uprightcitizen
Jmw125
vamsim
Sandy's analysis is bang on. I know a couple of my PE/ IB friends with similar stats (710 GMAT, 3.7 GPA.....) who got in, while couple of others like me who are in a different industry have gotten dings. I know it is a broad generalization and there is not much point in speculating on this anymore, but it just feels like HBS wants to keep its class filled with guys from feeder companies so that they get hired back easily. Ironical how even HBS is mitigating the risk of dropping down the ranking now.
And yet me and my friends mentioned above who beat those stats no prob and are PE/IB guys...ding, ding, ding
When I was there on Tuesday for my interview, I attended the luncheon for interviewees (about twenty of us). The vast majority were PE/IB folks, along with a few consultants, a non-profit, and me.
Thanks for the intel on the interviewee luncheon uprightcitizen. I don't think anyone is shocked to hear the interviewee pool was weighted toward folks from the elite professional services firms but I'm sure HBS gets THOUSANDS of applicants that have a high GMAT, a high GPA from prestigious undergrad, and work experience from the traditional feeder firms so Jmw125 has a good point - there has to be an additional dimension to these applicants that got them the interview. Last I heard (circa 2007) the Big 3 consulting firms (McK/Bain/BCG) only get about 50% of their HBS applicants admitted on a given year and these folks are generally near the top of the "typical" profile of an admitted HBS student.
I'd love to hear what other folks think is that extra dimension that allows the adcomm to navigate through thousands of "high GMAT, high GPA from prestigious school, work experience at a traditional HBS feeder firm" individuals to find their interview candidates,
particularly Sandy. I'm going to suggest its the "awe" factor of their stories and career visions (as portrayed through their essays and letters of recommendation). I assume that the vast majority of HBS applicants, when asked, would assure you they've taken painstaking effort to tell the adcomm an one-of-a-kind/special story (I thought I did) yet in reality, some applicants will just do this better than others.
Imagine two people apply from an established and well-known VC firm and both fit Sandy's profile (high GMAT, high GPA from prestigious school, work experience at traditional HBS feeder firm). The first writes about his/her aspirations to return to his/her current employer after b-school and apply what he/she will learn at HBS to eventually rise to the rank of Managing Partner and turn the company into the premier VC firm in the industry. The second writes about his/her aspirations to combine his/her VC background with his/her passion for the arts (citing an undergraduate major in musical theatre perhaps) to transform how Broadway theater companies manage their operations and advocates looking at the business side of Broadway musicals through the lens of the VC discipline. Likely having a slew of applicants to choose from with stories comparable to the first applicant, I imagine the adcomm would be much more interested in giving the second applicant the interview slot before the first applicant. Just my two cents...
03 Nov 2010, 14:48
