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guy22102
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 19 Sep 2011, 06:23
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emont
guy22102
Thanks for this thread.

Here's a question though, I'm 33 going 34, should I even bother applying to HBS only to be discriminated against? I should just give $250 to local charity, would do much more good.

There's a 34 year old in my section, and I'm sure my class has at least a handful older than him. One of my former bosses got into Kellogg at age 35. It's possible. The only certainty is that if you don't apply, you won't get in.
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That sounds like a reversal from the previous years trend, where nobody above age of 30 were admitted (based on HBS blog)

You're right though, gotta apply first, worry about getting rejected later.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 21 Sep 2011, 07:08
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emont
guy22102
Thanks for this thread.

Here's a question though, I'm 33 going 34, should I even bother applying to HBS only to be discriminated against? I should just give $250 to local charity, would do much more good.

There's a 34 year old in my section, and I'm sure my class has at least a handful older than him. One of my former bosses got into Kellogg at age 35. It's possible. The only certainty is that if you don't apply, you won't get in.
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according to HBS stats, there are 4 kids in class of 2013 who have undergrad degrees before 2000 (that strikes me as 33 year olds) and 21 before 2002. My guess is, many of those 21 or so are military or special cases. If you are a banker, consultant, or spent 12 years since college at J&J or Kraft, hmmmmm, chances are real slim.
If "current student" can add some color as to the background of the geezers in his section, that would be helpful. Military or one-offs, or what???
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 22 Sep 2011, 13:33
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Not sure on the stories for all of us but yeah, I'd guess that a large portion of the 30+ crowd are military or otherwise non-traditional backgrounds. I have met a handful of 30+ students who came from fairly standard backgrounds though, so it is doable. Probably won't enhance your odds of getting in, but not an absolute dealbreaker either.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 22 Sep 2011, 18:16
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Hi Sandy!

I've been reading through the profiles on Poets and Quants and haven't seen one similar to mine, so I was curious to hear your feedback.

I'm a 33 year old white male, 1st generation college grad. I first attended college at a large state university with a so-so reputation in the late 90s, had a low GPA, and dropped out due to financial hardship. I went back to college at a low ranked Christian college in the South a year or so ago, and am about to graduate with a 4.0 in Business Administration. I did this while working full time and raising several children with my wife. I haven't taken the GMAT yet.

Professionally, I've been working as a manager in local/state government for the last 8 years. My work area is social services- helping food stamp recipients, refugees/low-English populations, low-income people in general. The area I am from, as well as currently live and work in, is very poor and disadvantaged.

I speak fluent Spanish and have traveled pretty extensively in Latin America, including a semester abroad in my first attempt at college.

Would I have a shot at a top tier program like HBS, given a high enough GMAT score? It seems as though my age and possibly my job would be potentially disqualifying negatives, although the job touches on some of the intangibles that are listed as favorable. My goal here is to go to a top school so I can come back and do something for the area. My family has been here for centuries(literally) and the place means a lot to me. I would be happy with a state/regional school, but want to shoot for something bigger, as I feel like it would help me accomplish more of my goals.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 23 Sep 2011, 17:59
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Sandy is a bit nicer here than on other sites, where the answer to a similar topic was:
"tough tittie, too old!", I think paraphrased from the adcom itself.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 25 Sep 2011, 19:46
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Does each year's GPA in online application mean

a) Cumulative GPA in college at the end of each year
or
b) GPA for coursework within the year?

thanks for help
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 26 Sep 2011, 13:07
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PRETTY USELESS INTERVIEW W. HBS NOHRIA IN TODAY'S WALL ST J. https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904563904576588583893732362.html

He does say that 90 pct of HBS kids have jobs by Sept of their 2nd year and that HBS is doing great job teaching ethics (no one questioned him about Inside Job, and lack of disclosure req. for Harvard faculty themselves).

He actually makes a good pt about power being a greater threat to ethics than adversity.

but if you are rushing to finish your Round 1, app. you can skip this.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 28 Sep 2011, 14:48
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Hey Sandy,

How does HBS view candidates whose goal is to return to their current employer? Does that differ if their current employer isn't McK, Bain, BCG, Goldman, etc?
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 28 Sep 2011, 15:06
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firsttimer2
Does each year's GPA in online application mean

a) Cumulative GPA in college at the end of each year
or
b) GPA for coursework within the year?

thanks for help
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My take on it was that they wanted each individual year's GPA, hopefully to show an upward trend from year to year.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 28 Sep 2011, 19:48
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Sandy, quick question for you --

In one of your P&Q profile evaluations, you gave the advice to "pump up your extracurriculars." Do you mean to get more significant EC's, or do you mean to carefully position your current extracurriculars in your application (i.e. "spin" them into something significant)? Because I think for many people asking about their chances now, it's a little late to get more extracurricular activities without seeming too urgent about it. So maybe your suggestion to "pump up" EC's means to "spin" them well in the apps?
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 29 Sep 2011, 10:26
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hi all, i dont want to fall into the word cutting game, so i want to know how important is it to be under the word limit for each of the essays. I am not overdoing it, as an example, a 600 word essay has 620 words, and 400 word essays have 410 or 420. will it look bad if I dont cut words out? I would like to focus on other things, rather than being worried about the word count.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 29 Sep 2011, 12:41
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fsaq
hi all, i dont want to fall into the word cutting game, so i want to know how important is it to be under the word limit for each of the essays. I am not overdoing it, as an example, a 600 word essay has 620 words, and 400 word essays have 410 or 420. will it look bad if I dont cut words out? I would like to focus on other things, rather than being worried about the word count.
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I stuck to the 10% rule and had no issues at any school to which I applied. I typically had one or two essays that were a bit under, and a few that were a bit over. They aren't going to sit there and count words, but they will notice if you're WAY over.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 29 Sep 2011, 17:12
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matticusfinch
fsaq
hi all, i dont want to fall into the word cutting game, so i want to know how important is it to be under the word limit for each of the essays. I am not overdoing it, as an example, a 600 word essay has 620 words, and 400 word essays have 410 or 420. will it look bad if I dont cut words out? I would like to focus on other things, rather than being worried about the word count.

I stuck to the 10% rule and had no issues at any school to which I applied. I typically had one or two essays that were a bit under, and a few that were a bit over. They aren't going to sit there and count words, but they will notice if you're WAY over.
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Thanks matticusfinch!! I see that you are matriculating at Harvard. Can I see your essays just to get a better understanding of how many words you used ?? hehehe JK thanks for the advice, I am just a bit over on some but I am below on two others so it balances out.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 30 Sep 2011, 04:39
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emont
Not sure on the stories for all of us but yeah, I'd guess that a large portion of the 30+ crowd are military or otherwise non-traditional backgrounds. I have met a handful of 30+ students who came from fairly standard backgrounds though, so it is doable. Probably won't enhance your odds of getting in, but not an absolute dealbreaker either.
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Totally. I think in my section (including myself), we have 4 or 5 30+ folks. I'm CPG, another girl is banking (trader), and couple are military. I'm also friends with several other 30+ people who come from industry (engineering/manufacturing/whatever). It definitely doesn't feel like it's only military that's older.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 30 Sep 2011, 05:48
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eskimoroll
emont
Not sure on the stories for all of us but yeah, I'd guess that a large portion of the 30+ crowd are military or otherwise non-traditional backgrounds. I have met a handful of 30+ students who came from fairly standard backgrounds though, so it is doable. Probably won't enhance your odds of getting in, but not an absolute dealbreaker either.

Totally. I think in my section (including myself), we have 4 or 5 30+ folks. I'm CPG, another girl is banking (trader), and couple are military. I'm also friends with several other 30+ people who come from industry (engineering/manufacturing/whatever). It definitely doesn't feel like it's only military that's older.
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Thanks! A ray of hope for some of us old geezers. :)
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 30 Sep 2011, 07:28
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One of my recommenders is running late and it might be Tuesday before he submits it. How lenient are schools with recommenders? or does it have to be in by noon Boston time?



thanks?
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 30 Sep 2011, 07:42
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LORs have been by far the most stressful part of my application - because I have no control over it! And in our business, most stuff is done right before deadline anyway. Ugh, just trying to keep calm now.
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 30 Sep 2011, 08:47
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nath99
One of my recommenders is running late and it might be Tuesday before he submits it. How lenient are schools with recommenders? or does it have to be in by noon Boston time?



thanks?
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Not lenient at all, everything has to be in by the deadline or you're in round 2 pool.

I'm also waiting for LORs, everyone is busy so it comes down to the wire!
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 30 Sep 2011, 13:04
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What kind of information is everyone putting into the "Additional Comments" section? At only 500 characters it seems like this is intended to only add clarification to points in the application as opposed to new material.

Thoughts?
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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants 30 Sep 2011, 13:09
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spacecurves
nath99
One of my recommenders is running late and it might be Tuesday before he submits it. How lenient are schools with recommenders? or does it have to be in by noon Boston time?



thanks?

Not lenient at all, everything has to be in by the deadline or you're in round 2 pool.

I'm also waiting for LORs, everyone is busy so it comes down to the wire!
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I'm waiting for one more LOR and certainly worried that it won't get in on time.
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