ANYBODY IN AT HBS?

Grade inflation means that school's give out good grades so that they're producing graduates with good GPA's. In other words, if Harvard had a very strict grading policy and the average graduates GPA was a 3.2, it would water down their brand. But if they're manufacturing grads with high GPA's then the work-force is flooded with the Harvard grads with high GPA's, which perpetuates the perception that Harvard attracts bright people.

From what I've heard, most graduate school's have grade inflation -- in other words, it's easier to get good grades in grad school than it is in undergraduate school.

It seems odd that the guy with the 640 would even advertise his score. Do people in business school really go around telling everybody what they received?

flapjack - I expect everyone asks. And really, I can't see why they should care to not tell someone. They are in exactly the same place, after all.

I would consider telling some super GMAT dude, who perceived it the most important stat ever, that I got something a lot lower than I did. Watching them go purple and mad about it would be most fun.

And then try and make sure I beat them in a few classes to boot.

People with low GPA's who get into good programs seem to be proud of the fact that they were able to overcome their GPA. So I could see how a person with a low GMAT would be proud to say, "Okay, I didn't ace the GMAT, but here I am at Stanford because I wrote great essays, have awesome work experience, I totally nailed the interview, and now I'm going to nail everybody's *ss to the wall in stats class, bring it on."

ok, I got lost with the whole discussion. However, as promised, I visited HBS on Monday and there was a lady who was scheduled to be interviewed today tuesday. I met her at the student lunch + class visit.

I dunno when she scheduled (I do know she applied R2), but interviews are still flowing. I also know that HBS requires you to contact your interviewer within 3 days of getting the notification, so she must have received the invite quite recently.

Cheers.L.

I would go back and read the post you are critizing before you lash out like this. You will find you mis-read it and made yourself look like an a**hat...

Posts like this make me nervous about my fellow classmates at business school

Regarding HBS:

I ran into a very good childhood friend of mine. He has an older brother who graduated HBS sometime in 2003. He had a 3.95/750 (that's when 750 meant something, no offense) at top tier school and 4 yrs at #1 IB. He had tons of extra cur and received a glowing alum rec from his superior at #1 IB.

My friend told me his brother was unemployed for 2.5 years following graduation. It was a combination of many reasons, but desire was not one. Ultimately, he found a position as an internal consultant at top IB.

But if it's any consolation to you folks, HBS doesn't guarantee anything. I guess it's like a 780 gmat. People look at it in awe, it's great and looks nice, but in the end guarantees nothing. Good luck folks!

I called the office today and they said that the interview requests qill go out till the very last day.

I Still look like this:

<------

I hope that the job market is good when the class of 2009 graduates. That would suck if one left a decent job to go to business school and then could not secure a great job after graduation.

Hey kidderick, do you think that your friend's brother burned some bridges or is just very bad in interviews?

That's an amazing story kidderek. I wonder how he spent those two and a half years.

When you say back when 750 meant something (in 2003), are you saying the test has been recalibrated since 2003 so it's easier to score higher?

I highly doubt it. He is actually a pretty cool guy who has always been known for being smart and hard working. I doubt he blew interviews either. He apparently went through hell to get that first analyst position at GS.



Regarding the gmat score, no I don't think it's been adjusted, but the averages were much lower back then. I believe he applied only to Stanford and Harvard and was accepted at both schools.

I don't know exactly what happened with the job hunt, but he spent a lot of those 2.5 years golfing and going on job interviews. I think it kind of snowballed starting from graduation because of the gap in resume just kept growing. He got his current job from the same person who recommended him for HBS.

You should check that attitude at the door. Yes, he did have a 640 GMAT, and the GMAT isnt hard to some people with excellent quantatitve and verbal skills, but for the rest of us, we need some help.

His Gmat wasnt teh deciding factor, he worked at P&G for 5 years, brought tons of money to the company through marketing campaigns, and had killer extracurriculars. He was also canadian. Before you start to shoot your mouth off, I suggest you think about the circumstances with which some people are admitted. Considering your attitude, I would be shocked if anyway could walk away from an interview without throwing up.

You should check that attitude at the door. Yes, he did have a 640 GMAT, and the GMAT isnt hard to some people with excellent quantatitve and verbal skills, but for the rest of us, we need some help.

His Gmat wasnt teh deciding factor, he worked at P&G for 5 years, brought tons of money to the company through marketing campaigns, and had killer extracurriculars. He was also canadian. Before you start to shoot your mouth off, I suggest you think about the circumstances with which some people are admitted. Considering your attitude, I would be shocked if anyway could walk away from an interview without throwing up.

haha,

You're already getting a lot of negative feedback, so I will keep my opinion rather mild. I believe (strictly opinion), that any score above 620 requires superb intelligence, hard work, and or/luck. If anything else, he showed that he was competent enough to score better than 60% of test takers in the country. The way you are spouting about makes it appear as if he scored a 420. If I were you, I would not put too much faith in a GMAT score. There are plenty of high 700’s scorers on this board still fretting over receiving interviews. These top schools want smart kids; however, they want kids who they know are ambitious and proven leaders. F--- your 7XX, if you sit in a Starbuck’s all day studying believing that you’re better than someone else, you will not get into a top B-School.

As for HBS, I completely agree that it is only an outlet for you to succeed. The school has probably the best network on the globe; nonetheless, you have to take the initiative. I am one the many still praying for a hail-mary (an interview), but I do have a friend who graduated from the program. When I talk about HBS, I know he can see the stars in my eyes. Yet, he always reminds me of his 4 buddies who were classmates of his. They came in with the impressions that their lives were set, and they just went to class and enjoyed “college lifeâ€

People are right - GMAT alone is a poor indicator of a person's qualifications and fit for any school. I can speak for this personally. I have a 770 / 6.0 GMAT, top 5 undergrad, top 5 masters, 6 years w/e in manufacturing and consulting. As of today, I'm still hoping for interview invites from H/S. Obviously something else was missing from my application, perhaps the "hook" that Brown had. He has great extra curriculars, rural background story, and well demonstrated leadership.

Don't post negative comments because you're frustrated by the process. Give Brown his due. Congratulations on the admit, you'll love Cambridge.

Ok, gang, let's be nice. This is the friendly board, right? Remember that it's hard to hear the intended tone of a post, and that it's awfully easy to lash out when we have the luxury of being anonymous.

Don't make Praet come in here and post guidelines complete with descriptive emoticons. 'Cause you know he'll do it.