columbia University and UCLA, offer rolling admissions. This means admissions committees provide decisions to students as they review the application, rather than sending out a batch of decisions on a predetermined date.
Apply Point Recommendation: Generally, applicants interested in a school with rolling admissions should submit their application as early as possible. Seats in the incoming class are continuously being filled. It is critical to ensure, however, that you have taken the time to develop high quality content. Rushing could result in sloppy work, which will negate the benefits of an earlier submission.
Early Action / Decision
While some programs offer non-binding early action application rounds (UVA Darden allows applicants to select between binding or non-binding upon submission), other schools (such as Columbia and Duke) offer only a binding early application round. Read the program’s admissions webpage carefully to be sure you understand the commitment required. For example, a binding application will almost always ask an accepted student to withdraw any outstanding applications, and submit a commitment letter and deposit to the school.
Apply Point Recommendation: If an applicant is fully committed to attending a particular MBA program, regardless of outside opportunities, financial or otherwise, we recommend that they apply in the early decision round. Admissions likelihood is higher because schools look favorably on commitments to their program and they ultimately want to bolster their yield (number of those accepted students who commit). But it’s important to note that merit-based scholarships are not typically given to applicants who apply in a binding early decision round.
First Round / Second Round
Both the first and second rounds are sound when it comes to admissions likelihood and the possibility for a merit-based scholarship.
Apply Point Recommendation: We encourage our applicants to submit in one of these two rounds. If you are ready to submit your best application prior to the first-round deadline, do it. But if not, don’t worry. Take additional time if you need it, to submit your strongest application in the second round.
Third Round
This is usually the last round prior to the close of the admissions period, and is the most competitive because there are fewer seats available. Consideration for merit-based aid at this stage is also unlikely.
Apply Point Recommendation: There are very few cases where we would recommend applying in Round Three. It puts applicants at a disadvantage. However, if you are unable to submit in rounds one or two, and you have a strong application and no need for financial support, you may still be successful.