The countdown to apply to a top MBA program during the 2021-2022 admissions season

After what many expected would be one of the most competitive admission cycles ever for elite MBA programs, the competition to earn a seat in the 2022 intake at a top business school should lessen for most applicants. The only likely exception: Candidates from India who view the U.S. as a more welcoming place to study and work with the change in administration in Washington, D.C.

With the impact of the pandemic beginning to diminish in the U.S., most business schools are planning an on-campus start to the fall of 2021, though a new normal is taking effect. The success of many virtual events, including the CentreCourt MBA Festivals, has convinced the admission officials at most schools to continue with a full schedule of online info sessions for would-be applicants.

What to expect this admissions cycle? “The world is not going to be normal again yet,” says Soojin Kwon, managing director of full-time MBA admissions and student experience at Michigan Ross. “So what we are looking at is another virtual recruiting year for the foreseeable future. When the pandemic first broke out, our immediate reaction was, ‘How are we going to recruit? You mean we can’t go to all these countries in person? What are we going to do?’

VIRTUAL ADMISSION EVENTS MADE RESEARCHING SCHOOLS MORE EQUITABLE

“And then the world went virtual,” she adds. “We were able to connect with so many more candidates in places that we had never gone before, countries and cities that may not have the number of candidates interested in pursuing an MBA so we might not have gone there. Now we can connect with them and they can connect with us at different times of day from the convenience of their living rooms and bedrooms. It’s a benefit to candidates because now they’re able to attend some of our conferences and other events hosted by our students or by the school. So they can get to know the school better in different ways that they might not have had the chance to unless they could spring for a plane ticket or hotel. It also reduced the costs of investigating schools and made it more equitable for people to do that research.”

As is often the case, Harvard Business School kicked off the 2021-2022 admissions season with a round one deadline of Sept. 8 to apply for its Class of 2024. That cutoff date is exactly the same as last year’s cutoff date. The second and final deadline at HBS would be a day earlier than last year: Jan. 4.  For candidates who apply by the R1 deadline, Harvard is guaranteeing a final decision by Dec. 9th at noon EST for applicants who gain an admissions interview. For those who meet the R2 deadline, decisions would be released on March 30. The application deadline for Harvard’s deferred admissions program, 2+2, will be April 29th, with notifications scheduled for July 7th. The R1 and R2 deadlines for Stanford’s Graduate School of Business are a day after HBS’s deadlines.

In general, most schools are keeping their applications similar to a year-earlier, with some tweaks here and there. The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, for example, has reduced its three essay questions down to two from three to two and places a word limit on its career goal essay to 200 from 300 a year earlier. The school is also returning to its traditional three-round schedule of deadlines starting with an R1 cutoff of Sept. 20 and a final R3 deadline of April 4th. Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, in a nod to the pandemic, has added a new video question to its application: “Share your resilience with us.”

Kellogg also has added another wrinkle to increase flexibility for applicants. For the first time, Kellogg candidates will be able to select and be considered for multiple MBA programs through one application, from its two-year MBA to its accelerated one-year MBA, as well as evening and weekend and Executive MBA programs. “So, rather than committing to just one program during the application process, you’re now able to be considered for multiple program options within Kellogg’s programs,” wrote Kate Smith, the assistant dean of admissions and financial aid, in a blog post. “This means that during the application, you will select a primary program within our Full-Time portfolio for which to be considered. Then, you will have the option to select — and rank — additional programs from our Full-Time, Evening & Weekend, and Executive MBA Programs for which to be considered. If we’re unable to offer you admission to your program of choice, then we’ll consider you for the other program(s) in which you are interested.”

Ross, along with UVA Darden, NYU Stern and Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, is also continuing to offer MBA applicants the option to request a waiver of its standardized test requirement for the 2021-2022 admissions cycle. After receiving more than 1,300 requests for a test waiver from potential applicants, Darden is offering the same flexibility on testing into 2021-2022. Roughly 13% of its next entering cohort of MBAs this fall will have enrolled with an approved test waiver. Many more schools are expected to follow the lead of Darden and Ross.

Some schools that have released their deadlines are still holding back their updated essay questions, if they, in fact, will update them. Wharton, for example, has put out its 2021-2022 deadlines but won’t release the essay prompts for its full-time MBA application until July.

APPLY AS EARLY AS YOU CAN BUT NOT UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE THE BEST JOB POSSIBLE

No matter what you do, there’s some helpful general advice: If you can, apply in the first round when none of the seats in the class are filled. At most schools, early applicants have an advantage over those that complete their applications in later rounds. Typically, the second application round is the largest, and many schools, including Wharton, advise candidates that round three is the most competitive mostly because the vast majority of the class seats are already filled. There are some other reasons why you want to get your app in early:

• The ability to receive a scholarship award from the school’s Financial Aid Office prior to the date by which you must respond to your offer of admission.
• Ample time to complete recommended quantitative and/or language coursework prior to arrival on campus.
• Access to on-campus housing lottery systems at some schools.
• Sufficient time to complete the visa application process for international candidates.
• Attendance at a school’s Admit Weekends. Sometimes, round three candidates lose out on this opportunity.

All that said, the best time to apply is when you believe you’ve done the best job possible with your application. If you have to rush and cut corners to make round one, don’t. Hold off until another round. At all the highly selective business schools, admissions officials are looking for reasons to cut you from the pool. After all, the odds are substantially against you and as many as 80% of the candidates in any school’s applicant pool are usually fully qualified to attend. So you want to make sure you are putting your best foot forward when you do apply.

We’ll update this list continuously as more schools provide info on their new deadlines. If a school has released its essays for the 2020-202` admissions season, you can access them by clicking on the “Yes” in the table below.

Earliest 2021-2022 MBA Application Deadlines

An asterisk indicates an estimate based on last year’s dates because the school has not formally announced a date for when it will notify applicants of interview invites.

Round Two 2021-2022 MBA Application Deadlines

An asterisk indicates an estimate based on last year’s dates because the school has not formally announced a date for when it will notify applicants of interview invites.

R3 & Later 2021-2022 MBA Application Deadlines

An asterisk indicates an estimate based on last year’s dates because the school has not formally announced a date for when it will notify applicants of interview invites.