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HBS 2012 - Calling All Applicants

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hbsguru

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Updated on: 12 Mar 2012, 18:47

Originally posted by hbsguru on 06 Jun 2011, 15:33.
Last edited by bb on 12 Mar 2012, 18:47, edited 20 times in total.

added interview questions

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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:

Quote:

"I know typical HBS questions, including questions often asked of investment bankers, private equity, venture capital and hedge fund associates, and questions asked to those employed in non-profits, the military, manufacturing, and technology.
I know how to help you formulate your core story in ways which can be applied to many questions.
I can predict trouble areas in your application and help you come up with talking points to deal with them.
I can sense what your particular needs are in terms of presentation, for example, if you don't get to the point soon enough (a possibly fatal habit) or if you appear too aggressive or too arrogant or confident in the wrong way for often thin-skinned (and just plain thin) HBS interviewers (some of whom are predisposed not to like bankers).
I can help you create a back story for your goals which creates a solid platform for Why MBA, Why HBS?
I can help you prepare a strong answer to the question "Why should we take you?" This questions is often asked in several forms:
"What can YOU contribute to case method discussion based on background and experience?"
"How will your classmates remember you?"
"How have you grown as a leader?"
I can calm you down, although that will not be the first thing that happens.
I can help you formulate answers to 'ice-breaker' questions such as:
"I already know you from your application, just tell me what you think the three defining moments in your life are?"
"Pretend I have not read your application and I just met you. Tell me who you are, what you've done, and where you want to be 15 years?"
I can help prepare you to face such recently popular questions as:
"What is one thing that is not immediately apparent about you to others?"
"How would your friends describe you?"
"How has the financial crisis impacted you, your friends, your industry and your goals?"

Archived 'Calling All HBS Applicants' Topic

Hi there,

You've reached an old 'Calling All HBS Applicants' discussion which is now outdated and has been archived. No more replies are possible here.

Looking for the latest discussion? Check out this up-to-date Calling All HBS Applicants Discussion for the most recent conversations on this topic.

Interested in more from this school? Visit our dedicated HBS Forum to dive into all things related to HBS's MBA program.

Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!

hbsguru

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06 Jun 2011, 15:42

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ADVICE ABOUT HOW TO ANSWER THE HBS 2012 ESSAY QUESTIONS: MY INTERVIEW WITH POETS AND QUANTS.

https://hbsguru.com/media_pq.html#pq2

ebonn101

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06 Jun 2011, 16:52

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Thanks for posting all the pertinent stats, Sandy. Looking forward to applying in R1.

rpsingh

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07 Jun 2011, 06:49

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applying summer round for 2+2

hbsguru

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07 Jun 2011, 07:06

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rpsingh

applying summer round for 2+2

You might enjoy this

A Shrewd Undergraduate's Guide to HBS Admissions

Published, THE HARVARD CRIMSON, On 4/20/2008

Sanford Kreisberg is the founder of hbsguru.com, a business school admissions consultancy. He has advised scores of Harvard graduates about applying to HBS over the past 10 years . . . .

1. Try to have a high GPA and do not fall for the canard that the admissions committee is aware of hard courses, and will give you a break. They are aware of A, B, and C. They have no idea if Post-Modern Feminist Approaches to Derivative Trading is a hard course or a gut. Take a lot of guts, and use the extra time to explore extra activities. Do not innocently engage in learning for 'learning sake' --although certainly say you do. Do not take introductory Arabic or Chinese because they sound contemporary and important, especially when most kids in those classes will be native speakers looking for guts. Do not take some super-duper math course because it sounds 'interesting.'

2. Try to have a high GMAT, but HBS is not obsessed with this; they are more concerned with your GPA, and will not get too shook up with a 680 or even a 660 GMAT if they 'otherwise love you' and that can apply to even non-minorities. A 720 GMAT is normative, a 750 won't help you as much as you think, and a jumbo 770+ is a nice touch, especially if a keystone of your application is that you are smart or quanty.

3. Be strategic about extracurriculars: try to be a leader. Try to find an issue where you can lead based on interests or identity politics. Think about Miss America, where each finalist has some 'signature' issue like overcoming learning disabilities or improving inner-city education. Get a signature issue of your own. Leading a club based on your ethnicity, personal concerns, diseases, or political ideas is good. Try to be innovative and expand the organizations programs and membership.

4. Be a work in progress. HBS is obsessed with 'transforming' its students, so the persona you should present in your application is someone who is both focused and accomplished, yet open to change. You don't need to be overly interested in business per se; rather, you need to be interested in the intersection of your personal passion, signature issue, or academic interest with the potential social impact. Thus, if you have a passion for biology, you would do better presenting yourself as someone interested in how biology can cure disease among groups a, b, or c, rather than someone obsessed with Biotech companies and their relative stock values. HBS will "transform" you into the latter.

5. For the 2+2 program, which is new, it is better to pretend to be 'out of it' about business

than someone who has been obsessed with business ever since your grandfather gave you 100 shares of General Electric for your 10th birthday. HBS is looking for science and artsy kids who otherwise, without HBS's wonderful 2+2 program, never would have thought about business, and would have gone to (gasp) law school. So, be a techie who was happy being a nerd until, poof, 2+2 came along, and then you discovered you could be a business nerd. Think transformation.

6. In your essays, show what makes you tick; the essays are not brag sheets. Don't list what you did so much as account for how you were effective getting others, like professors and other students, to help you. Think Tom Sawyer. Get the others to help you paint the fence. Don't brag about raising money for charity, but explain how you convinced 20 other kids to help you raise money for charity.

rpsingh

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07 Jun 2011, 07:47

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hey sandy, thanks, i have read almost all of your articles about MBA admissions in the past two months.

rpsingh

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07 Jun 2011, 07:59

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you have been shaping the way i have written my essays with your advice

pyarapopat

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Status:On my way !!!

Location: France

Concentration: Operations, Strategy

Schools: Ross '14 (A) Kellogg MMM '14 (A)

GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V44 Verified score

GPA: 3.1

WE:Manufacturing and Production (Energy)

Schools: Ross '14 (A) Kellogg MMM '14 (A)

GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V44 Verified score

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07 Jun 2011, 08:36

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I am thinking of putting in HBS as one of my stretch schools ... but it might be too much of a stretch

... hopefully this forum would thow up some information which will make the decision easier for me.

hbsguru

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07 Jun 2011, 08:51

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pyarapopat

I am thinking of putting in HBS as one of my stretch schools ... but it might be too much of a stretch

... hopefully this forum would thow up some information which will make the decision easier for me.

YES IT WILL. FOR OPENERS JUST TELL US YOUR STATS, AGE, WORK HISTORY AND EXTRAS, AND FOLKS ON THIS FORUM WILL OFTEN TELL YOU IF THEY THINK YOU HAVE A CHANCE.

jay4den

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07 Jun 2011, 13:44

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Hi Sandy,

I'm a newbie here and want to start by seeking your opinion on what my chances for HBS are.

GPA 4.0/4.0 (small private college here in US...)
Major (CS)
WE (IT with two major investment banks...3.5 years combined)
GMAT (TBD...Sept 2011)
GRE (1420 Q 730/V 690)
Concentration (Entrepreneurship, PE/VC with high interest in emerging markets)
Extracurricular (Mainly working with special needs kids consistently all through college , nothing much since then as work doesn't leave much time)
Age 29.... I know , work-experience and age "don't match"...had a hiatus in college education due to personal/family issues

rpsingh

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07 Jun 2011, 13:56

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hey sandy, what should letters of recommendation say about a 2+2 applicant? any specific advice which could be helpful? thanks

hbsguru

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07 Jun 2011, 14:06

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[quote="jay4den
Age 29.... I know , work-experience and age "don't match"...had a hiatus in college education due to personal/family issues [/quote]

dunno, not looking like an HBS admit, age is one drawback and lack of prestige jobs another, and nothing drving you in. The hiatus is not helping and altho one wished it could be turned into a positive, that is prob. not the case here, in the cold light of adcom decision making, vs. the warm glow of adcom road shows.

jay4den

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07 Jun 2011, 14:37

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Thanks Sandy...but can you shed more light on " lack of prestige jobs another, and nothing drving you in" ? Per prestige jobs , do you mean job as a function of age ? and I don't get the "nothing drving you in part".

I really appreciate your candid views

hbsguru

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07 Jun 2011, 17:15

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Question for Quanty Types --what is HBS average gmat for class entering in Sept 2011???

for the HBS class entering in 2010 (last year) Dee Leopold, the adcom head (aka her royal highness) said on her blog the following

GMAT Score Range 510-790
Middle 50% GMAT Score Range 710-750
Average GMAT 724

for class entering in 2011, e.g THIS SEPT, her majesty reported on her blog the following:

GMAT Score Range 490-790
Median GMAT 730

Based on what you know intuitively about gmat distributions, and using the data above in any way, and adding to the mix some good guess work, what do you think the average gmat score is for the class entering in 2011, the one which has a median score of 730??
Do you think it is higher or lower than 724 and why?

blg529

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Affiliations: Phi Beta Kappa, Kappa Delta

Location: United States (CA)

Concentration: Marketing, General Management

Schools: Kellogg '14 (A) Stanford '14 (D) Haas '14 (II) Anderson '14 (A)

GMAT 1: 770 Q49 V47 Verified score

GPA: 3.9

WE:Other (Finance: Venture Capital)

Schools: Kellogg '14 (A) Stanford '14 (D) Haas '14 (II) Anderson '14 (A)

GMAT 1: 770 Q49 V47 Verified score

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07 Jun 2011, 18:12

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Considering applying...probably R2 so my application has improved by then...

GPA: 3.9 undergrad (econ/psych), 3.9+ grad (MA in social and quantitative psychology)
GMAT: 770
WE: 3 years at matriculation (venture capital)
Post-MBA plans: brand management
Female

Kinda sad VC is down. Though it's not clear from these numbers if acceptance rates among venture capital applicants are down or if applications from vc's were down (the industry has really contracted in the last few years).

sandfrog

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GPA: 3.85

Schools: HBS '14 (M) Kellogg '14 (A$)

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07 Jun 2011, 21:13

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In for R1...let the fun begin!

CharmWithSubstance

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GPA: 3.91

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Schools: Harvard Business School (HBS) - Class of 2014

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08 Jun 2011, 08:52

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blg529 - I have similar stats as you. Yes VC is down but I think there's a lot from the job that you can draw from / reflect. I'm applying R1. Profile below:

WE: 4 years at matriculation (bulge bracket ibanking + VC)
GPA: 3.91 Computer Engineering + Finance (Top 3 engineering school)
GMAT: 770

Best of luck to you and others applying!

marymary

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08 Jun 2011, 11:26

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I still have to take my GMAT so I'll know afterwards if I can even dream of HBS as a stretch school, but I would certainly love to give it a try. Good luck to everyone!

formerlyknownas

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08 Jun 2011, 12:01

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Good luck folks

formerlyknownas

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Updated on: 13 Jun 2011, 10:51

Originally posted by formerlyknownas on 08 Jun 2011, 12:08.
Last edited by formerlyknownas on 13 Jun 2011, 10:51, edited 1 time in total.

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You didn't point out that of those 7 percentage points off finance, 5 percentage points went to manufacturing.

I also spy a subtle increase in representation from Africa and Central/South America and a decrease for Europe. Folks from emerging markets were more popular.

hbsguru

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