Advice Column: Should I Accept One Of My Current MBA Offers, Or Try Again Next Year?

“Should I accept one of my current MBA offers, or try again next year?”

Hello Poets&Quants readers! This month, I’m hearing from applicants who have been admitted to business school, but not to their top choice. These people are often wondering whether to accept one of their offers, or to hold off and try again.

Since people usually pose this question to admissions consultants, rather than admissions officers, I will answer alone. However, my previous experience as the Associate Director of Admissions at Tuck also enables me to share my perspective from that vantage point.

When counseling people who are grappling with this decision, here are some of the framing questions I ask them:

Have your goals or priorities changed since you applied? If so, is this school no longer a good fit?

If so, I totally get it. Business school is a huge investment, and the degree needs to make sense. Not all schools will be equally aligned with your personality and goals. (Ideally, you researched programs carefully before applying, but plans do change.)

Are you happy with the applications that you submitted? Do you feel like your essays, recommendations, interview responses and test scores reflect your potential?

If you didn’t put your best foot forward, it can be tempting to think that “better” materials will make a difference in your outcomes. In many cases, this might be true – reapplicants are often successful. However, if you were genuine and thoughtful, and polished your applications, please don’t think that coming up with a new narrative is a good plan. For instance, if you really want to be an entrepreneur, and told the schools that, switching to a more generic consulting or investment banking story won’t enhance your candidacy. In fact, the reverse is true – the schools won’t get to know you as well, and they might also think that you don’t really know what you want to do.

Speaking of test scores, if you’re not happy with them, do you realistically think that they will improve with more study?

I hear this one a lot – people often think that raising their test scores will make all the difference. Could be, especially if your quant percentile is alarmingly low. However, the Committee’s analysis really is holistic, so it isn’t usually any one factor that makes or breaks an applicant. Also, although these exams are definitely coachable, if you have studied for years and taken it multiple times, the odds (statistically) aren’t that great that you will raise the score in a meaningful way. (There are other ways to demonstrate your ability to handle the work, even if the test isn’t reflecting your potential.)

If you decide to wait another year, what professional opportunities do you expect to have?

Will you stagnate, which could weaken your candidacy? Is this the right time for you to go to school, and will your trajectory make more sense if you wait 12 months? Conversely, will another year make you more appealing to post-MBA employers, and give you a broader perspective that you can contribute to the classroom?

Are there practical considerations, like financing the degree or having a new baby, that would compel you to wait another year?

Theoretically, you will have planned for the expense, etc. – but things happen. If next year is simply much better for you personally, but you like the school(s) that you have been admitted to, consider asking for a deferral.

Wondering what Admissions Officers REALLY think when you ask them for a deferral, or turn down an offer and reapply? Often, they worry that you are asking/reapplying because you just want to try for a more prestigious school. Obviously, this isn’t always the case – there can be very valid personal and professional reasons to shift gears, and when I was an Admissions Officer I always tried to give people the benefit of the doubt. However, it’s important for applicants to understand that the schools need to protect yield and assemble a dynamic class, and if you turn down a spot one year, they might be less likely to offer you a place again.

Are you looking for the real answers to your burning admissions questions to be featured in a future blog? Ask away, no topic is off limits!

Karen has more than 15 years of experience evaluating candidates for admission to Dartmouth College and to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Since founding North Star Admissions Consulting in 2012, she has helped applicants gain admission to the nation’s top schools, including Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Wharton, MIT, Tuck, Columbia, Kellogg, Booth, Haas, Duke, Johnson, Ross, NYU, UNC, UCLA, Georgetown and more. Clients have been awarded more than $70 million dollars in scholarships, and more than 98% have gotten into one of their top choice schools. Inquire about an MBA application scholarship – applications due May 1st.