($) “What about moving School X to Round 2?”

As we started yesterday, in the category of “Oh crap! How did this happen?!??” aka Yes, Round 1 is here!

Here’s the thing:

Regardless of how awesome your profile may be, you should still have a balanced strategy if you’re committed to sitting in a bschool classroom next Fall. That means including a less-competitive school somewhere in the mix. “Less-competitive” is relative to your profile; someone with a very differentiated profile will have a different “less competitive” school than someone who is in a very crowded pool.

Now, some people are “HBS or bust!” and that’s totally fine. The MBA is very expensive and it’s a major investment in time and effort and disruption to everyday life – and the ROI is not there for all BSers. Some people will do just fine on the current career trajectory that they’re on, and they’ve determined that unless they can go to H/S/W, then it’s not worth it. Totally your prerogative if that’s your position.

We also aren’t suggesting that you go for a safety school. If there was ever a soul-crushing concept, “safety school” is it. However, you also have to be realistic. Some people wildly overestimate the strength of their profile. Sometimes a stretch school is a safety but most often, the opposite is true. These labels and categorizations are completely dependent on the specifics of your situation. There is no universal “safety” or “stretch”; it can only be assessed in the context of your own application.

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• “I’m out of time. Should I wait till Round 2?”