Chicago Booth Admissions Director Rose
It is a rainy afternoon in Chicago and I've just finished a series of catch-up meetings with my staff. Before heading home for the evening, I want to address one of the most common questions I hear at this time of the year -- are there any advantages to applying in Round 1 versus Round 2? Inherent in this question are two issues -- timing versus quality. First, you should definitely take the time to submit a quality application -- timing is certainly a secondary factor. Quality aside, however, there are definite advantages to applying in Round 1 especially in a competitive pool. First, you will have your decision in mid-December which will give you adequate time to react to that decision before Round 2 applications are due at other schools. Second, Chicago GSB uses the waitlist as a way to gauge the applicant pool (since our Round 2 deadline falls after Round 1 decisions have been released), giving you an opportunity for further consideration in that round. And finally, you have more time to make your final decision. Round 1 admits have three full months to evaluate their final decision versus 5 weeks for Round 2 admits. So if you feel your application is nearly complete, it might be worth your while pushing to get everything completed in time for a Round 1 submission (October 15). | 
