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VP
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
 27 Aug 2008, 12:44
TL wrote: Hi fresinha, I think the key component of HBS essay #1 is "...and why do you view them as such?" This would be a good opportunity to insert a unique aspect of your application, i.e. "Accomplishment x is important to me because I learned growing up in Mexico that..." If you have any unique stories to share from your undergraduate experience it may be worthwhile to mention them as well. An example I will mention is having devoted a lot of time tutoring while in school, and of course explaining the motivation behind doing so. Although I agree with you that the essay questions may not lend themselves to key differentiations as much as other schools', I do believe there is plenty of opportunity to sprinkle in short anecdotes (even if its one sentence) throughout your essays. fresinha12 wrote: Gang..i am reviewing my essays..and i kinda fell that HBS questions dont really ask much about the individuals uniqueness..i mean there is no opportunity in the essays to really talk about my unique background..i feel its a plain vanilla name your top3 accomplishments, what did you learn from your failure..talk about your undergrad experience..talk about your career vision..
well i feel they should have at least allowed 5 essays.. 4 is just not getting my personality out in paper..
what are your thoughts??? It specfically mentions undergraduate academic experience, not extracurricular
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Current Student
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
27 Aug 2008, 13:55
with 600 words i am afraid you cant really say much in essay 1.. I feel that HBS should have allowed a 5th essay maybe they should have allowed 3 of the 4 optional essays.. like...i really love Kellogs and even wharton questions they really allow me to set myself apart. I am afraid HBS is really looking for people with numbers..i.e high gmat, high gpa and not much work experience.. Lets discuss essay 1. 3 biggest accomplishment and why do you think they are big?..in 600 words.. so the obvious would be ...i am a fresh college grad working in a PE firm and structured a $billion deal..and thats why i feel its important..cus its $billion.. TL wrote: Hi fresinha, I think the key component of HBS essay #1 is "...and why do you view them as such?" This would be a good opportunity to insert a unique aspect of your application, i.e. "Accomplishment x is important to me because I learned growing up in Mexico that..." If you have any unique stories to share from your undergraduate experience it may be worthwhile to mention them as well. An example I will mention is having devoted a lot of time tutoring while in school, and of course explaining the motivation behind doing so. Although I agree with you that the essay questions may not lend themselves to key differentiations as much as other schools', I do believe there is plenty of opportunity to sprinkle in short anecdotes (even if its one sentence) throughout your essays. fresinha12 wrote: Gang..i am reviewing my essays..and i kinda fell that HBS questions dont really ask much about the individuals uniqueness..i mean there is no opportunity in the essays to really talk about my unique background..i feel its a plain vanilla name your top3 accomplishments, what did you learn from your failure..talk about your undergrad experience..talk about your career vision..
well i feel they should have at least allowed 5 essays.. 4 is just not getting my personality out in paper..
what are your thoughts??? |
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Manager
Joined: 11 Jul 2008
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
27 Aug 2008, 14:04
terp26 wrote: It specfically mentions undergraduate academic experience, not extracurricular i view tutoring as another form of learning course material, and therefore consider it an extension of my academic experience. point well taken nonetheless  fresinha, i believe the overall strategy for any set of essays remains the same. determine the unique aspects of your application and then identify places to intricately weave them into your answers. you need not go into incredible detail. just my $.02 really 
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Current Student
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
09 Sep 2008, 10:39
Have you guys uploaded your transcripts yet? I filled out the transcript form, but don't see the slot for the additional school (if I took courses at a community college, etc.). The form says to mark such classes with an asterisk and to list the additional school in the appropriate space below. Unfortunately, the form doesn't seem to have a space dedicated for the additional school. Any thoughts?
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
16 Sep 2008, 19:51
All --
What are everyone's thoughts regarding essay 3.1? Is this an essay to explain some odd circumstance for why you got a 1.9 GPA your soph year? Or is this truly an essay where I can talk about other things (e.g. I graduated in 3 years -- why did I do this? why did I TA and tutor classes? etc...)
Thoughts?
Matt
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
17 Sep 2008, 06:43
I think the keyword is "academic experience" , this to me does not mean what you did in undergrad, or for you to explain away a GPA. To me this is more about your classes and what you learned. MattG2185 wrote: All --
What are everyone's thoughts regarding essay 3.1? Is this an essay to explain some odd circumstance for why you got a 1.9 GPA your soph year? Or is this truly an essay where I can talk about other things (e.g. I graduated in 3 years -- why did I do this? why did I TA and tutor classes? etc...)
Thoughts?
Matt
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
17 Sep 2008, 15:22
terp26 wrote: I think the keyword is "academic experience" , this to me does not mean what you did in undergrad, or for you to explain away a GPA. To me this is more about your classes and what you learned. MattG2185 wrote: All --
What are everyone's thoughts regarding essay 3.1? Is this an essay to explain some odd circumstance for why you got a 1.9 GPA your soph year? Or is this truly an essay where I can talk about other things (e.g. I graduated in 3 years -- why did I do this? why did I TA and tutor classes? etc...)
Thoughts?
Matt I agree. I do not think it's the best place for a defensive sort of explanation. That is probably best suited for the short "anything else you'd like to tell us" part of the data form.
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
06 Oct 2008, 10:48
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Current Student
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
06 Oct 2008, 11:56
I am almost 90% done with my final review of essays..2 of my 3 recommenders are done..actually called my 3rd recemmender to inform him that he would be serving as a backup now..i am pursuing another recommender, if I can get a letter from him it will go a long way..so I am debating if I should wait out till R2...
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Current Student
Joined: 28 Dec 2004
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
06 Oct 2008, 11:56
I am almost 90% done with my final review of essays..2 of my 3 recommenders are done..actually called my 3rd recemmender to inform him that he would be serving as a backup now..i am pursuing another recommender, if I can get a letter from him it will go a long way..so I am debating if I should wait out till R2...
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Director
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
06 Oct 2008, 12:20
all done as of october 1...let's get this party started!
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Current Student
Joined: 04 Jan 2005
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
13 Oct 2008, 13:39
One of my HBS recommenders (an alum) phoned me this morning to tell me that he will only be able to post his reco this upcoming weekend (the deadline is Wednesday).
Does anyone know if Harvard has a bit of flex in accepting recos after the deadline? Should I be worried?
P.
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Director
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
13 Oct 2008, 13:57
msday86 wrote: all done as of october 1...let's get this party started! Just submitted now. Final recommendation made it in about a week ago. The waiting game begins... To kick off our manic obsessions and speculation about adcom habits, the notice after submitting said decisions are announced January 21st. If I recall correctly from last year, I thought they cycled out acceptances starting around late December. Is this no longer the case (or am I mistaken)? January 21st is a long time from now!
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
13 Oct 2008, 13:59
Paradosso wrote: One of my HBS recommenders (an alum) phoned me this morning to tell me that he will only be able to post his reco this upcoming weekend (the deadline is Wednesday).
Does anyone know if Harvard has a bit of flex in accepting recos after the deadline? Should I be worried?
P. From what I understand, they won't be flexible in this regard, but I'm not 100% sure. Sorry to hear it. Maybe give them a call to ask, especially if there are some special circumstances causing the delay.
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
13 Oct 2008, 16:35
so out of curiosity, how many are responding to 3: Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.?
are you speaking only about one experience? about several?
cheers,
ac.
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
13 Oct 2008, 16:58
ac8706 wrote: so out of curiosity, how many are responding to 3: Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.?
are you speaking only about one experience? about several? i'm responding to this one in regards to how i have engaged with my employer beyond my regular day job. in my intro paragraph i'm covering various volunteering i have done at work, then focusing the meat of the essay on my experience leading an employee group of recent college graduates. my biggest challenge (no surprise) is covering everything in 400 words.
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
13 Oct 2008, 17:17
I'm responding to question #3. I'm writing about my work with one specific organization and more specifically, a project I undertook with it.
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Current Student
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
14 Oct 2008, 07:17
I'm responding to #3 with one major project I'm leading as a volunteer.
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
14 Oct 2008, 08:31
rca215 wrote: Paradosso wrote: One of my HBS recommenders (an alum) phoned me this morning to tell me that he will only be able to post his reco this upcoming weekend (the deadline is Wednesday).
Does anyone know if Harvard has a bit of flex in accepting recos after the deadline? Should I be worried?
P. From what I understand, they won't be flexible in this regard, but I'm not 100% sure. Sorry to hear it. Maybe give them a call to ask, especially if there are some special circumstances causing the delay. He submitted this morning. Phew! I have chosen to address undergraduate experience and career vision in my optional essays
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants [#permalink]
14 Oct 2008, 09:10
Good for you...that could have been a nightmare.
I'm doing organization and career vision. Out of curiousity, what do you write about for undergrad experience and how long ago did you do your undergrad?
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Re: Calling all HBS fall-'09 applicants
[#permalink]
14 Oct 2008, 09:10
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