Submit a Polished Round Two MBA Application in Six Weeks
Many MBA aspirants contact us about this time of year with an agonizing question: Is it worth putting together a last-minute business school application? Typically, we work with clients for several months, honing essays and ensuring that recommenders are engaged. However, submitting a polished MBA application in six weeks isn’t impossible, especially if the applicant has done the necessary soul-searching on their future career goals, school selection, and recommenders.
If you’re just getting started on round two MBA applications and have only six weeks to prepare, know that you can craft a compelling application with careful planning and disciplined execution. Here’s a step-by-step guide to maximize your time and efforts.
Tackle your R2 applications with SBC’s a la carte options! From hourly packages to essay editing services, we can help you maximize this limited time window. Contact us ASAP to learn more.
Week 1: Define Your Plan and Gather Resources
- Research Your Schools: Finalize your list of target programs and dig deep into their unique cultures and offerings. Attend virtual events or reach out to current students and alums for insights.
- Clarify Your Story: Establish your personal brand and post-MBA goals. Ensure they align with the values and focus areas of your chosen programs. Feedback from mentors or admissions consultants can help fine-tune your narrative.
- Engage Recommenders: Provide them with talking points, deadlines, and key accomplishments to ensure their letters align with your overall application strategy.
Week 2: Start Drafting Your Resume and Essays
- Resume: The MBA resume is not the same as a standard CV! Highlight leadership, impact, and progression in a concise, professional format. Expect to iterate several times to ensure clarity and precision.
- Essays: Begin drafting essays for your top-choice school. Prioritize one school at a time, starting with brainstorming sessions to identify compelling stories. This phase often requires 10+ drafts to polish content and tone effectively.
Weeks 3–4: Refine Content and Expand to Additional Schools
- Iterate and Polish: Incorporate feedback from trusted reviewers (e.g., mentors, MBA alums). Ensure essays are specific, reflect your authentic voice, and address each school’s prompts directly.
- Shift Focus: Once the essays for the first school are in solid shape, move on to the second and third schools. Adjust your narrative as needed to tailor it to each program.
Weeks 5–6: Final Reviews and Submission
- Check Details: Proofread all components of your applications. Read essays aloud to catch errors and ensure they flow well. Verify that your GMAT/GRE scores, transcripts, and other materials are submitted or ready to upload.
- Get Feedback: Have someone familiar with MBA applications review your entire submission package for consistency and impact.
- Submit with Confidence: Double-check deadlines for each program, factoring in time zones. Aim to submit at least a day early to avoid last-minute technical issues.
Don’t miss B-Schooled Podcast Episode #141: 10 Things to Do Before Submitting Your Application
Critical Considerations for Completing an MBA Application in Six Weeks
- Time Commitment: On average, MBA applicants spend 25+ hours per school on essays alone. Staying organized and disciplined is critical to managing this workload effectively.
- Strategic Iteration: Don’t hesitate to revise your materials multiple times. Each draft sharpens your message and strengthens your application.
- Balanced Approach: While perfection is the goal, recognize when an application is strong enough to submit without over-polishing.
Submitting a polished round two MBA application in six weeks is no small feat. But with careful planning, disciplined effort, and a focus on authenticity, you can maximize your chances of acceptance. While the goal is to secure a spot this year, preparing mentally for all outcomes is wise.
If this round doesn’t yield positive results, remember that reapplying next year can still lead to success. Admissions committees often favor reapplicants who demonstrate growth, refine their story, and show persistence. Use this application season as a learning opportunity: seek feedback, bolster weak areas, and build a stronger case for round one in the next cycle.
Whether you achieve your MBA dreams this year or the next, the effort you invest in clarifying your goals and showcasing your potential is never wasted. This journey builds resilience, self-awareness, and strategic thinking to serve you well in business school and beyond.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs. From our All-In Partnership to interview prep, essay editing, resume review, and much more, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
