My first round application hopes seem to be fading into the horizon. With less that two months before most first round applications are due, and another month to go before I take my second GMAT, I am realizing round one may not be for me. I still have weeks but I see the deadlines shrinking behind me as I speed down the highway.
I am deep into the self-assessment tools I compiled from a handful of application books. For those of you searching for good references, The Best Business Schools Admissions Secrets gets you on the right path, but A.V. Gordon’s MBA Admissions Strategy is the most thorough tool I have found. Chicago’s Rose Martinelli is an outspoken proponent of self-assessment as well and offers a few helpful thoughts of her own on the subject.
With my self-assessment and GMAT on going, I have yet to approach my recommenders and I am still developing the themes I want to target. So it is looking like I will submit a barrage of applications in January. I had hoped to submit my apps to mid-western schools in October and use the rest of the fall to visit California and visit a few schools as I prepared my final essays. But my sub-par quant performance on the first GMAT has made that timeline a bit of a squeeze.
I’m taking some solace in the hours of MBA Podcaster Admissions interviews I have listened to on my commute, and the hundreds of pages I have read, both online and in various books, claiming decisions are unbiased between rounds one and two. Let’s face it though, an average quant scoring songwriter who gets an application in weeks ahead of the round one deadline looks a bit more appealing than one who submits the week of round two. The delay lives up to the stereotype of the lacksidasical musician. Having had my head down in full bore MBA prep mode since late March it is a bit disappointing to now be risking that carefree label.