Harvard Business School Application for the class of 2013 is online. This thread will also serve as a master thread for the 2+2 applicants for the class of 2016 (June 2011 Applicants!) APPLICANTS: Please fill out your stats in the Google Doc attached and keep updating your information whenever you see fit! We will keep this thread updated as well (GIANT Post - Be warned ) Current Students: Harvard Admits 2+2 APPLICANTS REQUIREMENTS: GENERAL APPLICATION INFORMATION: 1. Essay Questions : 2. Application Deadlines : To be announced for the Summer of 2011. For the Summer of 2010 class: 3. Letters of Recommendation : 4. Sandy's Advice for Students Applying to 2+2 : REGULAR APPLICANTS All quoted sections of this post are from the Harvard Business School Admissions Website GENERAL APPLICATION INFORMATION: 1. Essay Questions : 2. Application Deadlines : 3. Letters of Recommendation : APPLICANT LIST: HBS Applicant List Google Doc 0Avb_1Ns4jB92dHp0UTJQcWpEajJwdENjYW9PVEc1TEE OTHER RESOURCES: Useful Web Pages for Application * HBS Director's Blog for All Important Updates * Last year's thread for HBS (Regular Applicants) * Last year's thread for HBS 2+2 Applicants * Veritas Prep School Report for Harvard Business School (Please register your email id, and Veritas will send a link to the download and you can download multiple school reports at once if you want!) * Class Profile for 2+2 * FAQs * HBS Director's Blog for All Important Updates * Clear Admit's Essay Analysis for Harvard Fall 2011 * Veritas Prep Essay Analysis for Harvard 2011 Life at HBS - Blogs a) CS @ HBS - https://www.computersexy.com/blog/ b) Harvard Bound - https://myharvardmba2010.blogspot.com/ c) Inside HBS - https://www.insidehbs.com/ d) Sync - https://sync.bradleylautenbach.com/ e) Mark and Jie's Journey to B-School - https://markandjie.blogspot.com/ f) Will Hsu's HBS Bubble - https://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=wphsu99 g) AGirlsMBA at Harvard Business School: https://agirlsmba.blogspot.com/ h) Military to Business: https://militarytobusiness.blogspot.com/

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Calling all HBS 2011 Applicants!! (Including 2+2)

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TM212

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13 Apr 2011, 11:31

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agnok

fsaq

Not here

I will post within 2 minutes of getting it, that I can promise

Looks like the two of us are lurking around the forum for some news... hillarious! :lol:

I'm lurking too! Are there any wlers out there that have not had interviews from R2?

fsaq

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13 Apr 2011, 11:52

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haha, yep im lurking every 10 mins. Thats why I asked yesterday about the usual time interview invites are sent so I only check once a day for updates. For some reason, however, I cant stop checking!!! this madness has to stop. :shock:

TM212, are you a WL from R2? I was reading through the boards and it seems that a lot of people were admitted of the waitlist from R1 into R2 (they were admitted on R2 decisions). I wish I could have applied in R2 or R1, but I was just way too busy to have my application ready by those deadlines.

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13 Apr 2011, 13:34

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Quote:

What's your take on new HBS 2+2 essay questions?

Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words)
Why do you want an MBA? (400 words)
https://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/2+2/a ... ocess.html

WELL, HERE IS THE WHOLE SET

2+2 Application: Essay Questions for Applicants

All application questions below are required.

Tell us about three of your accomplishments. (600 words)
Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words)
Why do you want an MBA? (400 words)
What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience? (400 words)
MILDLY ODD, IN BOTH THREE SETBACKS AND DIRECTNESS OF WHY MBA QUESTION.

BUT READING THE TEA LEAVES OF THESE QUESTIONS IS A FOOL'S GAME, THEY ARE NOT WRITTEN W. HYPER SCRUTINY, AND NOTHING REALLY SEEMS THAT DIFFERENT FR. PAST QUESTIONS EXCEPT FORM.

I THINK THEY ARE GETTING THE SET BACK IIDEA FR. TEACH FOR AMERICA, WHERE SETBACKS ARE OFTEN A FREQ. TOPIC OF INTERVIEW FODDER (BECAUSE TEACHING IS SO FRUSTRATING). I FIND IT SLIGHTLY ODD, ESP. THREE. BUT BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, WHO CARES WHAT I THINK, HERE IS HOW TO ANSWER.

RULE ONE: AT HBS--THERE IS NO 'WRONG' ANSWER, THEY JUST USE THE QUESTIONS AS A CORKSCREW TO GET INFORMATION AND STORIES OUT OF YOU, SO DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO KNOW IN THE FIRST INSTANCE AND THEN FIGURE OUT HOW TO DEPLOY THAT 'INFO' SO IT FITS A QUESTION PROMPT.

E.G. I WANT HBS TO KNOW HOW HARD MY MOTHER WORKED SO I COULD GO TO COLLEGE.

DUH, TURN THAT INTO A SETBACK. 'ONE OF THE MOST HEARTBREAKING SETBACKS IN MY LIFE WAS HOW LITTLE I COULD HELP MY MOM AS SHE STRUGGLED SO HER TWO KIDS COULD GO TO COLLEGE. IN HIGH SCHOOL, I WAS NOT FULLY AWARE OF HER SACRIFICE, AND ONCE IN COLLEGE, WE WERE IN A DOUBLE BIND, WHERE ALL SHE WANTED FROM ME WAS SUCCESS AT SCHOOL, SO I DARED NOT WORK, OFTEN NEGLECTED TO CALL AS MUCH BLAH, BLAH

I NOW REALIZE I COULD AND CAN DO SO MUCH MORE, BLAH, BLAH

HEY, THAT IS PRETTY GOOD ACTULLY................

MOST PEEPS, ESP. COLLEGE JUNIORS, DONT HAVE REAL SETBACKS, BUT ANYWAY, BE CREATIVE AND BE REFLECTIVE.

AS TO WHY MBA--THAT CAN ONLY BE ANSWERED W. A GOAL STATEMENT--YOU NEED TO SKETCH OUT WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE, OR HOW YOUR CURRENT PASSIONS LEAD TO GOALS AND HOW MBA FITS IN.

THEY DO NOT, PER SE, WANT A LOT OF WHY HBS B.S. BUT THEY WILL NOT PUNISH YOU FOR IT.

YOU DO NEED TO FORMULATE SOME GOAL VISON FOR WHICH AN MBA IS 1. TYPICAL, 2. HELPFUL.

You know, I feel like the whole Why MBA thing is just a play off of the career vision question. I think I already asked you this, I don't remember - now that they've included seniors in the mix, Sandy, how do you think it's gonna affect how many juniors they take in? I mean, with the whole thing going slightly against younger applicants in general with the new Dean, do you think this might be a table turn for skewing the ratio of juniors vs. seniors?

fsaq

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Updated on: 13 Apr 2011, 13:52

Originally posted by fsaq on 13 Apr 2011, 13:46.
Last edited by fsaq on 13 Apr 2011, 13:52, edited 1 time in total.

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mean, with the whole thing going slightly against younger applicants in general with the new Dean

What gives you the idea that this is happening? If anything I think its the opposite way. HBS is trying to become a kindergarden every passing year. If you are young, please dont take offense. By all means, I am young, but for HBS MBA standards I am close to retirement and on medicare (27).

I think that there is evidence that the new Dean has done something against the usual candidates from feeder companies in PE, consulting,etc, based on the Dec 14 Massacre (great name Sandy!!), but no evidence of inclination for older applicants rather than young ones.

I would'nt be surprised if HBS started the 12+2 program : 12 years in a K-12 education followed by an MBA, you can skip college with this one.

icemanjs4

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13 Apr 2011, 13:51

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fsaq

Quote:

mean, with the whole thing going slightly against younger applicants in general with the new Dean

Well, I'll say this - when I visited HBS campus, I asked about the age bias towards the younger. The adcom lady told me that this wasn't really true and it was more self-selection. I told her I was 31 - and asked if I stood a chance - she said yes. 6 months later, HBS admitted me. So maybe there's some truth to that.

formerlyknownas

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13 Apr 2011, 14:00

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fsaq

Quote:

mean, with the whole thing going slightly against younger applicants in general with the new Dean

well i went for an event where a member of the hbs adcom said they were moving away from people with 0years of experience but that doesn't necessarily mean they are moving to older candidates. this would not impact the 2+2 folks either because they accept them and ask them to defer (which only makes sense given that the case study is based on practical experience). in any case, 27 is not too old for hbs. i feel that hbs has accepted more 28+ candidates this year than previous years but that could just be because i am 29 and i was accepted so it seems a lot more possible now after the fact.

sardines

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13 Apr 2011, 14:06

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well here is guy who is 34 and applied in r3. keeping my fingers crossed.

TM212

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13 Apr 2011, 20:04

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fsaq

yeah, I was WLed in R2 but back on Feb 16, when all interview invites were sent. So that makes me a WLer without interview. I expect, based on Eileen, that if I am to receive an interview, it would come this week or next. Fingers crossed:)

fsaq

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13 Apr 2011, 20:13

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TM212

You mentioned "based on Eileen" in your post. Did you get an email in which she mentioned a specific timeframe for interviews to come to waitlisters? or are you just assuming this based on Dee's posting about interview invites being extended from the 8th to the 5th of May? thanks!

TM212

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13 Apr 2011, 20:34

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TM212

In my waitlist letter, it was explained how I am deferred to R3, so if I were to receive an interview request, it would happen when requests were sent out for R3 applicants.

Ramses

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13 Apr 2011, 21:02

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I am 31 and applied in R3. looks like most of the R3 applicants are on the right extreme of the age curve ( compared to the statistics).
fsaq is right, got to stop this madness. But the first thing I do every morining as soon as I get up is to check my mail and log in to the forum! I thought R3 would also be an early release round, but with the invites being sent on a rolling basis, the wait is going to be excrutiating.

fsaq

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13 Apr 2011, 22:03

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Ramses

For practical purposes this is an early release round 8-)

. It all comes and goes in a month. If you had submitted R2 or R1, you would have been released a month and a half later I believe, and if you were not released, the torture would go on for a grand total of 70 to 80 days. This is a good as it gets. I feel your pain regardless man, im with you!!

Lets hope for invitations to come, and soon! I will post any developments as soon as I know anything.

speed0

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14 Apr 2011, 01:54

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fsaq

Quote:

I would'nt be surprised if HBS started the 12+2 program : 12 years in a K-12 education followed by an MBA, you can skip college with this one.

that would be 13+2

DarkFratBoy

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14 Apr 2011, 01:56

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Has anyone else heard from HBS since last Friday?

LBS sent out round 3 invites, WLs, and releases on the same day (also Friday, 8 April 2011), so I kind of expected Harvard would do something similar. Six days on and I still haven't heard anything either way.

Going a little nuts with anticipation here...

jl12

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14 Apr 2011, 06:47

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TM212

fsaq

TM212,

You were WLed on 2/16 before R2 decisions date?

hbsguru

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14 Apr 2011, 07:20

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Quote:

I think I already asked you this, I don't remember - now that they've included seniors in the mix, Sandy, how do you think it's gonna affect how many juniors they take in? I mean, with the whole thing going slightly against younger applicants in general with the new Dean, do you think this might be a table turn for skewing the ratio of juniors vs. seniors?

let's separate this out into two posts, one about 2+2 and one about class getting younger.

2+2

1. New 2+2 format: altho Her Majesty's announcement on her blog of new 2+2 rounds and dates is not crystal clear,
viz.

Quote:

These are details of a "merge" of college senior applicants into the 2+2 Program application cycle. In other words, the mechanics of the 2+2 Program are changing to include ALL college seniors.

Here goes: beginning with the next application cycle—the 2+2 Class of 2016 Cohort—we're expanding the 2+2 Program umbrella to include all college senior applicants. What does this mean? It means that if you are expecting to graduate between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012, you can choose from one of four application rounds to apply to the 2+2 Program.

•Early Round: July 2011 application deadline; September 2011 notification
•Round 1: October 2011 application deadline; December 2011 notification
•Round 2: January 2012 application deadline; March, 2012 notification
•Round 3: March 2012 application deadline; May, 2012 notification
Rounds 1, 2 and 3 will be the same dates as the regular MBA Program application/notification dates; at this point they are TBD and will be announced later in the spring.

Are there any hidden messages about HBS strategy in this? No. It's a mechanical change to bring all college seniors under the same 2+2 umbrella which will enable us to have a cleaner outreach message to this group.

This should clarify our policy regarding college seniors without full-time post-college work experience. All will be considered for "deferred admission" - a place in a future class after two years of work experience. No college seniors without full-time post-college work experience will be admitted to HBS directly.

I strongly believe what the above means is that 2+2 will now include ALL those kids from the 4 rounds, e.g. rising juniors and the same peeps when they become seniors,whenever they apply. Last year HBS admitted 100 2+2 kids using the old regime (Juniors only) and I think about 25-40 seniors who were deferred for two years and were not 'designated' 2+2 kids e.g. wont get invited to 2+2 parties and events, etc.
Also, I spoke to several college seniors who were admitted THIS YEAR in Rounds 1 and 2, and they aint 2+2 kids either, even tho their roommates could be, and both will enroll at the same time. They got the same admit info etc. which regular peeps got.
I think next year that is going to change. I think peeps admitted in any of those four rounds will be 2+2 kids, and I think the program will "expand" --a word Her Majesty uses in her post above, but she says they are 'expanding the umbrella' thanks, honey, but in this context we want facts and not umbrellas. All that said, I believe the program will expand in numbers as well, and over ALL FOUR ROUNDS will admit sorta 125-40 peeps.
BLUE SKY THINKING: THE COMBINATION OF MARKET RECOVERY (SURE, I KNOW, RIGHT) AND EXPANDING 2+2 PROGRAMS, AND OTHER FACTORS, WILL PUSH HBS TO 10TH SECTION, EG. ADMITTING 90 MORE KIDS, OVER NEXT FIVE YEARS. LIKE ANYONE ON THIS BLOG CARES, UNLESS IT HAPPENS NEXT YEAR (not going to) BUT JUST SAYING.
OK, what you do care about: when is best time to apply to 2+2? Dicey question. Prob in early round, e.g. July deadline (that is sorta 10 weeks from now, early July) because that is when they are used to taking the bulk of 2+2 kids historically, and that is best reason I can come up with, but it is a good one.
Exceptions: something is really going to improve about your app from July to Oct or even Jan or even March--and that does not mean your gpa (it will only be one semester in any case), it means some major leadership initiative, it prob. does not mean summer job b.c. you can cite that in July app, and getting the job is ALL they care about (well, unless you screw it up) despite what you may think. OK, if you have summer job w. some major do-gooder org. + accomplish some great thing over the summer, and that could be source of new essay, blah, blah ...........why not wait til Oct and get that new stuff in. Dunno, but here is a guideline, that one accomplishment is not likely to tip your app. versus just having the job (and not starting it yet). Could I be wrong. Sue me. But the app. is so dense and what they want is so clear to them, that one thing usually does not tilt outcome, altho many think it does. Anoather issue is speculative, if you apply in July, HBS will have to admit you or not w.out knowing what next years total apps will be in terms of up or down fr. this year, they will find that out in Oct when they get real feel for Round 1. That could be an issue, but deeply speculative.

hbsguru

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14 Apr 2011, 08:22

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Quote:

with the whole thing going slightly against younger applicants in general with the new Dean,

I'm not sure what you are talking about: the new dean has made some mumblings about moving away fr. X (wall st fat cats) to Y (do-gooders) and Round 1 and 2 results have provided evidence that he is semi-serious. For his actual remarks, and stats, see this great article in Poets & Quants

Quote:

PE vs. PC at Harvard Business School | Poets and QuantsDec 17, 2010

https://poetsandquants.com/2010/12/17/pe ... ss-school/

Now during recent tours and at dinners etc. Adcom types have tried to walk back this cat, by coming up w. fuzzy stats and statements about how come it is not true, or ALL THAT TRUE, and it is pssble that some of those POWER IB/ PE types, who also hire a lot of HBS kids, may have gotten to Dean etc, and pushed this back a little. But as far as I am concerned, my guess is, the number of trad IB/PE types admitted this year could be down 10 pct.

AS TO AGE:
and as to 31 year-old a coupla posts above who got in, good for you, but two things
the "sweet spot" for first-year class today, e..g kids now doing their first year at HBS, in terms of when they graduated college was class of 2005-2008, those 4 years equalled a gaga 792 kids out of ~906
If you want to project that for next year applicants, when they enroll (2012) 792 kids will be from college grad class of 2007-2010.

MORE IMPTLY: here is current break-down of HBS class (now first years) by
Pre-MBA industry:

Quote:

Pre-MBA Industry
Consulting 22%
Consumer Products 7%
Financial Services* 14%
Healthcare/Biotech 6%
High Tech/Communications 6%
Manufacturing 9%
Military 5%
Non-Profit 7%
Other Services 5%
Venture Capital/Private Equity 18%

note that consulting, financial services, and VC/PE= 54 percent of the class. For those kids, it is real hard to get in if you are over 27/28 when you matriculate. Those dudes who write in as 31, 32 year olds, are most often outside that INKBLOT.

bakerbeach

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14 Apr 2011, 09:42

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I got an interview invite this morning. R3 applicant. Does anybody knows how to prepare hbs interview? What is the format? it looks it only has 30 mins with some board members. Also, who knows the stats of the interviews?

Thanks ahead! i think i am both excited and nervous now..... :roll:

DarkFratBoy

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14 Apr 2011, 10:18

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Hey bakerbeach, congrats man, that's awesome!

I guess the typical prep would be three steps:

1. review application and CV and consider potential discussion points that they are likely to raise;

2. internet search for details of previous interviews, particularly re. format and typical questions; and

3. news review (can't hurt to be up with current events).

Best of luck,

DFB

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14 Apr 2011, 10:29

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bakerbeach

Does anybody knows how to prepare hbs interview? What is the format? it looks it only has 30 mins with some board members. Also, who knows the stats of the interviews?

Thanks ahead! i think i am both excited and nervous now..... :roll:

The ClearAdmit wiki and unofficial Harbus guide were pretty helpful for me. Also read back through this thread, plenty of people have posted summaries of their interviews. Know your application inside and out, know your story, know your current events, and you should be good.

It should be a one on one interview with an adcom member. Stats say you've got a 50-60% chance of admission once selected for an interview.

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