How Does Coronavirus (COVID-19) Affect My Round 3 Business School Application?

The global Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has upended nearly every aspect of life as we know it. For those of you who are still wrapping up your business school applications for the class of 2022, what does this mean for you?

Many top business schools have extended deadlines for Round 3 and deferred MBA applicants. Additionally, business schools realize that many people who had no intention of applying to business school this year may now suddenly find themselves out of a job, causing them to re-evaluate their career plans and making applying to business school seem like a good option. These extended deadlines and relaxed testing deadlines give them a chance to apply. Read on for school-specific information and helpful links.

Harvard Business School

Instead of April 2, 2020, the 2+2 new application deadline is June 1, 2020 at noon ET. Decisions will be released on July 28, 2020 at noon ET. In a blog post published by Chad Losee, Managing Director of HBS Admissions, HBS reaffirmed its commitment to international students. “Today I want to reaffirm that HBS MBA Admissions will continue to admit the most talented international and domestic applicants, irrespective of citizenship, as we strive to build a class of leaders who will make a difference in the world…Any international admitted student who is unable to start the program due to a visa issue despite their best efforts will be deferred to next year’s MBA class."

Stanford GSB

Round 3 deadline remains April 8th, 2020 at 2pm PT. Applicants are allowed to submit required exam scores after the Round 3 deadline. If you cannot submit your scores before they post decisions on May 21st, 2020 and you are considered to be a competitive applicant, they may invite you to join the waitpool until they receive your scores and can further consider your candidacy. Test scores are accepted up until August 1st, 2020. You may be invited to interview without test scores but you will not be admitted without a test score.

Wharton

The deadline Round 3 has been extended to April 15th and for Advance Access to May 27th. Round 3 and Advance Access applicants can submit their applications without having sat for a standardized test. Please see the admissions website for instructions on how to enter your scores into the application. If admitted to Wharton, you will be admitted with the condition that official testing will be submitted before arriving on campus on August 10th, 2020 for Round 3 applicants and before December 31st, 2020 for Advance Access Applicants.

Tuck

We will maintain our Round 3 deadline of March 30, and we will also allow applications on a rolling basis thereafter in a one-time Round 4 for those who need additional time. You can submit a Round 4 application on a rolling basis from April 1 to June 1. We’ll return decisions on a rolling basis -- as soon as possible from May 11 to July 1. You will still need all required materials to apply, including test scores. International applicants, especially those currently residing outside the U.S., are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible to account for expected visa delays at international embassies. Applicant-initiated interviews have been suspended for the remainder of the application cycle, while committee-initiated interviews will be conducted virtually for this cycle.

Chicago Booth

The Round 3 deadline has been extended from April 2nd, 2020 to May 31st, 2020. Applications submitted after April 2nd will receive decisions on a rolling basis. Due to global GMAT/GRE test center closures, for applications submitted by the deadlines noted above, we will accept test scores through an extended deadline of July 1, 2020.

MIT Sloan

Round 3: The timeline for MBA Round 3 remains the same. All applications must be submitted by 3:00pm EST on April 9, 2020.

Early Admission: The timeline for MBA Early Admission applications has been extended, the new deadline is June 2, 2020. All applications must be submitted by 3:00pm EST on June 2, 2020. Applicants invited to interview will be notified in mid-June and all interviews will be conducted via Skype. Final decisions for MBA Early Admission will be released on July 15, 2020.

Standardized Tests: MBA Early Admissions applicants who are unable to take and/or secure official test scores due to limited access to test facilities should email us at earlymbaadmissions.mitsloan@mit.edu to request a temporary waiver to complete the exam. If admitted, your offer will be conditional upon a minimum score set forth in your offer letter.

Waitlist Success Stories, Part 2: "Getting to Yes" at their Dream Schools

Wharton School Admit

Lisa was a great resource as I navigated the waitlist and always provided sound and timely feedback in what otherwise would have been a stressful process.

- Caucasian male, Non-traditional

Purchased: Conquer the Waitlist

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Berkeley Haas Admit

Having almost a decade and a half years of international experience with large consulting firms, I decided to pursue EMBA from Berkeley Haas. Berkeley waitlisted my round-2 application. After searching for strategies to get off the waitlist, I came across a very thought-provoking blog on GMAT club website by Ivy group. I immediately decided to work with the Ivy team, and the result was phenomenal.

I got off the Berkeley EMBA round-2 waitlist and got admitted for the class of 2020 because of the help I received from Anna. She is very professional and pushed me to critically think about my story which enabled me to tell my narrative in a different light. The Self, Us, Now framework that she shared with me was a game changer for me, and it helped me to connect the dots more succinctly.

Regardless of the outcome, I would highly recommend Roanna and team to anyone who wants to put the best foot forward in their MBA journey. You will be working with the best in the admissions consulting industry.

- Tech Consulting

Purchased: Conquer the Waitlist

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Dartmouth Tuck Admit

Nate was very straightforward and honest in terms of his feedback, which helped me quickly and effectively correct my issues with my story and how I was phrasing it. He also had a clear plan and timeline in place on how I would stay in contact with admissions that ultimately paid off.

- Finance, male, Fitness, Asian

Purchased: Conquer the Waitlist

The Pros and Cons of a Dual/Concurrent MBA Degree

An increasing number of business school students are now completing their MBAs as part of a dual degree program that will award them another graduate school degree. Popular dual degree options include JD/MBA, MD/MBA, Master of Public Health/MBA, Masters of Public Policy/MBA, and all sorts of other MA and MS programs from education to electrical engineering. But what are the pros and cons of these programs? 

Pros

Another brand name school on your resume

Attending the Tuck School of Business in Hanover, NH gives you all the access and prestige of Ivy League Dartmouth College. Attending as part of the dual degree program at Harvard Kennedy School, just a bus ride away on the Dartmouth Coach, would give you access to the resources and network of Harvard University as well. If you're only as good as the last school you attended, dual degree programs are excellent opportunities to pump your resume full of brand names and broaden the alumni networks to which you have access. One friend of mine completed the dual program at MIT Sloan and HKS and went to work in China, where his boss inevitably introduced him to clients as "our new hire from Harvard."

Diverse network in two career fields

Attending a world-class MBA program will give you a robust network of business leaders across traditional private sector industries such as consulting, finance, and technology. Adding in a dual degree program in public policy will also give you access to leaders across local, state, and federal government, as well as diplomats, non-profit leaders, and academics. As more of the world's challenges become interdisciplinary, individuals who can straddle the line between the public and private sectors will be the ones best able to capitalize on the opportunities. Or, if you plan on going into a technical field such as quant hedge funds, distressed equity, healthcare management, or hardware start-ups, having colleagues from programs in mathematics, law, medicine, and computer science will give you an incredible leg up against the traditional MBA competition.

Efficient use of time (completing two degrees in 1 fewer year)

Almost all dual degree programs allow you to complete two degrees one year faster together than you could if you did them separately. For example, a JD from Yale Law School takes three years while an MBA from Stanford GSB takes two. Separately, it would take five years to complete, but together you can complete them in four. If you are gung-ho on attending two different programs already, completing them in a dual degree program is a much more efficient use of your time. You'll pay one fewer year of tuition, and get back into the working world making a good salary one year faster.

Balanced curriculum

Business Schools teach students how to lead others and develop processes that will make their organizations more efficient. Government Schools teach students where to lead and inspire them to spend their lives tackling the most difficult challenges of our times. Other graduate programs confer specialized knowledge that will prove invaluable in gaining the credibility to lead experts.

More opportunities for honors and scholarships

An often overlooked benefit of graduate school is that it provides you with the opportunity to apply for scholarships. These are ostensibly for money, but often come with great prestige as well -- the kind that would look good on your resume. Many scholarships, however, do not accept applications from MBA students, so a dual degree gets you around that. Also, if you apply to schools that confer graduations honors for GPA, theses, or other work, going to two schools gives you two bites at the apple.

Flexibility on when to apply

Not everyone knows exactly what they want to do when they arrive at business school. As you settle in for your MBA at MIT Sloan, you might decide that you actually are drawn less to the engineering, technology, and logistics disciplines of MIT and more to the pubic sector work of government and non-profits. Fortunately the dual degree program at Harvard Kennedy School lets you apply to HKS in your first year at Sloan. And vice versa. Say that you are going through the core curriculum at HKS and decide that you're much better suited to consulting. You can apply to MIT, add in an MBA, and then be better positioned to recruit for McKinsey or BCG.

Cons

Tuition cost and opportunity cost of work

Getting another degree is an amazing opportunity, especially if you can save an year of time and tuition when doing it in a dual degree program. However, when compared to doing a solo-MBA, the added cost of another year of school (in the case of a three-year program) can be daunting. You'll have to pay ~$60k of tuition and fees and forego one year of salary at the starting MBA rate ~$125k. That's a large chunk of money to make up over the course of your working career. Of course, MD and JD students who have already prepared themselves for the long-slog of school see the marginal cost as relatively lower and the benefits of the additional MBA on their future careers is great.

Unintegrated program means extra work of building your own path

Unlike integrated "joint degree" programs where academic deans have established well defined pathways for pursuing two degrees, often bolstered by a steady pipeline of concurrent degree students who can help show you the way, unintegrated programs mean that you have to fend for yourself. If you're not the kind of go-getter who can coordinate with two different sets of graduation requirements and two different registrar offices, this option may be a little stressful.

Takes time away from your MBA cohort

Depending on when you sequence business school in your dual degree program, you may not graduate with your MBA class or spend much time with them after the core curriculum part of the degree is over. This can be a serious downside considering that the network is a key part of value proposition in MBA programs.

Shuttling between campuses

If you decide to do a concurrent degree at two different schools, it is likely that you will have to pack up your apartment and move at least twice in a three year period (notable exceptions include the dual degree program between MIT Sloan and Harvard Kennedy School). For ex-consultants, living out of a suitcase for three or more years might not sound so bad, but for the rest of us this can have a negative effect on quality of life. Even if you decide to pursue two degrees at the same university, graduate school campuses are rarely co-located and so even if you keep your apartment, you still will have to shuttle back and forth across as variable commute (notable exceptions include programs between Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School, which are located just across a walking bridge from each other). Of course, if for some reason you would like to be in two different cities over the course of your study (e.g. to be close to two different sets of family, you didn't get into the desired program in your #1 city and are using a dual degree to form a back-up option), this can be a blessing. 

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The Tuck School of Business was the first modern business school founded in the United States (in 1900). Named for one of the founders of the Republican Party, Tuck boasts one of the robust old-school career networks that make business schools famous. Tuckies routinely score great jobs as established firms like McKinsey and BCG through the loyal Tuck network, and the larger, more fanatical Dartmouth College network.

Given its small class size and bucolic location, Tuck offers one of the most intimate MBA experience in the Top-10. Students are intensely social -- traveling around the world together on treks and participating in intramural sports in record numbers (about 90% of the students play on one of the school's many hockey teams -- it's a way of life!). To thrive in this environment, Tuckies pride themselves on their collaborative and social culture and are looking for applicants who can fit in and are equally fanatical about Tuck as they are.

Ivy Admissions Group has intensely deep roots at Dartmouth and can help you easily navigate the applicant-initiated interview. Our Ace the Interview service will provide you with a custom dossier of questions that you can expect based on your unique background, two complete student-style interviews with interactive debriefs, media coaching to come off as more likable, and even help with reflection feedback. It's everything you need to Ace the Interview!

List of Best Joint/Dual/Concurrent Degree MBA Programs

While a 2-year MBA program is the desire and envy of many a business school applicant, an increasing number of MBA students are now completing their studies as part of a "joint" or "dual" degree program. As far as semantics go, "joint" programs integrate two different degrees into a unified course of study, often housed within the same university, while "dual" degrees often span two different universities and are pieced together by the student.

Kellogg at Northwestern is pretty restrictive, offering only a 2-year dual masters program in Design Innovation, and its 3-year JD/MBA with their Law School. HBS is more open but still pretty restrictive, offering only joint degrees and only with Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical/Dental School, and (most recently)  Harvard School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. Stanford GSB is more open, offering concurrent degree options with Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Princeton Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Yale Law School, Yale Medical School, and any of Stanford's other graduate programs from Education to Electrical Engineering.

Top Concurrent MBA Degree Programs

• Booth at University of Chicago: UChicago MS Computer Science, JD, MD, MPP, MA Social Services Administration, MA International Relations;

• Columbia Business School: Columbia MS Urban Planning, DDS, MS Engineering and Applied Science, MA International and Public Affairs, MS Journalism, JD, MS Nursing, MD, MPH, MS in Social Work, MA in Private School Leadership

• Darden School at UVA: UVA MD, JD, MEd, MS Data Science, MPP, MPH, MA Government, MA East Asian Studies, ME Engineering, MS Nursing, PhD

• Duke Fuqua School of Business: Duke JD, MD, MEM, MPP

• Haas at University of California—Berkeley: Berkeley MPH, JD

• Harvard Business School: HKS, HLS, HMS, Harvard Dental, Harvard Engineering

• Kellogg at Northwestern University: Northwestern JD, MS in Design Innovation

• Michigan Ross School of Business:

• MIT Sloan School of Management: HKS, MIT Department of Urban Studies, LGO

• Stern School at NYU: NYU MD, MFA, JD, MPA, MS Biology, MS Mathematics Finance, DDS, HEC

• Stanford Graduate School of Business: Stanford JD, MPP, MD, MA Education, MS Computer Science, MS Electrical Engineering, MS Environment and Resources, HKS, SAIS, WWS, YLS, YMS

• Tuck School at Dartmouth: Dartmouth MD, MPH, or PhD, HKS, SAIS, Tufts Flecher, Vermont Law School

• Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania: UPenn MA in International Studies (Lauder), JD, Education, Engineering, Environment, Design, Health Care Management, Medicine, Nursing, Social Work, Veterinary Medicine, SAIS, HKS

• Yale School of Management: Yale JD (3 or 4 year), MEM or MF Forestry & Environmental Studies, MA in Global Affairs, MD, MPH, MARCH Architecture, MFA, MA Divinity, PhD, MD

Tuck November Round Deadline in 5 Days!

The Tuck School of Business was the first modern business school founded in the United States (in 1900). Named for one of the founders of the Republican Party, Tuck boasts one of the robust old-school career networks that make business schools famous. Tuckies routinely score great jobs as established firms like McKinsey and BCG through the loyal Tuck network, and the larger, more fanatical Dartmouth College network.

Given its small class size and bucolic location, Tuck offers one of the most intimate MBA experience in the Top-10. Students are intensely social -- traveling around the world together on treks and and participate in intramural sports in record numbers (about 90% of the students play on one of the school's many Hockey teams -- it's a way of life!). To thrive in this environment, Tuckies pride themselves on their collaborative and social culture and are looking for applicants who can fit in and are equally fanatical about Tuck as they are.

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Ivy Admissions Group has intensely deep roots at Dartmouth and can help you easily navigate the applicant-initiated interview. Our Ace the Interview service will provide you with a custom dossier of questions that you can expect based on your unique background, two complete student-style interviews with interactive debriefs, media coaching to come off as more likable, and even help with reflection feedback. It's everything you need to Ace the Interview!