Official HBS Class of 2019 Waitlist

Tbh, I have the least hope with HBS waitlist. The chance is extremely slim. I mean who in their right minds would turn down an offer from HBS, except for those who are offered full scholarships at other top institutions?

Onto round 2

It does seem like people get off the waitlist each year, so I am not ready to give up yet. Where are you applying in R2?

I'm applying to Wharton, CBS and maybe Booth for R2. I got crunched on time in R1 so didn't have time to do the full-set of applications.

Regarding loivoq's comment - could be wrong here but logically, I don't think the waitlist (particularly in Round 1) is fully correlated to yield. They know what the yield probably is going to be (~90%) so they'll adjust the number of targeted admits. So for example, R1 (probably) has something like 4,000 applicants - they interviewed ~25% (1,000) and they know they might want to enroll 40-50% of the class through R1 - that means the total admits will be ~500 (let's say). So of that targeted ~500, they might give out 400 - 450 admits, and then waitlist 75 - 100 based on what they see in the R2 applicant pool. Of course could be wrong.

Anyways, fingers crossed but onto R2.

Yes, would confirm this to be true. Not related to yeild - chances of getting off largely relate to expectation vs. reality of on quality of R2 group.

However, would recommend you do some ruthless self-examination with your profile and app materials, and prepare a strategy to get off WL.

Regarding the earlier comment, tiny number of people turn down HBS for full-ride at another top 5 school (as HBS does not offer merit scholarships.)

This is really helpful! Question - is it possible that the WL is more a function of the cohort vs the applicant? I've seen comments from earlier years from the Admissions Office that basically if you're on the WL, there's not really any one thing to point to - probably just "cuspy" or they just liked the other person that looks a lot like you a bit better. Particularly from the cohorts that are ultra-competitive (e.g, consulting, PE) and they know they're about to see 5,000 more applicants with a bunch in that cohort.

Well, both. Function of cohort for that applicant's profile group. They choose a certain number of people from each profile group - and yes some are on the "cusp" but WL chances depend upon quality of cohort for that applicants profile group in terms of ethnicity and WE background. If recruiting 2 MBB consultants and one is better than another putting #2 on hold to see if we get a #1 quality MBB consultant in R2. I think we are saying the same thing basically.

There are few things admissions will never cop to like quotas and maximums re: ethnicity, work experience and career goal.

I do also think that it is not about yield, rather the specifics of your application and how it compares to the next batch of applicants. From what I understand most R1 waitlisted candidates find out by R2 decision day whether they are released or admitted. Any specific strategies you guys are thinking of following?

I think that's right. Based on years past, they'll either accept / release the majority of R1 WL'ers in either January or closer to the R2 notification date, with a handful staying on the WL through that. In terms of strategy... complete applications for other schools!

This is pretty helpful, thanks. I mean, it sounds quite a reasonable timeframe to wait.

Nevertheless I am getting ready to apply for a couple extra schools in R2.

Do you guys have any recommendations of consultants / lists / topics that might help me figuring out what went "wrong" with my R1 applications?

I think if you got waitlisted at HBS, there's really nothing "wrong" - they have no problem just rejecting people after interview. Anything that's "less than stellar" on your application is probably already very good. They just liked someone else with that type of profile a bit better. With that said, I know different companies do "Ding" reports but I can't attest to how helpful these actually are.

Agree with CJH2015. Not only that, but I had read somewhere that if you ask Eileen for personalised feedback on your application's strengths and weaknesses they are not able to provide you with much, because they already believe you are a strong candidate. Now if you are not happy with your performance in R1 in general, then a consultant might be worth it, though I do think that generally you should be able to tell what the weakness of your application is yourself.

Got it. Yep, hopefully that is the case (that there is nothing particularly wrong)!
I mean, the weird thing for is applying in R1 for 5+ schools, getting all interviews (did not mess any) and 0 acceptance.
Will take some time during holidays to deep dive in my applications and understand what is it then!

Looking at your GMAT profile (fully recognizing this could just be a typo), was your GPA sub 3.5? With a strong profile, it won't tank your application but that could be a factor in the WL. You obviously have strong GMATs.

Yeah, I'm an international applicant and not super sure how to calculate this equivalency anyways my ranking is not awesomee and this was indeed one of the weknesses of my application. Unfortunately I cannot go back to university to fix that! This was actually my drive to aim a somehow high GMAT score. In an increasingly competitive pool, this might have been an important factor indeed.

What about you guys, do you have any visibility of similar individuals that were accepted? Any hopes to make it to HBS?

I don't think a GPA alone will keep you out if they like your application and can see what you can contribute (which, by definition is basically what it means to be on the waitlist). So yes - there's certainly hope!

Happy Holidays guys

Happy new year everyone! First wave of decisions should hopefully be coming in soon. Good luck to everyone.

I was accepted and have the same GMAT score, and a lower undergraduate GPA (3.2).. But I think there are way more factors than GMAT and GPA...