The 2020-2021 MBA application season was more chaotic than any I have ever experienced. But then, it’s been my first pandemic too.

Round 1 — with deadlines occurring in the midst of a pandemic surge and political chaos in the United States — was massively discouraging. Many strong applicants were waitlisted or denied admission to schools that should have welcomed them. I braced myself for round 2 — as did admissions offices all over the country — but my clients had substantially greater success, with five admitted to HBS alone.

So you never know. I am guessing that 2021-2022 will be closer to normal, whatever that means. In any case, strong applicants will always attract positive attention. The numbers may go up, the percentages may look worse, but good candidates will get admitted.

I’m hearing more discussion this year about whether the MBA is worth it given global economic uncertainty. (My non-expert prediction: the economy is going to remain unstable.) When you’re paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to get the degree, plus the opportunity cost of forgoing a salary, the short-term ROI is probably going to be negative, even with a significant increase in compensation post-MBA. You can find statistics on average salaries of HBS graduates x years after graduation, but those are self-reported and apples & oranges. People who earned MBAs in 2001 started their careers in a world that only dimly resembles today’s landscape for graduating MBAs.

Looking at my own MBA classmates in a totally non-scientific, anecdotal way: the ones that have risen to the top, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and successful entrepreneurs — I don’t think they would managed that arc without a Stanford MBA launching their careers. Whereas the banking bros — the guys with good hair and family money — they have done very well, but I’m not sure most of them “needed” the MBA to achieve their goals. For others, students like me from less traditional backgrounds, the MBA created access to a universe we might never have glimpsed otherwise.

But for now, I’m thrilled to have survived 18 frantic, work-filled months, with many 14-hour days including weekends. I’m glad it’s a little quieter now (vs last year’s round 3, which went on forever and was just as demanding as rounds 1 and 2). But I’m gearing for the next cycle, waiting for schools to release their applications and essay prompts.