{"id":48487,"date":"2020-05-03T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=48487"},"modified":"2023-10-24T20:21:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T03:21:43","slug":"incoming-mbas-can-choose-deferment-at-hbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/incoming-mbas-can-choose-deferment-at-hbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Incoming MBAs Can Choose Deferment at HBS"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\r\n

Harvard Business School<\/a>\u00a0(HBS) has announced that\u00a0deferments<\/a>\u00a0will be offered to incoming MBAs if they choose not to attend fall classes that may be taught partially or fully online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

According to the\u00a0Poets & Quants\u00a0<\/em>article, MBA Admissions and Financial Aid Director, Chad Losee, and Executive Director of the MBA and doctoral programs, Jana Kierstead, sent an email to accepted applicants offering them the period between May 15 and June 1 to request a deferral to start the full-time MBA program. Deferral requests can be for one or two years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The email stated, in part, \u201cWe realize that the world has changed significantly since you applied \u2013 your employment, health, visa, or financial situation (or that of your families) may have shifted in the past few months. To provide you as much flexibility as possible, we will consider allowing you to defer your offer of admission.\u201d Deferral requests will not be accepted after June 1 \u201cbeyond medical emergencies, military deployments, or joint Harvard degrees. While we want to be as supportive as possible to you, one real constraint is the operational capacity of the faculty and the school.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

WATCH:\u00a0International MBA Applicants and COVID-19: Risks & Opportunities [Short Video]<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0>><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Deferrals available for the next two years<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Depending on the number of students requesting deferrals, deferred enrollments may have to be spread out over two years (2021 and 2022). Students will request when they would like to begin their deferred studies, however, \u201c\u2026we will do our best to honor \u2013 but cannot guarantee \u2013 your preference of a one-year versus two-year deferral, as we balance the backgrounds and perspectives presented in the next few HBS classes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The email continues, \u201cWhile we offer the choice about deferral in all respect for the challenges that you face, our hope is that the majority of you who can will decide to enroll in HBS this fall and use this as a time to learn and to deepen your capacity to lead. We look forward to partnering with you to make this a spectacular year at Harvard Business School.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Why is HBS Offering the Deferral?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Linda Abraham (founder and CEO of Accepted) believes three motivations are behind HBS\u2019 move.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n