Should You Apply to a Deferred MBA in 2021?

Doing an MBA isn’t always an easy choice. Aside from being an expensive endeavour, it’s also highly competitive and time consuming, with MBA programmes taking between one to three years to complete from sending off the first application to graduating.

Depending on where you are in your education, you may already have your eyes set on a specific MBA programme, but you also may not feel as though you’re ready to go to business school yet. If this is the case, don’t worry – you're certainly not alone.

In 2020, to accommodate talented applicants during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of business schools – including top institutions like such as The Wharton School, MIT Sloan School of Management, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Stanford Graduate School of Business  and Harvard Business School – expanded their offering of deferral options for their MBA programmes.

This trend is set to continue in 2021 and into 2022, as new schools like Haas School of Business have recently introduced new deferred MBA degrees.

If that’s the case, is 2021 the perfect time to apply to a deferred MBA?

Let’s take a look at some of the pros.

Attending in-person admissions events used to be a great way to get a jumpstart on your application to business school. In fact, by connecting with alumni, recruiters and faculty members, candidates could obtain valuable information to make their application stand out in the competitive admissions pool of hopeful MBAs.

However, in the realities of a pandemic world, most events have now been moved online – somewhat levelling out the playing field, allowing candidates from anywhere in the world to make meaningful connections and learn the ins-and-outs of the admissions process.

If you’re dreaming about relocating or going to business school abroad, taking advantage of digital recruitment offerings might be your best bet to fast-track to your school of choice without missing out on all the advantages of attending events.