Round 1 Applications Are Submitted. Now What?

We made it!

Congrats to my round 1 clients who have been very hard at work for many months to get to this milestone. Some have been working on the application process since January, and when I look back, it is incredible to see how far they have come, from pushing to increase test scores, to building relationships with school representatives, to drafting and redrafting essays.

Some struggled to articulate their future career goals and the mission driving them, and now they can clearly state the impact they can uniquely make in the future. Some knew their career goals but struggled to weave in who they are beyond work, and we explored together how their many interests, from piano playing to marathon running to knitting, make them a stronger future business leader. Many knew certain schools interested them but did not know why, or how to make a compelling argument for how they would contribute to the class at that school, and I have loved watching my applicants blossom into experts on who they are, why they have made certain choices, and where they are going. I have also enjoyed following them around the world, from a consulting international office transfer to a military deployment, and even celebrating exciting milestones together, from weddings to welcoming new family members to siblings' graduations (some of whom I worked with!).

Getting incredibly strong applications submitted is certainly something to be celebrated. However, the work is not done just yet. We are now in the exciting, yet grueling, waiting period. My clients and I typically take a few days of a breather, but not too much, as I like to pick up on the momentum we have going and jump into interview prep. Here are some questions clients often ask after we click "submit."

When do interview invites come out?

Different schools have different processes, which induce different levels of stress. I like the ones that are transparent and have specific drop days, meaning everyone will be notified whether they got an interview on the same day. Harvard Business School and Wharton both do this, and they both release interviews relatively early in the cycle, with HBS usually at the end of September and Wharton usually in early October. Then the school typically has interviewees log into a portal a couple of days later to schedule the interview.

Some schools roll out interview invites over the course of a couple of weeks, or in the case of Stanford, it can be over the course of about a month and a half. You can hear from them at any time during their interview release period, and then you typically have about 10 to 14 days to schedule and complete the interview, depending on the school.

How do I schedule interviews?

Some schools have portals to log into and an online platform where you select a date and time. Some have you coordinate directly with an alumni interviewer. For schools with specific drop dates and specific dates to schedule the interview, it is important to log into the platform promptly when it opens, as timeslots can go quickly.

For schools that do interviews more on a rolling basis, the platform may only show you slots a few days out. This makes applicants panic and book something 48 hours away when they are not ready. If you do not see a time that works for you, wait a day or two and more slots will usually open. If you try a few times and still see nothing workable, email the admissions inbox and they will help you schedule.

How can I prepare in advance?

You do not have to sit idle while waiting for news. You can start working on answers to school agnostic questions, like a resume walkthrough, or career goals, or why MBA. You can also work on building your library of stories for behavioral questions. Some schools are quite unique in style, like HBS's interview that digs in on specific points from the application, or Wharton's group interview where you need to discuss a certain prompt, so we will wait to prepare those. We also wait to prepare the "why this school" question for all schools, though you likely already know a lot of your points from writing essays, and now just need to put them together a bit differently and perhaps build on them.

What if I am waitlisted or rolled over to round 2?

Sometimes the school's decision is not interview invite or denied, but rather "waitlisted" in round 1, which simply means you are rolled over into the round 2 pool. The schools that do this sometimes provide specific instructions on what to do in the interim. For schools that do not give specific instructions, it is important to continue to engage to demonstrate interest and keep them updated on your candidacy.

Should I keep attending admissions events?

It cannot hurt if you want to keep learning and engaging, and it might be nice input to interviews, but it likely will not sway the interview invite decision.

Should I send schools updates on my candidacy while I wait for interview invites?

The short answer is no, unless you have been waitlisted and the school has invited you to stay in touch. Otherwise, the application is done, you made your case, and you should trust that you did a great job doing so. Schools do not want more information unless there is a substantial change to your candidacy, like a change to a test score or employment status.

So take a moment to rest and acknowledge all that you have achieved over many months of hard work, and then build off of that hard work to push toward the finish line. You are getting closer. An interview stands between you and an admit, and maybe a post-interview reflection if we are talking about HBS.