After a relatively sleepy February, March will soon be upon us with its extensive list of application deadlines and decision notification dates. Let’s take a look at part of the long list of Round 3 (or 4 or 5) deadlines spread over the next two months:
March 3rd: Ross R3 (11:59pm EST)
March 5th: INSEAD R3 (11:59pm CET)
March 7th: Judge R3 (5:00pm UTC)
March 12th: Haas R3 (11:59pm PST)
March 14th: UNC R4 (5:00pm EST)
March 14th: Oxford R4 (11:59pm GMT)
March 15th: Tepper R3 (11:59pm EST)
March 15th: Stern R4 (11:59pm EST)
March 20th: Fuqua R3 (11:59pm EST)
March 27th: Darden R3 (5:00pm EST)
March 27th: Wharton R3 (5:00pm EST)
March 27th: McCombs R3 (11:59pm CST)
April 1st: Georgetown R3 (11:59pm EST)
April 2nd: Stanford R3 (5:00pm PST)
April 2nd: Tuck R4 (5:00pm EST)
April 2nd: Kellogg R3 (11:59pm CST)
April 4th: Booth R3 (5:00pm CST)
April 7th: HBS R3 (11:59pm PST)
April 9th: CBS Regular Decision (11:59pm EST)
April 15th: Anderson R3 (11:59pm PST)
April 24th: Yale SOM R3 (5:00pm EST)
April 25th: Judge R4 (5:00pm UTC)
April 25th: Oxford R5 (11:59pm GMT)
May 30th: Oxford R6 (11:59pm GMT)
While it’s always best to apply as early as possible, the difference between applying in Round 1 and applying in Round 2 is, for most applicants, a marginal one. However, the later rounds are a very different game. Because most of the seats in the incoming class will have been given away by the time Round 2 decisions are released, the acceptance rate in the third round is dramatically lower than that for the first two deadlines of the season.
To maximize your chances of a later round acceptance, demonstrating your interest in the school and submitting thoughtful and error-free written materials will be crucial. Applying in Round 1 is generally taken as a sign of interest in a given program, and by the same token, applicants submitting their materials in a later round need to work extra hard to convince the adcom that they are genuinely interested in the school and are not simply applying as an afterthought because interview invitations didn’t come through in Round 2. Demonstrating that you would make a valuable contribution to the community and providing evidence that you have taken steps to engage current students and alumni will work to your advantage.
As always, we’d like to recommend the in-depth Clear Admit School Guides to those applicants who are targeting the later deadlines and just beginning to investigate certain programs, and we encourage those who’ve visited the campus and interviewed to share their experiences in Clear Admit Interview Reports. Potential R3 or R4 applicants are also welcome to contact Clear Admit directly to discuss the strength of their later round candidacies and learn more about our one-on-one counseling services.
