USC Part-Time MBA Round 2 vs Round 3 (4 Rounds)

[nadermassoudi]

Hello,

I know the "last round" is always the most difficult to succeed in as there are fewer seats available, and the last round has always been considered round 3. But what about round 3 in a 4 round rolling application system? Is there much of a difference that should outweigh an attempt at a higher GMAT?

USC MBA PM program has 4 rounds and I need to decide between rushing round 2 with a 610 gmat/3.1 gpa and taking a shot at round 3 with a potentially higher gmat score. Using MGMAT Practice Exams (after exhausting GMATPrep early), I had scored 700, 720, 670, 680, 680, and 720. I expected a higher GMAT score!

My hope is that round 3 is not far different from round 2 at USC so I can use the extra month to attempt at a much higher GMAT (680-700), making myself stand-out on "paper" in addition to my essays.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for reading this!

[mbamission]

It's only the last round you need to worry about, not the 3rd round. For schools with 4 rounds, just avoid the fourth/last!

Good luck,

Jessica Shklar
Senior Consultant
mbaMission
www.mbamission.com