A reader from LinkedIn reached out to me and asked for help with Round 3 MBA Application Essay Editing. The first concern the person raised was that my former colleagues have all got into M7 school. I also want to get into these schools but don’t want to wait till Round 1.I looked at the profile – and there it was – an International Entrepreneurial applicant with six months of his own startup experience. But then why can’t a person wait for another six months and improve the odds of success when the number of available seats is not depleted to 10-15% of the total class size?Here are five scenarios where you should consider Round 3 MBA Application Round1) US CitizensRound 1 and Round 2 are bombarded with international applicants who are applying to 5-7 schools. When the competition and unique constraints are much more impressive for an international applicant than an American applicant, the chance to stand out with typical career, extra-curricular, and volunteering milestones also goes down.Round 3 is not like that. Competition from the international applicant pool is substantially low due to visa restrictions and also from promotions not happening typically in the last quarter of a financial year. There are scenarios where US citizens can stand out.One is if they were part of a critical project whose timeline coincided with the Round 2 deadlines in December.March is an excellent time to regroup and apply for Round 3 deadlines in April. Schools won’t find it a challenge to accept a local applicant over an impressive international applicant who is likely to face visa constraints, especially when the economy is not doing great, and there is a surplus of talent in the Consulting, Finance, and Technology industries.2) Atypical Profile, but there is a caveatWhen I talked about the ideal Round 3 profile in a previous podcast, I encouraged Entrepreneurial applicants to apply as they fall under the atypical profile. But there is also a scenario where you are six months into your own startup, and you are already applying to an MBA program. This could be tricky because without completing a year on a new career direction, you are hinting at some setbacks in your entrepreneurial career. Now, if you use a goal where an MBA is mentioned as a tool to access funds or a wider network in the Business School, it won’t look feasible.A startup takes 1-2 years to gain some momentum. Here, applying without completing that minimum period with a new venture will be seen as a weakness.This is not the case for someone who transitioned to a new company and the culture didn’t fit with their temperament. Then, applying during Round 3 makes sense. But obviously, you can’t mention this reason. You must find another goal to show motivation.3) Military, Government, and Non-ProfitThere are schools like Darden, Tuck, Haas, Ross and NYU Stern that have more than 12% of the class coming from the Military, Government, and Non-profit. Obviously, all these schools are not accepting atypical profiles during Round 3, but if you are from either of the three industries – Military, government, or non-profit, applying during Round 3 has a lower risk in these schools as long as you focus on the goals and the motivation part of the application essays.There should be a clear scheduling challenge because you were posted in a different country or a critical responsibility prevented you from applying during Round 2.Applying during Round 1 and Round 2 is the best way to show motivation.Still, Round 3 works for Entrepreneurial applicants who have completed at least one year with their own startup, Military/government or Non-profit applicants, and US citizens.4) Perception Against ReapplicationEach school has its take on Round 3 applicants who reapply in Round 1. The biggest hint of the school’s attitude is in the essays allowed to be submitted. If the school has only one essay for re-applicants, you will be clearly at a disadvantage unless the career progression or uniqueness of your achievement can overcome the limited space available to make your case. Testing it out in Round 3 without the assistance of any consultant and later Round 1 assistance with a consultant is a losing strategy. Better to take all the help. If you need our assistance with Essay Editing service, Subscribe to F1GMAT’s Essay Editing Service5) Round 1 or Round 2 Acceptance or Interview InvitesThis strategy can save you a year. I recently encouraged a client who was content with a scholarship from a tier-2 school and was set on not applying in Round 2. I pushed her to apply to M7 schools, and with our collaborative editing, she got an invite from Booth, which was surprising for her and also me. Because it was not an easy profile to create a coherent goals essay. The contributions were all over the place. There was a mix of skillsets and personal. Volunteering and extra-curricular narratives that I had to choose from to eventually create a strong brand narrative for her essays. If you have offers in hand from Round 2 and you are getting interview invites from a few M7 schools, I would target even more M7 schools in Round 3 itself. For end-to-end support with your MBA Application, Subscribe to F1GMAT’s MBA Application Review Service.