Here it is, mid-September, and your business school plans are moving along on schedule.  Your GMAT is (or will be) fine, you’ve researched and perhaps even visited your top-choice programs, and you’ve lined up your recommenders…

Well don’t look now, but first round deadlines are rapidly approaching.  Check out just a few:

Harvard Business School - October 1
Wharton - October 1
Kellogg (Northwestern) - October 2
Stanford GSB - October 7
Haas (Berkeley) - October 20

If your plan is to apply for round one (and that’s a good plan), but your applications are not yet nearing completion, you’ve got two choices:

1. Kick into high gear, and get them done
2. Hold off and submit your applications for round two

The benefits of applying early are widely known.  The first round applicant pools tend to be slightly smaller than in later rounds which may help your chances. After all, all of the spots remain available.  Plus, wouldn’t it be nice to get admitted early and be able to relax for the months leading up to your matriculation?

Are there any downsides to racing to get your application submitted for round one?  Uh, yeah.  There’s one big one, and I think it’s obvious.  If in the rush to submit your application on time, you give any less than your best effort, then it’s just not worth it.  Any possible advantage to applying early will be more than negated if you submit a sub-optimal application.  Keep in mind that first round applicants, while smaller in number, tend to be strong.  These are the folks who have planned ahead, tested early, and are well organized.  In all, they’re an impressive group.  Don’t go into battle with them less than fully armed.

Here, then, is my advice:  if you feel confident you can get your application completed on time and that it will reflect your very best work, then by all means go for it.  But, if the deadline looms too large, and you know that with more time you can craft a more compelling case for your admission, then back off and prepare to submit a killer application in round two.

And if anyone accuses you of procrastination, you can tell them, “no, it’s strategy.”

Describe your career progress to date and your future short-term and long-term career goals. How do you expect an MBA from Wharton to help you achieve these goals, and why is now the best time for you to join our program?

Here’s the prototypical b-school essay question.  In this case it’s Wharton’s, but you’ll encounter similarly worded questions from many if not most schools.  It’s really four questions in one: 1) career progress 2) goals 3) why an MBA/why Wharton 4) why now?

When you encounter a question like this, be sure to answer completely.  A common mistake is to give inadequate attention to part of the question.  Sometimes this happens when an applicant repurposes a similar essay written for another school, but fails to make the necessary adjustments.  Admissions Officers get annoyed when they encounter an essay they believe was written for another school’s application.  To be clear, I’m not suggesting that you need to start every single essay from scratch, especially given the similarities you’ll face.  Just be careful to make the appropriate edits when warranted.

Regarding the review of your career progress, don’t let it simply be a restatement of your resume.  This common approach is neither insightful nor especially interesting.  Rather, help the reviewer understand the decisions you’ve made, and be sure to highlight where you’ve excelled.

When it comes to articulating your career goals and why an MBA makes sense, it’s important to understand that schools really do want you to have a clear idea of why you’re pursuing an MBA.  I’ve seen otherwise strong candidates rejected when it became apparent that they had no idea what they were planning to do.  Their perspective was that two years at school would be plenty of time to figure it out.  While there’s a certain logic to this approach, rest assured it’s not what admissions officers want to hear.  Schools don’t expect you to have every step of your career mapped out, but they would like to know you’ve given it enough thought to be able to discuss the direction you plan to head.

As to the question of “how will [insert school name] help you achieve your goals?”  schools want to know that you’re not applying simply because of their prestige or rank among MBA programs.  Rather, they expect you to have done your homework and be able to articulate why the school is a match.  Although it’s important to express enthusiasm and genuine interest in the schools you apply to, try to avoid hyperbole such as, “If you don’t admit me to your school, I won’t be able to achieve my goals,” or “Nobody wants to go to your school more than I do.”

Whenever I speak to a group of  b-school aspirants, one of the first questions I’ll be asked inevitably is, “what’s going with application volume?  Will it be up or down this year?”  I guess that’s two questions, but you get the idea.

While it’s a challenge to ferret out accurate data in real time, some trends seem to have emerged.  Many schools reported a spike in first round applications.  No surprise there.  The conventional wisdom is that as the economy weakens, b-school applications increase.  This is confirmed by the robust attendance reported at MBA admissions events and a rising number of GMAT test-takers in 2008.

But something funny happened on the way to the anticipated record number of applications (not “haha” funny, more “hmmm”).  At many programs, applications plateaued and for some have even declined.  I look at three primary reasons for the unanticipated change in momentum  1)  it’s true that a soft economy spurs applications, however as the economy descends toward its nadir, would-be candidates are more likely to hold on to whatever job they have, even if it’s somewhat less than their dream job.  2)  the loan market has tightened up considerably.  Fewer sources of funds means fewer applications.  This is particularly acute among international applicants, whose total volume will most likely be down for the cycle, and 3) so much attention is paid now to applying early that the typical application flow has been irrevocably disrupted.  Whereas candidates used to fear applying in the final round, now I hear discussion about whether the second round is to be avoided as well.

What does this mean for those who applied for Fall 2009?  What does my 8-ball say about 2010 application volume?  “Reply hazy - see next post.”