Rethinking Round Three
Does Round Three (R3) deserve its somewhat bum rap? In an blog update Wednesday, Rose Martinelli, associate dean for student recruitment and admissions at Chicago Booth School of Business, makes some great points that help burnish the reputation of this upcoming round.
Martinelli concedes that R3 is more competitive simply because the majority of applications and acceptances occur in Rounds 1 and 2, but that doesn’t mean the final round is a throw-away, last-ditch shot at admission!
A significant portion of the class will come from R3, and Martinelli adds that a good number of R3s will be placed on Booth’s summer waitlist to help manage class size this summer.
Here are a few points Martinelli makes to dispel the gloom and doom surrounding this round of applications:
- Great applicants and great applications are valued in every round in order to create the best class possible.
- However, a strong, well-thought out application is critical in this round due to high demand in the MBA market.
- International applicants are accepted in R3. The program begins in September and R3 decisions are released in mid-May, leaving international students plenty of time to process their visa during the summer months.
- Consider letting admissions know why you’re applying in R3, if it’s relevant. Martinelli says it can ease the reader’s questions about your intentions.
If you have more questions about applying in this round, join Martinelli next Tuesday, March 2nd at 11 a.m. CST, for a live chat about the Booth admissions process and the 2010 application in time for the Round 3 deadline.
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