Based on the wording on the page, it doesn't appear that time is the most important factor in qualification (other than meeting the deadline, of course). I'm sure they're looking for quality applicants, considering this is a "pilot" run of the program, to give it the greatest chance of success.
They're using rolling admission -- so if they come across 100 qualifying applications before they encounter yours, it doesn't matter how good you are (they bump you to a future semester).
