2+2 Applicants - Please add yourself to the 2+2 Roll Call which will be put up on this thread: HBS 2+2 Class of 2016 HBS Business School Guide HBS Applicant Summary (Real Time) Quick Glance: GMAT Club vs. Latest Intake (Class of 2013) Latest GMAT Club Member Profile Updates Detailed Applicant List: Add Yourself to This List (add HBS to your profile) GMAT Club's Real-time Admissions Statistics Add Your Profile to This List Questions about this Roll Call ? Members Invited to Interview HBS CLASS ADMITTED THIS YEAR (entering 2011) VS LAST YEAR (entered 2010) FINANCIAL SERVICES BLOODBATH HEADLINES 1. apps DOWN fr. 9524 to 9134 2. PE/VC Down fr. 18pct to 13pct -HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3. Women up 36 to 39 pct 4. Class size up fr. 910 to 918 5. Investment banking and Investment Management DOWN fr. 14 to 12 pct Class of 2013* https://www.hbs.edu/mba/perspectives/class-statistics/ Admissions Total MBA Enrollment 918 Applications 9,134 % Admitted 12% Yield 90% Class Composition Women 39% US Ethnic Minorities 23% International 34% Average Age 27 Countries represented 68 Undergraduate institutions represented 243 GMAT Score Range 490-790 Median GMAT 730 Citizenship North America 70% ?United States 66% Asia/South Pacific 13% Europe 10% Central/South America 4% Africa 2% Oceania 1% Undergraduate Majors Business Administration 20% Engineering/Natural Sciences/Technical Disciplines 36% Humanities/Social Sciences 43% Other 1% Pre-MBA Industry Consulting 21% Consumer Products 6% Financial Services** 12% Healthcare/Biotech 6% High Tech/Communications 9% Manufacturing 14% Military 5% Non-Profit 8% Other Services 5% Venture Capital/Private Equity 13% Unspecified 1% * As of June 1, 2011 – subject to change ** Includes Investment Banking and Investment Management ============================== Preliminary Profile of the Class of 2012 https://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/blog-all.html entry for July7,2010 Date: July 07, 2010 Here’s a peek at the Class of 2012. This is still officially “preliminary” until registration in September. Admissions Total MBA Enrollment 910 Applications 9,524 % Admitted 11% Class Composition Women 36% US Ethnic Minorities 23% International 34% Countries represented 73 Undergraduate institutions represented 243 GMAT Score Range 510-790 Middle 50% GMAT Score Range 710-750 Average GMAT 724 Citizenship North America 70% ?United States 66% Asia/South Pacific 13% Europe 12% Central/South America 3% Africa 1% Oceania 1% Undergraduate Majors Business 23% Engineering/Natural Sciences/Technical Disciplines 33% Humanities/Social Sciences 43% Other 1% 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% * Includes Investment Banking & Investment Management BTW: A GREAT, GREAT RESOURCE FOR ALL HBS APPLICANTS IS LAST YEAR'S THREAD, CALLING ALL HBS 2011 APPLICANTS, calling-all-hbs-2011-applicants-including-96063.html#p739570 ESP THE FIRST POST, WHICH ITSELF GIVES RESOURCES. SPENDING AN HOUR READING THRU THOSE POSTS WILL GIVE YOU AN EXCELLENT IDEA OF WHAT THE YEAR AHEAD WILL LOOK LIKE AND PROVIDE YOU WITH MANY, MANY PROFILES AND THEIR OUTCOMES. Interview questions:

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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants

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Anasthaesium

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Status:Taking heavily leveraged but calculated risks at all times

Concentration: Entrepreneurship, Finance

Schools: HBS '15 Stanford '15

GMAT Date: 01-31-2012

Schools: HBS '15 Stanford '15

Posts: 168

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[1]

28 Nov 2011, 21:22

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@sandy : Unfortunately, that's how high performing for-profit companies are and should be run in the real world, which HBS grads do understand.

After all, they wouldnt be at HBS if they didnt have the nerve to do what it takes to get there.

hbsguru

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29 Nov 2011, 09:35

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Anasthaesium

well, sure, I was just suggesting not to tell the truth in your interview.
This guy seems to be quite overt about it.

Expat hopes US 'mud run' won't be lost in translation
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/8921484/Expat-hopes-US-mud-run-wont-be-lost-in-translation.html
Dean went to the US to study at Harvard Business School, but was disappointed with the experience. “It’s a risk averse path into big organisations. It’s not useful for the first year of running a start-up, which you spend fixing coffee machines, arguing with the bank and unblocking drains.”

hbsguru

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30 Nov 2011, 09:39

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Why HBS has essays

Creative people more dishonest, HBS study finds
By Deborah Kotz
| Globe Staff
November 29, 2011

Article[url]
https://bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health ... story.html[/url]

creative types more likely to lie, cheat, and steal?
“There’s been a lot of anecdotal evidence linking creativity with dishonesty, but without much empirical evidence,” said Francesca Gino, an associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.

In each experiment, participants who scored high on a creativity questionnaire were more likely to fudge their results on various tasks in order to earn more money. (Those who scored high for intelligence but not creativity weren’t any more likely to lie than those who scored lower for intelligence.)

jhays

Joined: 19 Sep 2011

Last visit: 02 Jul 2012

Posts: 63

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Concentration: International Business, Marketing

Schools: Marshall '14 (M$) Booth '14 (D) HBS '14 (D) Sloan '14 (D) Wharton '14 (D) Fuqua '14 (D) Ross '14 (WL) Anderson '14 (A)

GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V48 Verified score

GPA: 3.33

WE:Marketing (Manufacturing)

Schools: Marshall '14 (M$) Booth '14 (D) HBS '14 (D) Sloan '14 (D) Wharton '14 (D) Fuqua '14 (D) Ross '14 (WL) Anderson '14 (A)

GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V48 Verified score

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30 Nov 2011, 11:03

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hbsguru

Why HBS has essays

https://bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health ... story.html

Clearly, the intelligent, creative people realized that by misreporting their scores they could both gain more money AND earn a good deal of valuable publicity for their new-found behavioral scientist friends. Every extra dollar taken by the creative folk probably turned into ten dollars worth of publicity for the study. Win win!

And any intelligent, creative types who might be tarred as untrustworthy would find a way to wiggle out of it anyway.

hbsguru

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30 Nov 2011, 11:37

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EXCELLENT! But you overlook the even more cynical possiblity, that as with so much social science, the people running the experient, not the subjects, are the creative and dishonest ones--motivated by the outcomes you note, viz. publicity etc, and further, they could save as well on the "banana-dollars" they had to feed the allegedly dishonest subject-chimps.

jhays

hbsguru

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01 Dec 2011, 15:13

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Among Lady Gaga's two turn ons (she tells the Sun in UK, always a reliable source) : 1. really big d*ck, 2. degree from Harvard. https://is.gd/ZRqe6b

ahem, dear lady, I have a degree from Harvard . . . . .

hbsguru

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02 Dec 2011, 10:45

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PART 16 OF MY SERIES ON POETS AND QUANTS--SELECTION. FULL STORY IS HERE
https://poetsandquants.com/2011/12/02/ha ... ting-in-2/

ALONG W. PRIOR 15 PARTS--EACH W. FIVE OR SIX PROFILES LIKE THIS

Handicapping Your Odds of Getting In
Mr. Consultant
660 GMAT (Taken it twice and not sure I have time to take again)
3.4 GPA
Undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in business management
Work Experience includes two years at a process-consulting firm, worked on some healthcare clients (think Big Four consulting, not strategy) one year as an internal auditor for a national health plan (Kaiser Permanente, Blue Cross, United Health Care)
Extracurricular involvement includes a two-year church mission to Australia, was vice president of the business school student association, organized an annual charity auction and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity
Goal: “I’m passionate about the healthcare industry and its (many) unique challenges. I plan to use an MBA to facilitate a move away from audit and towards healthcare consulting (provider side). Specifically, im interested in helping organizations manage and plan for the effects of healthcare reform.”
“Do you think I have a shot at any of the above in light of my low GMAT score? Or better to wait until next year?”
26-year-old white male.
Odds of Success:

Duke (dream school): 30%
UCLA: 20% to 30%
Northwestern: 25%
Vanderbilt: 50%

Sandy’s Analysis: Aside from a low GMAT and a low GPA, you’re a totally likeable guy. And actually, average GPA at Duke, your dream school, is 3.4. Alas, their median GMAT is 696 so the question becomes do you have 36 GMAT points (a lot!!) worth of charm. Let me give you some tough love. B-schools are mildly biased in favor of Mormons because the LDS values of family, hard work, sobriety and honesty are in synch with generic business values. Also, my guess is, most schools’ experiences with LDS members are positive. So that is a small plus.

After that, doing a mission is kind of baked in (even if not all LDS kids do so) and Australia is not ranked as high on the value chain as a country where you operate in a more foreign language and culture. Your extras, even though Church related, seem real solid, even by LDS standards, so that is a plus. The fact you are working in a health care environment is positive, but offset by the fact that it seems to be, in your own words, “process” and “auditing” centric.

Shake all that up in our Duke-tini mixer and what do we got??? Close one, but I am calling it more likely “no” than “yes.” One decider is the fact of your low Quant score on the GMAT. If you tweaked this, with a 680 GMAT and a mission to Latin America, and being president of the Business School Association instead of vice-president, you’d have a fighting chance of having them blink at the GMAT and Second Tier work gigs at solid companies. In your present incarnation, there is nothing driving you in, and the cherry on the non-alcoholic Duke-tini ding is being white male. Anderson is actually tougher than Duke to get into, so I’m not optimistic there either. Ditto Kellogg. Vanderbilt is totally in-line stat wise, so you got a real solid chance there.

I don’t see any downside in applying to the whole menu this year, especially Duke, sometimes those schools get to know you through the application process, and that can help next year. I would also find a great GMAT tutor, focus only on the Quant part, and see if you can get another 5 questions right. Some more ideas are to think about taking the GRE’s instead. You might find the Quant on that exam a bit easier or different. If you are really gung-ho, and cannot move the needle with the standardized testing, take some real solid math courses over the summer to develop an alternative transcript.

sudish

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Status:Enjoying the MBA journey :)

Location: United States (DC)

Concentration: General Management, Entrepreneurship

Schools: CBS '15 (D) Ross '15 (D) Anderson '15 (D) Johnson '15 (WL) ISB '14 (D) Kellogg '15 (D) Olin '15 (WA$) McDonough '15 (M)

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38 Verified score

WE:Corporate Finance (Other)

Schools: CBS '15 (D) Ross '15 (D) Anderson '15 (D) Johnson '15 (WL) ISB '14 (D) Kellogg '15 (D) Olin '15 (WA$) McDonough '15 (M)

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V38 Verified score

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05 Dec 2011, 10:02

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Hi Sandy,

I took my GMAT a couple of weeks ago and unfortunately scored only a 710 (I expected to do much better). I had thought of applying to HBS but with the GMAT result, I’m confused whether to re-take the GMAT or apply with the current score/profile. Could you please provide your valuable comments?

My profile is mentioned below (albeit a tad detailed - apologies for that, didn't wanna miss out anything):
1. Indian Male, IT background (I’m so damn frustrated to be in the cursed pool), Age – 26 years
2. Undergrad – Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics & Telecommunication), Mumbai University, India – 61% aggregate (think this converts to a GPA of 3.0 – not sure though). Graduated in 2007.
3. GMAT – 710 (Q49, V38, AWA – 5.5) {I’m contemplating on re-taking GMAT if I don’t stand a good chance with my existing profile}
4. Work Experience: 52 months (as of November 2011)
Current position – Senior Software Engineer in HSBC Software Development, India (not sure whether I could leverage the brand name?)
Joined as a Trainee Software Engineer after graduation, got promoted to Software Engineer position within 6 months and to the current position in another 2 years – well ahead of my peers, who joined with me. Current job role includes mainly analysis, consulting, project planning and coordination. Previously, used to engage in software development as well.
International exposure – Have worked in the UK with HSBC Invoice Finance for more than a year in 2008 and 2010 as Analyst & Onsite coordinator.
5. Extracurricular:
Multi-faceted interests – Academically strong in school (stood first in a class of 80 during 10th grade exams and scored in the top 1% during 12th grade exams), trained Indian Classical dancer (trained for 5 years with distinction throughout) and various dance performances in the city, won several prizes during school in essay and poem writing competitions, won several robotics competitions organized by IEEE during college, won the intra-department Table Tennis tournament, won several prizes in painting in school and at work
6. Awards:
Won the prestigious HSBC Platinum League Team Award for outstanding team efforts during a project – the award is given to a total of only 5 teams every 6 months from teams competing across the HSBC group (with a presence in over 85 countries across 10000 offices)
Won several other awards at HSBC for team and individual performances during my stint so far (think I can quantify these in a decent manner)
7. Interesting personal facts:
As mentioned earlier, I consider myself a person with varied interests. Apart from that already mentioned, I enjoy cooking and painting, sketching, origami, etc. I enjoy listening to different genres of music and watching movies. Enjoy walking as well – walk across the South Downs in England countryside of Woodingdean was amazing – one of the best I’ve ever enjoyed.
Professionally, interested in a ‘consulting’ job post-graduation as it has been something what I’ve been doing over the years and enjoyed the most. Long term goal – become an entrepreneur, entrepreneurship being one of my passions. (I’ve experimented on several business plans during my spare time, after work, but have realized that executing an idea requires more than just a plan)
8. Recommendations: I’d mostly take recommendations from my Senior Project Manager, my ex-Team Leader and a colleague who is an year senior to me (we have worked closely for almost 4 years now) – I believe that these people can give the best recommendations, considering the fact that they have all worked closely with me.

I’m pretty confident that I could write decent essays highlighting the key points in each of the areas mentioned above.
The dilemma I have is with respect to the overall strength of my profile and my low GPA/GMAT score. Could you please advise whether I should re-take the GMAT or could do anything else in a month or so to better my profile? Do I stand a chance?

Many Thanks
Sudish

hbsguru

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06 Dec 2011, 16:13

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HBS Field Program described and tweaked in the Economist https://t.co/QVnfGAPI

cert worth a look if you are applying to HBS R2.

sk

hbsguru

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06 Dec 2011, 16:18

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sudish

dunno man, GMAT of 730 etc. is not going to make any diff w. you at HBS, it all kinda blrus to them over 700.
You might get a higher score if you want to work in consulting etc. after B school, or for some fin services firms. They often ask for GMAT etc. and McKinsey is rumored to have 720 floor.

If you want a full discussion of all the detail you provided, post on Poets & Quants,
https://poetsandquants.com/2011/12/02/ha ... ting-in-2/
and I'll get to it there.

hbsguru

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07 Dec 2011, 09:01

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HBS women: 1. over-represented as entrepeneurs, yet comment to story says 50 pct of all HBS females drop out in 5 yrs. https://t.co/f8vwkCZh

hbsguru

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07 Dec 2011, 09:04

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I get some good ink on hi-energy site Wall St Oasis for my application evaluations. Check it out. That site is worth a look if you consider yourself a Wall Street type.

https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b ... lity-check

gavinj1984

Joined: 08 Dec 2011

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Location: United States (CA)

Concentration: Strategy, General Management

Schools: HBS '14 (D) Stanford '14 (D) CBS '14 (D) Anderson FEMBA '15 (A) Marshall '14 (M)

GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V44 Verified score

GPA: 3.61

WE:Information Technology (Other)

Products:

Schools: HBS '14 (D) Stanford '14 (D) CBS '14 (D) Anderson FEMBA '15 (A) Marshall '14 (M)

GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V44 Verified score

Posts: 31

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08 Dec 2011, 14:19

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I submitted for R2.

GMAT: 730, AWA: 5.5
Undergraduate Major: Computer Science
GPA: 3.61
WE: 5 years at matriculation

HardCandy

Joined: 02 Oct 2011

Last visit: 24 Dec 2012

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Schools: CBS '14 (A) HBS '14 (A) Stanford '14 (A)

GMAT 1: 720 Q50 V37 Verified score

WE:Consulting (Consulting)

Schools: CBS '14 (A) HBS '14 (A) Stanford '14 (A)

GMAT 1: 720 Q50 V37 Verified score

Posts: 10

Kudos: 5

09 Dec 2011, 08:10

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So the notification date is getting really close... What will all you R1's do if you get in? How will you celebrate?

hbsguru

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09 Dec 2011, 13:11

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my famous feature on Poets and Quants, has a new set of profiles which I analyze. See PQ site to see what I say about this gal

https://poetsandquants.com/2011/12/09/wh ... ting-in-2/

Ms. Brazil

720 GMAT
3.5 GPA
Undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard, Princeton or Yale
Work experience includes three-plus years of consulting experience in a top 15 global firm
Extracurricular involvement with Pride organization and Human Rights Campaign and top recruiter for firm’s LGTB organization
Immigrant raised by a single mom, worked to support family during junior year of college
Founded $1,000 scholarship for students from single parent homes in former New Jersey high school, now in its third year
Goal: To transition into media/entertainment industry and eventually build a major media company in Brazil
28-year-old female from Brazil
Odds of Success:

Harvard: ??

Stanford: ?
Wharton: ?
Berkeley: ?
Columbia: ?
Booth: ?

gpb14

Joined: 03 Apr 2011

Last visit: 22 May 2012

Posts: 45

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Location: United States

Concentration: General Management

Schools: HBS '14 (D) Darden '14 (M$) CBS '14 Stern '14

GMAT 1: 760 Q49 V45 Verified score

Schools: HBS '14 (D) Darden '14 (M$) CBS '14 Stern '14

GMAT 1: 760 Q49 V45 Verified score

Posts: 45

Kudos: 10

12 Dec 2011, 14:47

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Update from Dillon House. Time to dust off this message board...

https://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/blog.html

hbsguru

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12 Dec 2011, 16:14

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gpb14

Update from Dillon House. Time to dust off this message board...

https://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/blog.html

SEE BELOW FOR TEXT OF HRH LEOPOLD MESSAGE--
FYI THAT MEANS
ROUND ONE

~850 INTERVIEWS
120 Waitlist
730 left

in the past, HBS has had a 59pct post interview admit nubmer, which is historical, and has been confirmed by HBS on occassion
If you apply that 59 pct to the 730, you get 430 admits, but you really need to apply it to the 850
to get 501, but 501 admits will not be sent out on D-Day, because some of those ultimate admits will be on the WL.
But WL admit is not 59 pct (by a long shot). Sooo, have fun and good luck. Number of admits sent out on D-Day I say, 480 or so. Based on what, the above and some hunches.
thus
850 kids Waiting
[b]480 Admits
120 WL
250 Dings

----------------------------------------------
Round 1 Notification
Date: December 12, 2011
It's a week away...so I thought some details might be in order.

This is our plan: On Monday, December 19 - hopefully at noon Boston time - all Round 1 interviewees will receive an email saying their decision is available online. We don't make any phone calls ahead of time...none. And that's a promise. Whatever the news is for you, we want to make sure you at least have control over the timing.

In addition to admit and deny notifcations, we will also be inviting about 120 or so candidates who have been interviewed to join our waitlist. All waitlisters will receive additional information from Dana Scalisi, who manages this process.

For candidates who are denied admission after an interview, there will also be information about call-in hours in January if anyone would like to have a conversation with me. I wouldn't call these "feedback" calls since they aren't very detailed...but sometimes it can be reassuring to hear that there were not specific weaknesses in an application, but rather just the reality of a highly selective process with the goal of maximizing the mix of voices and perspectives in the classroom.

For those of you in waiting mode, I send you all good wishes for distraction.