Round 2 of MBA applications deadline is almost like end of an application season for international applicants. Most of the b-schools quote reasons such as visa issues and encourage applicants to apply in R2 (which typically means end of December – mid January period)

Here is what you should have done by now:

Finalized your b-schools: Finalization includes decision on how many and which schools. Do not target more than 3 schools over such short period of time (more so, if you have started your application process recently). B-school selection should be based on your profile (number of years of workex, domain of workex, education, GMAT, Extracurriculars, career choice post MBA etc.)

Taken GMAT:  You should have taken GMAT by now and obtained a threshold level of score. In worst case, you should be taking the GMAT very soon (latest by mid December)

In case you have written GMAT already but scored low (relative to requirement of b-schools targeted), you may plan to rewrite GMAT even if this involves reducing the number of b-schools you will apply to. You should weigh the effort involved in rewriting vs the jump you can get in your GMAT score in next attempt.

Talked to your recommenders: Please note that this should be amongst the top priority items in your to-do list because this involves dependency on someone else. Speak to your recommenders well in advance so that they can allot time from their schedule for an important step in your application. In many cases, recommendations make or break the case.

Completed stage 1 of essay writing for atleast one school: The first set of essays take most amount of time and this effort reduces as one writes subsequent applications. Hence it is important that you should have completed first draft of essays for atleast one school by now. If possible, get your first draft reviewed by somebody who has gone through the MBA application process himself.

Checked for the application requirements of targeted b-schools: Many applicants just register on online application portal and leave everything but essays for the last moment. This approach may prove wrong. You must check the requirements (data to be provided/ subjective answers/ email IDs of recommenders etc) in the application as you may need some time to gather these data points. One of the first actions in online application is to submit the recommender details.