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Just submitted for R1.

Good luck everyone
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Harvard Business School - Admission Trends!


Hi Everyone, Here is our analysis of admission trends at Harvard and acceptance chances of applicants based on our accumulated forum data of applicants. We have analysed our forum data of HBS applicants from 2012 to 2016 to determine acceptance chances by GMAT score, admission rounds, industry, age, country, etc.

The data used for this analysis is self-reported, so it's advised to use findings of this analysis with discretion. They are meant to give only a general idea of admission scenario at Harvard. Don't presume that these findings will hold true all the time.

We would welcome any comments, opinions, suggestions or anything else that you might have to say about the findings of this analysis.


YOY Acceptance Rate and Avg GMAT of Applicants



Sample Size: 3408 Applicants





Acceptance Rate by GMAT Score



  • Harvard is one of the most coveted MBA programs in the world and following chart clearly shows how fierce the competition at HBS is. Even with 760 GMAT score, your chance of acceptance is only 14%.
  • Among the 1698 applicants that we considered for this chart, around 90% had GMAT score of 700 or above and 75% had GMAT score of 720 or above. This finding tells us that those with lower than 700 GMAT need to have strong profile and convincing story for applying to Harvard.
  • Narrow gap between lines showing interview invites and acceptance indicate that Harvard is selective in sending interview invites, and one can have better chance of acceptance after interview. This trend is different from what we observed in Tuck, Columbia, and Fuqua.
  • Acceptance rate of Harvard applicants after interview is close to 57%.

Sample Size: 1698 Applicants





Acceptance Rate by Admission Round



Sample Size: 3407 Applicants






Acceptance Rates of Applicants in Different Age Groups



Sample Size: 1243 Applicants





Acceptance rates of applicants from various industries



  • The first chart - line chart - shows acceptance rates of applicants from various industries and the pie chart next to it shows industry-wise allocation of applicants.

Sample Size: 1464 Applicants







Acceptance Rates of Applicants from Various Regions



Sample Size: 1139 Applicants



As I said earlier, we welcome your views, counter-views, suggestions, etc on the analysis. Thank you!
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Just submitted for R1.

Good luck everyone

All the best!
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Still wrapping my application up.. Almost there. This was good timing for a 4-day weekend.
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Hello

Good luck everyone! I am giving one final review to my essay, almost done.
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What format are you guys using for the essay? I know the application says there is no preference for style, but are you including a plain pdf with only text? Anyone using any kind of headers, labels, etc.?
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Arial, size 12, single spaced.

No headers, labels, etc.
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Anyone have an idea what to fill in the box asking for secondary school?
Is it only asking for the school I passed 12th from? Or do we have to provide detail of 10th as well?
Indian applicants plz help.

Posted from my mobile device
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Hey guys -

In for R1 as well for HBS / GSB... debating whether to apply to Wharton R1 or R2 (function of time available).

Can't believe this is almost it - looking forward to the wild-ride in the months ahead (well not really, but will definitely be interesting!)

Good luck to all
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Hi all, also planning to apply R1 but having a small problem. my recommender didn't receive her link. I emailed slatesupport but no chance. I've been calling admissions office since yesterday but the are not answering either.

Any suggestions on what i should do? So little time left for R1 deadline :|
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CJH2015
Hey guys -

In for R1 as well for HBS / GSB... debating whether to apply to Wharton R1 or R2 (function of time available).

Can't believe this is almost it - looking forward to the wild-ride in the months ahead (well not really, but will definitely be interesting!)

Good luck to all

If you are super overrepresented, R1 is preferable however that is if all other things are equal, including the quality of your application.
If your online and essay responses (and recommendations) are not well developed for R1, it is to your advantage to go for R2.
The objective is not to get ding letters early in the season, which will happen if the application is anything less than dazzling.

Also, if you have a strongly international orientation or profile, and/or interest, do consider the Lauder program at Wharton.
It's a gem. There is a very strong sense of community among Lauderites.
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Hi all, also planning to apply R1 but having a small problem. my recommender didn't receive her link. I emailed slatesupport but no chance. I've been calling admissions office since yesterday but the are not answering either.

Any suggestions on what i should do? So little time left for R1 deadline :|

No one would pick up the phone at admissions on a Sunday or the Monday of Labor Day weekend. Someone should be there Tuesday (in about 5 hours from now.)
Make sure to call between 8am and 5pm Monday-Friday EST. (This past Monday was a national holiday, however.)

I would discuss the situation over the phone with them - they might give you more time for that to be submitted.

Have you spoken with the recommender about searching her email/spam for HBS? These situations are usually due to user error...
Also, does she still have access to the original email you submitted? Did she change jobs or leave the company?

If she seems in any way lacking in enthusiasm, inquire about excluding this recommender with the admissions team.
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Wow, thanks Farrell. Completely forgot it was a holiday and was freaking out over this. I already had my recommender check spam, no luck :(

Hope this will be sorted out today (in 4-5 hours :))

Best
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CJH2015
Hey guys -

In for R1 as well for HBS / GSB... debating whether to apply to Wharton R1 or R2 (function of time available).

Can't believe this is almost it - looking forward to the wild-ride in the months ahead (well not really, but will definitely be interesting!)

Good luck to all

If you are super overrepresented, R1 is preferable however that is if all other things are equal, including the quality of your application.
If your online and essay responses (and recommendations) are not well developed for R1, it is to your advantage to go for R2.
The objective is not to get ding letters early in the season, which will happen if the application is anything less than dazzling.

Also, if you have a strongly international orientation or profile, and/or interest, do consider the Lauder program at Wharton.
It's a gem. There is a very strong sense of community among Lauderites.

Thanks for the reply here - I've actually strongly considered Lauder in the past (and think my profile would be a great fit for exactly what they're looking for) - however, because of the way my firm's bonus payment is structured, matriculating to Lauder would not allow me to receive my full-year bonus which would be a material amount. It's unfortunate - otherwise, I think Lauder would be extremely attractive.
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Hopefully by now you've gotten through to the adcom about this issue.

BUT if you haven't, then no matter what, YOU should submit your materials before the deadline. (And I would suggest doing it now if they're ready -- the system can crash as the deadline nears so you don't want to wait until the last minute.)

If YOUR materials are in and your other recommender's letter is in and just the one is still outstanding because of a technical issue, they will likely still count you in Round 1.

I'm assuming you've tried re-entering your recommender's email address into the system again to see if it kicks out an email to her?

Good luck!

happli19
Hi all, also planning to apply R1 but having a small problem. my recommender didn't receive her link. I emailed slatesupport but no chance. I've been calling admissions office since yesterday but the are not answering either.

Any suggestions on what i should do? So little time left for R1 deadline :|
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Quick question: Does the 'status' column on the recommendations page of the application change once the recommender has submitted their response?

My page still says "sent to recommender on...". Does this mean that they haven't submitted their recommendation yet?
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