The one piece of b-school admissions advice you'll see on chat boards and websites more often than any other is that it's to your advantage to apply in Round I. Applicants seem to have taken that advice to heart last year. There appeared to be a subtle but definite increase in the proportion of applicants who applied in the earliest rounds last fall. I think that trend will continue this year. One reason why you hear so much about a 'Round I edge' in b-school admissions is that there's a factual basis for it. My company's proprietary database of admissions outcomes over ten years shows that Round I applicants enjoy a small but definite admissions advantage at most of the top b-schools, some a little more than others. It's a big mistake, though, to put too much faith in how far the Round I advantage will get you. The statistical advantage that Round I applicants enjoy is small. You can do much more to leverage your admissions chances by following an appropriate application strategy than you will by rushing to meet a Round I deadline. The beat-the-clock approach to applications can actually backfire by causing you to submit your applications before they're ready. An under-prepared application is an under-prepared application no matter what round you submit it in, and it won't get you in to a selective b-school. If you find yourself having to choose between meeting a Round I application deadline and giving your application a further polish, let the deadline pass and plan to submit an improved application in Round II. You can take comfort in the fact that Round II is the round that the majority of b-school students are admitted from. | 
