As the cherry blossoms, apple blossoms and almost all other blossoms have gone with the wind that stirs up all-too-soon warmth in the air, it becomes inevitable that summer is upon us whether we are prepared or not. So are graduate school application deadlines. The heat is being turned up.
As someone who has applied to US graduate schools as an international student and someone who has both evaluated and consulted numerous applicants, I would venture that three or so months would be a legitimate period of time to prepare your application. That puts the next three summer months at the front line for beating the first round of application deadlines of at least most top business schools.
So, are you mentally prepared to submit your application to your dream schools in September or October? Why do admissions keep pushing their deadlines ahead? What are the pros and cons of applying early, say, first round?
According to my experience, Admissions tend to perceive first or early round applicants as typically more put together, more proactive and more focused. Admission rates are usually higher for first round than later rounds. As a result, it should be no surprise that they would want to compete for those applicants and push their early deadlines to stay ahead of the game.
So clearly there are advantages to applying early. The question becomes whether you would like to get ready, to rise up to the challenge.
Obstacles to applying early can seem insurmountable. Summer is your craziest time at work. Your employer is yet to announce its pick for sponsorship. Family events all happen in this season. Your TOEFL and other scores just aren’t there. Therefore, you need those heated months to get over all the above, and you secretly place your hopes on those last two holiday weeks of the year to catapult you to the second round in early January, to compete in a much bigger pool of applicants.
Understood and understood. Yet the fact of the matter is, if you do not prepare yourself early, if you do not aim for early round, chances are you might not ultimately prepare yourself in the most optimal way regardless of rounds. Or shall we say, if you do not prepare, how would you know whether you are prepared? You do not want your second round to be your test round, do you?
There will always be obligations and obstacles. The only time to lay the foundation of your application to your dream schools is nevertheless now, when things just start to heat up. Reflect on and summarize your experiences and accomplishments, clarify and broaden your professional and personal goals, research and connect with the schools and people, get your resume ready and write and rewrite your essays. And in case all those things are under control, start preparing for your interview! The saying is: it is never too early to start.
