- Deadlines, schmeadlines. So you know that there are several rounds
for submitting your application and the earlier you do so the
better. But who doesn't procrastinate? Besides, you're still
learning about each school, going to MBA events, talking to alumni,
landing that big project at work, and perfecting the high-wire
act at the circus that will truly make you stand out. If you
have a worthy application, you'll be able to dazzle them no matter
when you send it in, right?
- Ah, if only it were so. There's
a fine balance between getting your application in as early as
possible, and waiting until you've gathered enough information
and worked on your essays until your application is the best
it can possibly be. The fact of the matter is that people are
much more generous with that of which they have a lot. Think
of those coveted admissions as being like a big bowl of candy
on Halloween. Early in the evening, the bowl is full, the homeowners
are feeling flush, and even teenagers who use the old sheet-over-the-head
ploy will get a decent treat. You don't have to be the cream
of the crop to get noticed, and people are more easily impressed.
- Later in the evening, even
an adorable princess swathed in tulle and glitter may get no
more than a cursory glance by jaded eyes. And those treats? Well,
with only a few left, most of the eager supplicants are getting
Sweet-tarts, not Snickers. What we're saying is that in the world
of b-school admissions, make sure you're not the equivalent of
the elaborately garbed trick-or-treater straggling to the door
late in the evening, only to be given the consolation handful
of pennies because there's nothing else left.
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