Calling all HBS 2+2 2010 applicants

What douchebaggery

@jolin

First, they don't really care about what you managed to do in HS, so lets focus on your undergrad. 3 key points: academic ability, community citizenship, and leadership. Sounds like you fit the profile in terms of your GPA and projected GMAT. CSA might get you somewhere for leadership but really you're going to need some more winners or at least make CSA into a huge winner. Start thinking about what 3 accomplishments you'll discuss (that question is almost guaranteed to come back for next year's app). They should all somehow tie back to leadership (even if not directly in the form of leading people; they could show leadership in a field of study or showing exceptional initiative, etc.). Your volunteering could cover the community citizenship, depending on what you did. You have another year, so there is time to really flesh out what your app will look like. It's hard to tell from your undergrad profile whether you've got a good shot, but it seems like you're at least within reach.

My bad. Somehow I associated the spring semester junior year with having two semesters left in college. Just read through the FAQs.



So, yes you can apply.

Your HS credentials might be impressive or not depending on how you bring it in to the picture. Your essays will matter much more.



And that my friend, can be seen as sheer unadulterated arrogance. Let's say 850 students apply, and as per statistics, around 100 get in. So you THINK you have a 11-12% acceptance rate. But. 23-25 students are from Harvard University, though they don't specifically state that there's a preference. And I think the 2+2 program is MUCH more competitive since only students who are above average in terms of everything that HBS looks for will apply. And as a regular applicant you'll have the edge of being younger, but with the 2+2, everyone is your age, so no biggie there.

Technically, right now you can't apply to the regular HBS. And I don't understand the reason for your comparison in the first place. But having said that, I highly suggest that you try to be polite when you're looking for constructive criticism. I've talked to several HBS admits, 2+2 and otherwise, and being impolite was not something they had in common. The person who posted before was merely expressing his/her opinion in a polite way. I recommend you do the same if you don't want to have your posts moderated.

Thank you.

I apologize for whatever i said, I was being really rude. Really sorry about that, Im really only here to look for advise.

And for whoever reported me, Thank you for doing that, because i would never realize how rude i was. I guess when i said it, i didn't really want to make it sound so mean.

Well, i think i would like to explain my situation a little bit more, and see if any of your guys can give me any suggestions, all of of them will be appreciated.

Im actually a transfer student from Simon's Rock college to U of Michigan. Simon's Rock is one of the very few early-colleges in the nation, which offer high school students the opportunity to go to College early. So it's not a typical college, So im not sure if i should be considered as a senior or junior, because credit wise, i still need at least one more semester to graduate, so i guess im actually a junior right now. btw on their website, they clearly stated that also emailed them to confirm that.

since i just transferred to Michigan, there is really not enough time for me to do a lot of leadership work. as for extracurricular experience. I was an exchange student for a year, and will be one for another year in Japan. I have interned in local clinics and my father's company in China. I have also volunteered in African (orphanage), Thailand, and the US(Mexican immigrants) through out my first three years in College. I also play piano and Gu Zheng in the band, and have done my own social research in SE asia for one month. at Simon's rock, i was in charged of the school garden, and was the coordinator of building the school trail. besides all that, im also very into fashion, and has been/currently working as a part-time model.

as for other job, ill be getting a summer internship at at a business consulting firm next summer (2011) in the US, hopefully i can get an offer from MBB, after studying abroad in japan;the worst case would be Deloitte, which i can pretty much guarantee to get. but again, it's next summer, so i didn't write it down.

As for GPA, i think i should be able to rise it to a 3.75. after the fall semester (next semester), definitely higher (3.8) after the spring semester, but i think the application is due before the GPA can probably get updated, so that's why i wrote down 3.75.

For GMAT, im currently studying it now by myself, and will take classes, aiming for a 730+ score, hopefully a really high score to compensate my not so-high GPA. Ill work hard.

As for leadership and other activities, like volunteer, since there is still some time, i can start doing more things while i start my next semester in Japan (im currently in summer school), hopefully that will help.

and I just want to clarify the three volunteer experiences.
-one is a one month volunteer i did in Lesotho for an orphanage through an non-profit organization. We helped them to build a dorm, I also taught the kids Math and English.
- the second is one in the US, I did this through out my first two years at Simon's Rock College, i helped the nearby Mexican immigrants/families who are in poverty to organize fund-raising; Help them to make money by creating a garden; support them financially; clean and organize their home...
-the next one is Thailand, i did it while i was in Thailand last summer, I was tutoring English in a local school through a Thai friend of me as a part time volunteering for a month.
-During the earthquake that happened in China two years ago in Sichuan, I also went there for about 1 week to help out physically and financially
-I also volunteered during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

I know i have many disadvantages, I really hope i can turn them into my advantages somehow. And if there are anything else i can do in the near future to help me get int to HBS 2+2, Please let me know, Ill try my best. Getting into HBS 2+2 is really my dream, and ill compensate a lot for it.

Thank you, again, any advice will be greatly appreciated.

No, it's quite alright. We are just making sure that you don't become too rude. After all, this is a forum built on mutual respect and combined knowledge. You can go back to using your old account, it was reactivated.


I don't know if you've even figured out how US GPA works still, because it is near impossible to bring up a 3.6 to a 3.75 in one semester. Even if you get a 4.0, I think your GPA might go to like a 3.65 or such, if at all that. The larger number of credits you have, the harder it is to make such drastic changes. But that said, I think a 3.6 is pretty decent in terms of GPA. Don't worry about it too much.



When you say you're getting a summer internship from them, do you mean that you have an offer in hand? 'Cos once again, sorry to burst your bubble if it comes to that, but MBB is mad hard to get into even with a 4.0 and work experience. They're considered a gate opener, or even a ticket to big schools like HBS and Wharton. So unless you have one at hand, I wouldn't take this for granted. Also, Deloitte isn't a backup either.

Your volunteer work is impressive, but lacks a cogent trend in my opinion. Try to turn those into strengths and a find a missing link that connects these activities to leadership potential. 2+2 is a very competitive program and I wouldn't take anything for granted. I am an applicant myself, so I can't speak for how hard it is, or how hard it might be, but just take it for granted - If it's HBS, it's not going to be easy.

So I recommend that like you said, you try to bring up your GPA to a 3.7, which might be achievable, and continue working on your volunteering activities. If you can get an internship with an MC firm, even better. And please keep up the same decorum in the forum.

Hope this helps.

That's really helpful!
yes, i already have an offer from Deloitte, and my GPA now is 3.65, and since im still taking summer classes now (10 credits), and i m pretty sure ill get all As for this 10 credits. so hopefully, ill be able to bring my GPA up a lot by the end of next semester. And im also a transfer student, so i only have one year worth of credits that are calculated towards my GPA.

Since ill be in Japan next year, Ill try to join some organizations and get as much leadership experiences as possible.

Thanks

So, I will start my undergrad career this fall and I am planning on applying to the HBS 2+2 program.
I`d like to know whether doing a double major in Economics and Business administration will hurt my chances because I know that students doing Bus.admin as undergrads are not advised to apply to the program.I`d like to know if a double major in Economics and Political science&International relations is better not only for the HBS 2+2 program but also for my future applications.I know for a fact that generally B-schools don`t like applicants who did business administration at college.
One last thing.
I am planning on enrolling in the Cambridge university summer program, which continues for 6 weeks, in the next year.Do you think that if I do well this can improve my chances of being accepted to HBS 2+2 ?

Come on, anyone ?

buuuuuuuuuuuump

Ivan91:

No offense, but if you are just beginning your undergrad (and judging by your ID, I would assume that you are born in 91), it is definitely too early.

Also, it seems like you want to change your undergrad study direction just to fit HBS 2+2, and that sounds very unwise. I don't know anything about HBS or HBS 2+2, but one thing I do know about people @ HBS is that they don't tailor their ways to the adcom's flavor - They have done what they want to do, and have done them damn well.

I'm not sure where you heard business major isn't good, but when you look at incoming MBA class profile, undergrad business major is a huge chunk.

Bottom line - do what you want to do. Your double major is not going to decrease your chance. I bet your perspective will change over the next four years. Doing only what you think the adcom will like only leads you to rejection.

While I have to love your ambition, I can't honestly recommend ANYTHING to you at this point. You're too young to be worrying about a graduate school program hypothetically 6 years down the road. Who knows -- HBS may end the 2+2 program by then! Don't plan your college career based on this program.

From everything that I've experienced by advising for the past 3 years, you're MUCH more likely to be successful by following your passions rather than trying to build the "perfect" resume. Future admissions committees, job interviewers, and pretty much everyone else will respect you for following your passions. You'll also get a higher GPA if you do what you love, so it's really a win-win!



In summary:

Major in whatever you want.
Have some fun in college -- you only live through it once!
Meet people, experience new things.
Don't forget that college is the time to build up personal skills -- there is an interview part to your application, you know!
Follow your passions -- people will respect it MUCH more than if you follow the herd!

Beat me to it!

Just an FYI -- technically, the original 2+2 program wasn't really targeted for business majors. The program is now changing as more and more business majors get accepted.

Also -- have you visited HBS? What if the place just doesn't "fit" with your personality?

Beyond that -- how do you know that you're going to go into a field where an MBA is even helpful? This is the reason I decided against applying for the 2+2 program. I'm really interested in trading and entrepreneurship -- two fields where an MBA doesn't have as big of an impact as it would in other fields.

Well, I am an international student from Europe, I havent had the chance to visit HBS...
But you are right that one must not try to build the perfect resume.
One last question - what do you think about the summer school program at Cambridge university ?I am really interested in enrolling, just for the experience.Summer schools are not at all about studying but about meeting new people.However, do you think having a certificate from such program is helpful when applying to MBA programs ?

You should brush up on your English...

Will it be helpful? Probably not. According to some ad-comms that I've spoken to, all that one of those summer programs really means is that your family is wealthy enough to send you to one of those programs. If you want to do it, then do it.

It would probably be pointless to do this type of program if you're already in a top-tier university in Europe (i.e. Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, etc.).


EDIT: a summer program would be helpful if it allows you to take classes relevant to what you're interested in that you cannot take at your home university.

My family is wealthy enough to send me.Well, even if it is not particularly helpful, it cant hurt, right ? At least it will be regarded as some kind of extra curricular activity.Not I do it just to make my resume perfect but I guess it is better than just waste money in some summer resort in Spain and do nothing ..

I doubt HBS would consider your summer at Cambridge an extracurricular activity. It would probably be looked at as more schooling. If you were to get involved in other activities there, outside of the program, it might be beneficial to go then.