It is cuh-RAY-zee that Round 1 deadlines are here. ISB, Harvard and Fuqua (oh my!) Congratulations to all you Brave Supplicants who are hitting the Submit button around about now.
For those who aren’t? Who decided in the last few days or recent weeks that you’re just not ready?
No problem.
It’s much better to submit a later GOOD application than a sooner so-so one. The trade-off is worth it.
And it’s truly shocking how quickly September 16th got here, isn’t it?
Well guess what?
If you aren’t careful, the same thing is going to happen again.
Sitting here in September, it’s hard to even imagine what January 1st will feel like. That’s a time of yuletide cheer and eggnog and champagne flutes toasting to auld lang syne (what does that even MEAN??). Where you have to get bundled up in a coat and stuff. Can’t really relate to that when you’re spending your weekends in board shorts.
But believe the ‘Snark, it’s gonna happen. Clocks will tick and calendars will turn, and sure enough another set of deadlines will be staring you in the face.
If you want to do your darnedest to avoid a repeat of the Round 1 slough-off, and instead, this time, actually get stuff done on your way to application submission nirvana, then we’ve got an idea for you:
The Countdown is a weekly to-do list from EssaySnark that walks you through the process of getting your applications done. It tells you what to focus on each week, and it includes a catch-up plan in case you fall behind. It also includes a project plan designed by EssaySnark specifically to help you manage your own deliverables.
We had a collection of Brave Supplicants leverage this EssaySnark offering a couple months ago. It seems like just yesterday, but we originally kicked this off in June. Every week, they got an email from the ‘Snark with a description of their deliverables and an explanation of how to approach them. And guess what? These people are submitting their apps. They made it.
And guess what?
The Round 2 Countdown starts today.
If you didn’t manage to get things in gear for Round 1, then you have no choice: you must do Round 2. (Well actually, there’s still time for Round 1 if you’re motivated, and focused – but it’s pushing it.)
If you’re not careful, the same thing is just going to happen again – that whole history-repeating business. The EssaySnark Countdown will help you stay on track. It’ll remind you every Monday morning of what you need to be worried about dealing with producing for the current week in order to maximize the time you have from now to Round 2.
The Countdown is geared around the deadlines that hit in the first week of January. You can use it for any school. It helps you prioritize and plan and manage and deliver.
A full description of the EssaySnark Countdown is available here – and in honor of all of those who didn’t quite pull off an HBS Rd 1 app submission, The Countdown is available for only $17.95 today only – reduced from standard price of $24.95. Check it out and bring EssaySnark along for the ride to make sure that this time, you get stuff done!
And for those who are submitting their Round 1 applications – GOOD LUCK!!! We hope you make it!
DJOnion says
Harvard app submitted last night (still waiting on a recommender though :s)
Good luck to the other BSers – it’s getting busy now!
essaysnark says
Good luck to you too DJOnion – can’t wait to hear how all of these turn out for you!
Lia says
ES,
Long time, first time.
What’s your take on the whole HBS NYTimes article? How do you see it from your vantage point? A post on this may be?
essaysnark says
Hey Lia – thanks for the question. We weren’t planning on writing a response because we haven’t unearthed anything significant from the HBS community about it. But then we realized that that was worth writing about. Look for a post later this week.
EssaySnark
choth21 says
The one deadline change I don’t get is MIT’s. I don’t get why they moved up the R1 deadline so early and moved Round 2 to later in January. But they must have a reason.
essaysnark says
They moved Rd 1 up in order to have a shot at announcing decisions earlier. MIT has notoriously been last out of the gate with decisions which means they undoubtedly get harassed by anxious BSers bugging them about it as the cycle stretches on; they’re trying to serve the customer better (and also free up time in the office from handling the incessant queries). Round 2 isn’t any later than many other schools; it’s MIT’s last deadline so maybe they just wanted to have a greater chance of getting a few more apps from people.