I am looking at applying to LBS, Judge, and Rotman. I was wondering if anyone either has experience, or has heard anything, regarding the chances of admission in the final rounds? Would it be best to just wait until next year and apply then? Does applying in a late round like this(and being dinged) hurt one’s chances of success in the following year A little about me gmat -760 gpa - 3.1 - had kidney failure/kidney transplant over the course of my 4 year undergrad pretty decent work experience/ec support from my supervisors with good letters major weakness is a lack of direct leadership experience, but I can show it in other ways. CFA charterholder if that helps at all? Thanks all!
I can’t comment on experiences at non-U.S. business schools because I only applied to American ones this year. No idea what your chances of admission are if you have to apply, but maybe others could opine. However, one thing that caught my attention is the following: "major weakness is a lack of direct leadership experience, but I can show it in other ways. " What is “direct leadership experience”? I think there is a fundamental difference between leadership and management. When you hear of direct versus indirect reports, that is management rather than leadership. You should do a Google search as there are many articles and books that describe the difference between leadership and management. Specifically, management is an organizational tool that focuses on the division of labor and responsibility, while leadership is a broader-scale theme that pertains to inspiring and motivating people to achieve a common goal. In other words, while you may need a position of seniority to be a manager, anyone can potentially be a leadership at any level. I think you need to think critically about situations where you demonstrated great creativity, insight, or ability to inspire a group, and be able to talk about them as your leadership experiences. Many people confuse “leadership” with “management” but in most cases, they’re quite different. Of course, the best managers are also the best leaders, and quite frequently the converse of this is true as well. Best of luck!
Applying in later rounds makes things more difficult. Iif you can put in a good application by all means go for it if you are rejected and reapply you have to show significant improvement in the next application, if you think you have some milestones coming up then you could take a chance CFA charter helps insofar as it is aligned with the rest of your career goals in your application. Also, helps with judging your ability to handly courseload. I’d advise not to stress too much on it though. Good luck.