I hope everyone is having a great Fall! At this time of year, we’re getting a lot of questions about our Early Action deadline, which is quickly approaching on October 12. I thought it might be useful for you to have my perspective on the advantages and downsides of applying during our EA deadline.
For those of you who have already done a lot of research on Tuck, I’m sure you’ve heard about the overwhelming sense of school spirit that is affiliated with our program. As Director of Admissions, one of the common themes I hear from members of our community (faculty in particular) is that “we want students who really want to be here.” Early Action is really intended for those students who have identified Tuck as their #1 choice of business schools. There are several advantages in applying early in the admissions process. First, we are intentionally slightly more generous with applicants who apply EA than in the subsequent rounds. We find our EA applicants as a group to be quite competitive. They have done their research, know why Tuck is their first choice and tend to be extremely well prepared for the application process. Second, it’s slightly easier to stand out as one of the first 700 applicants who apply to Tuck each year versus being considered among the last 700 applicants who apply. That being said, we do reserve space for applicants to be admitted in each of our four admissions deadlines. Finally, the maximum amount of scholarship dollars and housing options in the Upper Valley are available to applicants who apply early in the process.
So what are the downsides of applying early? I would say if you’re not quite content with your application or an element of your application, it is generally better to apply later in the process (such as the November or January deadlines) and strengthen your application than to rush strictly to apply early. For example, if you’re not satisfied with your first GMAT score and feel that your candidacy would be enhanced by studying and retaking the GMAT, it would be better to do so and present an overall more competitive application.
We know the deadline is next week so feel free to contact us if you have final questions on completing your application. Best of luck!
Read the full article: Early Action Deadline: To Apply or Not Apply…