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

My recommender accidentally submitted his rec before he was done and now he can't get back in, any suggestions on how he can re-submit? I emailed the slatesupport@hbs.edu, just want to make sure I assist him in getting it unlocked!

In for R1! Best of luck to all. Deadline already seems so close...

September 9 deadline for R1, right? Would not visiting the campus negatively impact my prospects? My consultant said it's not a big deal with HBS because they know if you get an offer you'll pretty much accept, and I'll be going to an HBS admissions event where I live. Just hoping to skip the visit as I can't afford to visit all the schools I'm applying to.

Sure, visiting a school is helpful in that it indicates interest on your part, but the main value of visiting HBS (or anywhere else) is that it gives you a first-hand observation of classroom discussions, the campus, student body, etc. so you can make a reasonable assessment of how well you'd fit and present a stronger case when the "why HBS?" question comes up in an essay or interview.

Hi
I'm an Indian undergrad in my senior year from a top level state university(not iit) 75.6%-Top 5% of the class.
-3 Internships. One at Honeywell , one at state power generation corporation, one in a large construction firm in India.
- Worked as an internal consultant for an IT startup(held many key responsibilities including funding for modernization and re-architecture process, served as a change agent by introducing techniques like prototyping and risk assessment and management also handled a few client projects)
- 2 international publications(not ieee, one of them pure computer science related and another is based on risk assessment and an alternative solution to FMEA)
- State 3rd rank in high school examination (98.8 percent, was given special recognition at an educational fair by the then Home Minister of the State) and 93% in 10th standard.
--
Led several teams in many competitions like :

1)" Manthan"- A nationwide political competition to address 14 critical challenges that India faced in 2013(18,000 students participated in it). Led the team to 2nd place in popular category of our theme and was invited to Grand Culmination Convention which was graced by the presence of dignitaries like the Current Prime Minister of India, Finance Minister of India, Chiefs of staff of many departments and other business and thought leaders.
2)Honeywell Young Innovator Challenge, led the team to finals (competition had several phases which lasted 8 months long including show and tell session on the final day where we engaged with a crowd of more than 2000 marketing and proposing our idea. Youngest team there competed with grad school students and senior year students while we were in sophomore.was awarded an internship later)
--
Was elected as a member of the organizing committee of the annually held national level technical symposium. Was responsible for managing the entire finance and budget, monitoring cash flows, supervising event coordinators, leveraged this opportunity to create funds to the IT startup in an innovative way making them conduct workshops for students to learn new technologies with hands-on experience.
--
I'm applying to HBS 2+2 in R1 can you shed some light on my chances and also Yale Silver Scholars and Stanford GSB deferred admission (applying through the Reliance Fellowship, confident enough of being a finalist).

(Yet to give gmat expecting a good score)
P.S I also have a strong network of Influential people and I mean really influential.
( Sorry for the Lengthy info. :p)

Posted from my mobile device

Hello everyone... I did a very improptu visit to Harvard last year (did not do an official tour etc, just visited alumni and current students). Should I plan on doing a REAL visit to Harvard with the tour so that they are aware I made a visit to the campus? Thoughts from an alumni?

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.

Thanks for bringing this up asymmetric. I've written a few different draft versions of my essay so far, one of which focuses in on how much i like the case method and how my work experience will contribute to the class discussion. After reading a few consultant post about the HBS essay (many of which I found thanks to @grantmeadmission thanks! ) some of them say to stay away from the "Why HBS" type of response. But honestly after visiting campus and sitting in on a class, the case method is exactly WHY i want to attend HBS and WHY I know I would be a match for the program. I feel in love with the collaborative in class environment HBS creates and I know I would thrive in such an environment. Makes me think that maybe I was on the right path with that essay.

Good luck to all- I am hopefully applying for R1 depending on my GMAT score.

Class of 2016 matriculant here: regarding the essay, go with your gut. If you want to write about "why HBS," then go for it, just make sure you're effectively highlighting what's important about you.

Posted from my mobile device

I personally wouldn't go too hardcore "Why HBS," but I'd throw a line or two in about the case method and why you're looking forward to it, how you'd contribute, etc. It shows you know what you're getting yourself into.

Dee Leopold has said a few times that she tries to select the best class they can, not necessarily pick the most prestigious students with the best grades. She said something along the lines of "We try to imagine the conversations students would have if they sat next to each other, how they'd work together, what they'd talk about." Demonstrating that you'd have valuable insight, skills, experience, and whatnot to contribute to the HBS community, both in class and outside of it, is probably a decent path to take, and how you'd work in the case method environment is a part of that.

Undecided about applying, but still getting on this thread!

All, a bit of a random question: if you withdraw your application for a school before decision day do you get the application fee back?

No

Posted from my mobile device

Piggybacking on the advice asymmetric and DefyingGravity gave above (which are excellent nuggets), do we have a thread where c/o 2016 applicants reflect on what they wrote about for the HBS essay topic (given it's the same prompt this year)?

If you don't mind, can you please tell us your background? I've been researching people that HBS has accepted, but all I can find online are people with rockstar backgrounds. I don't feel like my background is competitive with these people, yet my admissions consultant is still telling me that I have a real shot based on how my history conveys a personality type that HBS is looking for (leadership, independent, contrarian, etc.). I've been trying to figure out what kind of people HBS has accepted that weren't necessarily able to change the world before the age of 25 haha, but all I can find are those types.

The shift to fewer and shorter MBA essays has taken hold across the elite business schools of the United States, and the Wall Street Journal published two interesting articles yesterday exploring the changes afoot at MBA programs this season.

In Adam Rubenfire‘s article, Want to Get Into Business School? Write Less, Talk More, the author shares a table showing how the Harvard Business School application has changed since the 2004-2005 season.

Ten years ago, HBS required six essays for a combined word total of 2,600 words. Applicants for the Class of 2012 had to write four essays totaling 2,000 words. And last year’s applicants, as many know, faced just one essay—optional at that—with no word limit. Ditto for the Class of 2017 applicants.

Admissions officers at schools that have scaled down the essays say they’ve done so to avoid the cookie-cutter approach adopted by so many applicants each year. At Michigan Ross School of Business, admissions director Soojin Kwon tells the WSJ that “applicants increasingly tell us what they think we want to hear,” so now they need to write just two short essays totaling 800 words.

Sara Neher, assistant dean for MBA admissions at UV Darden School of Business, explains the move to a single essay three years ago came about after she discovered “applicants were writing one essay specifically for Darden and then recycling essays from their applications to other schools.”

Moving away from the topic of essays for a moment,  Melissa Korn offers a preview of Harvard Business School’s “sassy” new tone in this season’s application, where a laid-back, conversational approach is designed to retain the attention of Millennial applicants whose eyes glaze over while reading instructions from so many programs.

Director of admissions and financial aid Dee Leopold tells the WSJ her office receives lots of questions that are already answered in the application, so “this new, friendlier wording is also intended to engage applicants so that they actually read, and follow, directions.”

Korn points out that Harvard Business School recently came in second-to-last among elite schools in an applicant  survey questioning how well each institution got to know them through the admissions process. Perhaps this new, chattier HBS admissions will leave b-school hopefuls feeling warm and fuzzy…and remind them they’re dealing with actual human beings behind the AdCom desk.

“Why be stuffy and formal if we don’t have to?” says Leopold. Why indeed!

***
If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with hourly and comprehensive consulting services. Contact us to learn more. Visit the website for Stacy Blackman Reviews, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.