Chateaubriand '25–'26

-Unless you had extensive and impressive internships, volunteer hours, leadership roles etc. in your undergraduate, I am of the opinion that you must get some full-time work experience before applying.

-In terms of admissions outcomes, I do not think there is much of a difference submitting in early September vs anytime in October or even November - it only changes your decision timeline. I submitted several applications before they were ready, and I would’ve only benefited by waiting until October.

-Have your personal statement “ready” long in advance of your intended application date. For most of us, personal statements require awkwardly fitting a number of separate intentions into a miniscule piece of writing, and you are very unlikely to be fully satisfied with it at any point in the writing process. Giving yourself as long a runway as possible will provide the opportunity to make continuous changes to your statement as they randomly occur to you, which is how most of the progress on mine ended up being made.

-Please use this site as little as possible, especially if you have neurotic tendencies. Submit and forget is ideal.

-Use your judgement as to whether my outcomes justify my advice :)