Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 : MBA Archive

Guangjujiu

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

09 Jan 2014, 09:41

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ankurq7 wrote:

Any one's recommenders started getting calls yet?

HBS calls recommenders?

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

19 Jan 2014, 04:36

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Not surprised about the LinkedIn views at all. I was admitted in R1 and I've had direct evidence the AdCom also viewed my blog and linked in to me and my application - I can't be sure if this was before or after I was admitted, but if it was after it was very soon after.

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

23 Jan 2014, 04:33

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knightofdelta wrote:

essaysnark wrote:

knightofdelta wrote:

Now this is where it gets very interesting.

Here is the Harvard prompt: "You’re applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, school transcripts, extra-curricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?"

All the stuff you are going to talk about in a job interview have all been noted by Harvard. "We have seen.... everything". Now they say "tell us something we don't already know". The only thing they don't already know is something really personal. It could be the personal motivating factor that made you achieve all those things in the first place. Now, that is really personal.

To quote Londoncalling1. He said: "I also completely rethought my essays and went for something a lot more personal - something that was easier with six previous applications under my belt and all the introspection that implies."

Obviously he was not that personal in his previous attempt but he went "for something more personal" in his essays and he got into HBS.

So, no I disagree with when you say "As a very general statement, HBS doesn't want to see overly personal content in their apps".

We're just reporting on what we have heard Dee Leopold specifically say, combined with our experiences over many many years of helping Harvard applicants.

There's plenty that can be discussed in an essay that still fits the guidelines we're talking about and goes above/beyond what's in the rest of the application assets. And there's always exceptions.

afabmp wrote:

ES - this isn't an attempt to 'call you out,' but genuinely curious what you've heard/read from Ms. Leopold that would lead you to your conclusions?

Let me take a shot at this conundrum. Now, no one says you should tell Harvard "I had cancer, and I survived it. Because of that Harvard should admit me". Maybe that is what ES is saying. That will not work. Maybe this will work: "I was promoted three times in one year, therefore I am awesome. Harvard admit me". I doubt this will work either, and it is purely professional.

Let's try this: "I fought cancer, and I won. I learned perseverance and tenacity. I translated this into my work and I was promoted three times in one year. I want to go to Harvard to achieve greater things such as investing in cancer research". Now, that is more likely to work. This is personal stuff. Really personal.

Caveat: I am not an adcom member, neither am I an admitted candidate. I am just someone who is trying to get into HBS as a Round 2 applicant.

Reasonable interpretations, I guess I'm just vexed that some is arguing that the director of admissions has laid out parameters of ought and ought not wrt how 'personal' stories are.

For me, I considered my resume, letters of rec, etc., to function as sort of data points, like a connect-a-dot picture of myself. The essay, then, was simply the line--the context in which I wanted the admissions committee to view those facts, with new details included where appropriate.

It's not a normal "optional essay," i.e., not "tell us anything we missed" like other schools, where you'd discuss gpa, etc., so I don't think mentioning facts available elsewhere is verboten, at least in so far as they're necessary to weave the tapestry of your story.

Of course, I'm sure people have gotten in with any one of these approaches, so I suppose it's a matter of what works best for you, coupled with a skillful execution.

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

24 Jan 2014, 07:12

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dwal44 wrote:

To my fellow "further consideration" friends from Round 1:

Do we think we will learn our fates on the first interview release date (Feb. 29)? My thinking is that by now, they should really have a pretty darn good idea if they want to interview us or not, and won't need the extra week. Of course, there is the possibility they are still getting through those other apps of comparable R2 candidates. Thoughts?

~~In past years, "further consideration" people were notified on the first Rd 2 interview invite date.~~

Rephrased for clarity: In past years, "further consideration" people who were moving forward with an interview were notified on the first Rd 2 interview invite date.

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

27 Jan 2014, 09:38

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ksh89 wrote:

ritinster - your tone implies you are sure you will get into Duke. Fuqua is very competitive...and very underrated. I would not assume anything! My profile : Ivy undergrad + unique work ex + 700 GMAT + volunteer work in Africa..I am sweating bullets about Duke. A consultant gave me a 5% chance at HBS because of the low GMAT and a 50% chance at Duke. Its a coin flip bro..

Relax. Nobody is saying Duke isn't a good school. In fact he seemed to be saying the opposite. That while Duke isn't HBS , it is a program from which one can still accomplish their goals. And Faqua accepts about 25-30% of their applicants, so take heart. Your task isn't impossible. If 30% of the people are going to get in, who is to say you won't be one of them. :-D

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

27 Jan 2014, 14:50

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no i am not saying i will definitely get into duke or hbs or any school.. but that i have worked hard on my essays,gmat on my applications in general. spoken to people ..attended admission events and have a good story..beyond that nothing is in my control...and secondly duke or hbs isn't going to define you at the end of the day..its what you do in life that will..so relax work hard on ur app and accept the adcoms decision...if i don't get in this yr in the 5 schools i applied i will try again next yr and work harder.. thats it!

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

28 Jan 2014, 01:04

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akshaychaturvedi007 wrote:

How many hours before the interviews start flying in guys?

33 hours to go...

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

28 Jan 2014, 09:28

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Charon wrote:

Do we know how many seats have been given after R1?
Do we have an estimation of how many candidates are applying in R2 among the estimated 9,000-10,000 candidates?

Trying my best to be optimistic but I keep thinking that if the 800-100 still works this year, no invite tomorrow means that your chances go down to roughly 2.7% if we estimate the number of applicants to be 4,500 in R2...

I don't think anyone here knows for sure how many seats were given to R1 applicants. estimate should be 450-500

Applicants in R2 - my estimate would be ~5000-6000 (or even bigger)

Don't think about your chances after TOMORROW for your own peace of mind. for all i know you could get an invite tomorrow.

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

28 Jan 2014, 23:47

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Good Luck Evreyone

:)

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

28 Jan 2014, 23:47

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Good Luck Everyone

:)

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

29 Jan 2014, 10:04

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Interview invite!

Africa1989

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

29 Jan 2014, 10:20

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Kitkat6 wrote:

Just a heads up.. The email didn't hit my inbox in R1 until about 12:10... So don't necessarily start panicking at 12:01 when nothing has arrived

Even with this post I was incredibly crestfallen when I didn't' get an email at 12 (wasn't helped by the fact Google and some MBA tour thing chose to send emails at that exact moment). Though I'm glad I didn't overreact, because I got one at 12:05.

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

29 Jan 2014, 10:51

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Invited to interview. E-mail came thru @ exactly 12:00 Eastern.

Now I just have to learn to be a likeable, relateable human being in the next few weeks :shock:

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

29 Jan 2014, 12:30

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I had no idea the first wave of invites were going out today, until I saw the e-mail in my inbox. FC from R1, I let myself completely forget that my application was still alive...definitely a nice surprise

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

29 Jan 2014, 14:38

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j0yd1v1s10n wrote:

To those of you who got invites: when did you submit your application?

I'm wondering if these notifications are the "earlier" applications and they essentially reviewed/decided in the order applicants submitted. Anyone have any insight into how that works or if there's no pattern?

Wouldn't you think there has to be some sort of order to it? HBS claims applicants receiving invitations next week aren't viewed as inferior to those receiving them this week, it just depends on when the applications were reviewed. In their position, I would start with the first applications submitted and go from there to be fair, as those who are invited next week are at a large scheduling disadvantage. (disclaimer: I would not have been anywhere near the top of that list)

Obviously initial application overviews are going to fast-track certain applicants and rule out others, but I would assume there is some pattern by which the remaining applications are reviewed if the Feb 5 invites truly aren't just for the "best of the rest".

I'm sure I'm over-thinking it, but I keep imagining some poor soul with a great application who was one of the first to submit in R2 not getting an invitation today just because luck of the draw put them at the bottom of the review pile!

Either way, best of luck to all!

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

29 Jan 2014, 16:08

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OSUCowboys88 wrote:

Wouldn't you think there has to be some sort of order to it? HBS claims applicants receiving invitations next week aren't viewed as inferior to those receiving them this week, it just depends on when the applications were reviewed. In their position, I would start with the first applications submitted and go from there to be fair, as those who are invited next week are at a large scheduling disadvantage. (disclaimer: I would not have been anywhere near the top of that list)

Obviously initial application overviews are going to fast-track certain applicants and rule out others, but I would assume there is some pattern by which the remaining applications are reviewed if the Feb 5 invites truly aren't just for the "best of the rest".

I'm sure I'm over-thinking it, but I keep imagining some poor soul with a great application who was one of the first to submit in R2 not getting an invitation today just because luck of the draw put them at the bottom of the review pile!

I'm assuming there is an order, but not necessarily that it's chronological. It could be the ones that were a unanimous "yes" from both readers got notified today, but the remaining ones are in further review (if there was a split decision). It could be that certain categories (age, years of WE, intended sector post-grad) got sorted differently and are being reviewed in particular order. Within those categories it could be by time, alphabetically, etc. There's no way to know. So yes, I agree with you that there is an order; I just don't know what it is, and so it's driving me nuts.

In my case, I'm looking for any explanation/understanding of this process. I'm also obsessing over the number that went out today vs next week. I'm still waiting to hear, keeping my fingers crossed that I get an invite next week, and steeling myself for the worst. It's truly gut-wrenching but I'm trying to assume I'll get dinged and then be pleasantly surprised if I get an invite. But I'm having trouble giving up the dream! :shock:

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Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

30 Jan 2014, 10:57

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This is probably a secret test before the interview. It is either a test of persistence or patience. :-)

I was able to register for my interview after only 3 attempts, but then I had about 25 attempts before I could register for a class visit on my interview day.

gmatclubot

Re: Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016 [#permalink]

30 Jan 2014, 10:57