What is round three?
When admissions in the initial rounds conclude, schools offer the third round to candidates to fill the last few seats that are available.
Applicants plan to send applications to top schools once they decide on pursuing graduation in management. Few applicants may consider applying for round three in top business schools at the eleventh-hour.
Schools fill most seats by the third round. Admission-in-charge personnel looks for diversity in the class to fulfill their enrolment targets.
Do students apply in round three?
But this last-minute attempt is not entirely unforeseen among those who believe they still have a shot at their dream B-school. Regardless of the school, this may yet prove to be a tough round to crack.
With less than ten percent of seats left for grabs, getting admission to the school of your choice in round three might prove a chance in a million.
The number of seats available may vary from school to school, but most schools may not have many seats vacant for round three admissions.
How serious is R3?
The reason round three exists is to fill the last few seats, so yes, it is a serious business. Schools look for unique candidates who would bring diversity.
Candidates who demonstrate exclusivity stand a good chance at cracking round three. Many schools offer round three to candidates who demonstrate exclusivity.
Consultants and CEOs
In a survey, Poets and Quants asked leading MBA admission consultants and CEOs of top companies to identify B-schools that are good for round three admissions. Forty-two consultants and firms responded to the survey.
The verdict:
The respondents were quite clear in choosing schools that give round three a fair chance. They segregated nineteen management programs, seventeen business schools in the US, and two other schools outside the US.
The awards go to the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, INSEAD Business School, and New York University’s Stern School of Business. Next in line stands Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, which had held the number one slot in the 2016 survey.
Schools that do not consider round three:
None of the consultants mention HBS, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business for round three applications.
Harvard Business School had rescinded their round three last year. HBS is probably the only school to receive more than one thousand applications for the MBA program in one cycle. Stanford encourages applications in round one and two.
The best pool of candidates
Many consultants believe the 2020-2021 admission cycle has attracted some of the most competitive candidates for MBA admissions.
Timeline for submission of application
Most consultants said that thirty-five percent of applicants submitted their applications less than four hours before the deadline. Less than five percent of applicants submitted their applications at the last minute.
Why do applicants choose round three?
Applicants may have life or career changes that forced them to wait till round three. Relocating, job changes, last-minute sponsorships, or late decision to apply, the reasons could be many.
This year the COVID-19 crisis is another factor that may have delayed or altered application processes.
The domino effects
Applicants tend to apply to pemier schools in the initial rounds. Many potentially good candidates miss the bus in round one and two.
Schools like Darden, Stern, and INSEAD thus attract some of the creams among the third-round MBA applications. They pick up the students who had missed out on the IVY league schools in round one and two.
This domino effect is a win-win for both the student and the school. Schools keep a few seats vacant in the third round in anticipation of the potentially competitive students who missed rounds one and two.
Schools like Darden, NYU, INSEAD, and Tuck foresee the plight of the applicants and cash in on their enrolments.
Schools like Yale School of Management, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and the London Business School have also offered seats to potentially bright applicants in round three.
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