Calling all HBS Applicants - (2015 Intake) Class of 2017

I can't believe the class of 2017 applicants are already here. This past year has flown by. Good luck everyone!

I was accepted to the HBS class of 2016 and will be matriculating this upcoming fall.

About visiting: Dee Leopold (the director of admissions) is crazy about the case method. As far as I noticed from listening to her speak at my interview day and admitted students weekend, the #1 thing she cared about was choosing students who would work well in the case method, contribute to the collaborative learning environment in the classroom that the case method fosters, and excel in such an environment. As a result, I think it's very important, if you get to the interview stage at least, that you are able to comment about the case method and why: a) you like it, b) how you'd contribute to the classroom using it, c) would do well in it.

Whether or not this comes out in your essays or application or not is up to you. I think mine had a single sentence about the case method in my essay if I recall. But at the very least, if you make it to the interview stage, I strongly advise sitting in on a class before the interview so you can talk *specifically* about the case method in your interview, and it may be useful to sit in on one before your application overall. Unfortunately, this may be difficult given the ridiculously early application deadline this year, and the fact that it's now summer.

Outside of visiting the campus to sit in on a class, no, I don't think HBS really cares. It's a pretty campus in a good city, they know that, they don't think anyone will dislike it. They do care about you being a good fit in the case method though, and sitting in on a class is the best way to show you know what you're talking about in that regard.

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Got an interview!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ecstatic

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Posted from my mobile device

Ding on HBS, don't feel bad folks even Warren Buffet got dinged by them, and trust me there are better ways to spend two years of your life than reading a hundred cases

On to the next one!

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Posted from my mobile device

It was quite an enjoyable experience! Both the interviewer and the person taking notes were really nice, and throughout the whole 30 minutes it felt like a confortable conversation. No surprising questions (the classic "tell me about your decision to attend your undergrad university, some regarding career changes, some related to what i expected from the HBS experience and what I hoped to contribute). In the end they even allowed me to ask them something!!!! Attending the in-campus activities was also really valuable, as it allowed me to relate my answers to what I had seen both in class and interacting with students and faculty. Overall, it was a rapid-fire experience (around 14 questions in 30 minutes) but I came out of it in peace, and now hope for the best. Just be yourselves guys and go into the interview hoping to allow them to know you better. If you are authentic, it should be alright!

I second LexLuthor (we probably saw each other IRL btw - I was hanging out on campus all day Friday haha).

The interview was very conversational, and yet pointed. Several questions around key transitions as expected - why undergrad? why move to the US? give me an example of a leadership trait you admire in x (manager I talked about), example of how you emulated that trait, more questions around differences between when I started my first job and how I feel around my current job, questions about whether there were non-profits in the US that I admired in my field etc. Very rapid fire, but very friendly. No time for questions at the end but that was okay.

Though the "wow I hate to say this but the 30 mins is up. I have ten more questions to ask you" was equal parts reassuring and scary.

Good luck to everyone interviewing soon!

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INVITED! I don't want to blow up this forum, because I know there is a chat going right now....but I'm excited.

3.56 GPA, US military officer, gmat 680(!)

Hang in there guys!

Oh boy! Application is live! Hey everyone, if you are curious about what the professionals are saying about the essay analysis check it out on my blog (I've compiled all the analyses. https://grantmeadmission.com/2014/06/22/ ... es-almost/

Just to "push back" a little (to use a commonly-heard expression at HBS, ha ha) on the importance of on-campus vs. off-campus for interviewing, I was living in Asia at the time of applying and was unable to visit the campus before the day I moved into the dorms, so I didn't have any on-campus insight to bring to my interview.

If making it to campus would pose a significant financial / logistical burden for you (as it did for me), then I wouldn't agonize over it. Almost all HBS interviews are run by trained professionals (I'm guessing last year's "observers" described in interview reports might have been in training for this year), many of whom have been doing this for years. This helps ensure a level of relative consistency & professionalism in the interview experience, on-campus vs. off.

NOW: it IS vital that YOU understand the case method, and it's also VITAL that you have done a lot of homework on HBS and have 1 good and 1 "bad" opinion on it, ready to discuss. Let's unpack each of these:


1)Why do I need to understand the case method for my interview?

Ok, if you haven't already, watch a video of the case method in action online -- one of my faves can be found by skipping to 7 minutes and 55 seconds into the video called "Inside the HBS Case Method 2007" on YouTube, or about 7:40 into the YouTube video "Inside the Case Method: The Entrepreneurial Manager". Just a few minutes of either of these videos gives you the general idea. (as good as watching a whole class? No. But...good enough? I think so.)

In particular, pay close attention to the back-and-forth, and how disagreement happens (e.g. 1-minute example starting at 10:00 in the Entrepreneurial Manager video).

They are trying to learn a LOT about you during the interview, but the "case specific" stuff they are trying to learn from the interview is how will YOU be, as a case method participant?.

In practical terms, this means:

- How articulate are you (in general)
- How SUCCINCT can you be. You don't get 5 minutes during a case discussion to drone on and on about your opinion. You get a few seconds. Can you summarize your key points ASAP?
- How quickly can you think on your feet if the conversation suddenly changes direction? (as it does a zillion times a day in an actual HBS classroom) -- some people complain that the interview doesn't seem to "flow" the way it does for other schools, but IMHO this is deliberate.
- How do you respond to criticism / someone whose views are opposed to yours? Do you get defensive / petulant? Do you crumble from the pressure? (neither of these is the correct response, ha ha)

In sum, are you going to be someone who can go with the ever-changing flow of a case discussion, come up with insightful things to say on the fly, and firmly defend a position while still being likeable / gracious / mature about it? (or modify your opinion when presented with compelling counter-evidence). Note this is not "all" the interview is trying to find out, but rather answers "what's the benefit of attending a class & understanding the case method beforehand?"


2) "Homework" on HBS?

Sure, attending a class > not attending one, but not fatally so. The one potential question you'll need to do homework for could be: "How did you form your opinion about Harvard? What is it?" and/or "What is one good thing you think about HBS / one thing you're looking forward to" and "What is one negative opinion / criticism / concern you have re: HBS?"

The advice to tackle this question for HBS is the same as for every school out there: hit your network, HARD, for anyone who goes there, try to hop on the phone with them and ask them questions about what it's like -- what's good, what's bad, etc.? Hustle, hustle, hustle. (I've been considering asking recent grads their thoughts on this and compiling into a post - let me know if that's of interest?)

That way, if you're interviewing hub/skype, and are asked if you've visited, you can say with confidence, "While it hasn't been feasible for me to visit HBS yet, I've spent a lot of time talking to current students and alums / on the website / etc., and my impression of HBS is...." so you can show a good-faith effort to learn about the school. And hey, you need to do this for every school anyway.


Just my 0.02, as someone admitted without visiting first,
Maria

I got an invite - I think it's due to the peculiarity of my background: 740 GMAT / 3.99 GPA / Italian living in London / 6-year commercial role at a major record company / recording musician / lots of extracurriculars

I'd like to honestly wish all the best to all the candidates that didn't move on to the interview - it could have been me at your place, and I was ready for the ding.

I hope you'll get your other top choice. Well done anyway guys!

There is definitely something more to this story...

Refreshed like a mad woman and at a record 9 minutes before deadline, I am now officially a part of the HBS Class of 2017!!!!!!

I know it's a really hard week. I about lost my mind the few days before the invite and final decision.

Here's how it went for Round 1:

Nobody found out anything early. Of course, I checked my email and app status all the time for no reason.

Interview invites "went live" at 1200 Boston time on Wednesday. Don't freak out if you don't get one right away. They take sometime to all go out and fly through the giant tubes of the internet. Do NOT freak about if you are Barry Berstein and Cassandra Callaway gets an invite. It's not alphabetical, sorted by height, or national status. Somebody with a higher Quant score than me can figure it out, I gave up.

I got my invite at 1204. It was a long 4 minutes. Some folks got theirs at 1220 or later. I don't know when the last one went out. Don't give up right away. There were a lot of people saying "it's over" right before they got an invite.

I did not see my application status page update before I got the email. That happens for the decision, but the invite for an interview is all email.

Aside from the 2+2 folks, I don't know many people who got good news on the second round of invites. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

Good luck to everyone!

Dinged. I would like my $250 application fee back now.

I'm an admit from Round 1. The way it worked for us was that at noon on decision day our account was updated. This can take up to 20 minutes, so to save yourself heartache, I would wait until 12:10-12:30 to check. (I did not and found myself pushing refresh on my iPad underneath the table during a meeting for 8 minutes...). Finally, it said "You have a new status update". You click the link, and there is the letter!

I received an email about 4 hours later with prematriculation website information. I started to receive phone calls that evening. So in Round 1, you found out around noon by logging into your application. You received an email and phone calls later that day. Phone calls and emails continue for weeks. This is the fun part of the process, guys. Now it is THEM wanting YOU, not the other way around. You see HBS marketing in full force. ENJOY IT!

Less than 48 hours to go! All I have been thinking in the past few days/weeks is HBS. I pray that I get a YES IS THE ANSWER email on Wednesday. Good luck everyone!