Calling all HBS Applicants - (2015 Intake) Class of 2017

See? I told ya. This board has gone mighty quiet. Nobody is sharing We are in silent war with one another.

...Or everyone migrated to the GSB and Wharton sides of the house.

Haha... you are too funny. I will tell you that those aren't my exact numbers, but my numbers are indeed below most top schools' averages. Every school needs to balance out the 780s and 4.0s somehow

Hi LexLuthor, so how did it go?

It was quite an enjoyable experience! Both the interviewer and the person taking notes were really nice, and throughout the whole 30 minutes it felt like a confortable conversation. No surprising questions (the classic "tell me about your decision to attend your undergrad university, some regarding career changes, some related to what i expected from the HBS experience and what I hoped to contribute). In the end they even allowed me to ask them something!!!! Attending the in-campus activities was also really valuable, as it allowed me to relate my answers to what I had seen both in class and interacting with students and faculty. Overall, it was a rapid-fire experience (around 14 questions in 30 minutes) but I came out of it in peace, and now hope for the best. Just be yourselves guys and go into the interview hoping to allow them to know you better. If you are authentic, it should be alright!

I second LexLuthor (we probably saw each other IRL btw - I was hanging out on campus all day Friday haha).

The interview was very conversational, and yet pointed. Several questions around key transitions as expected - why undergrad? why move to the US? give me an example of a leadership trait you admire in x (manager I talked about), example of how you emulated that trait, more questions around differences between when I started my first job and how I feel around my current job, questions about whether there were non-profits in the US that I admired in my field etc. Very rapid fire, but very friendly. No time for questions at the end but that was okay.

Though the "wow I hate to say this but the 30 mins is up. I have ten more questions to ask you" was equal parts reassuring and scary.

Good luck to everyone interviewing soon!

Posted from my mobile device

Congrats to those that got interviews and to those that are still waiting, keep holding on. I'm currently at Stanford GSB (MBA '16) and just wanted to share the video that I posted in the GSB thread. It's a fun DAY IN THE LIFE at Stanford and I ask some of my classmates to give Interview Tips to potential candidates. I know that this is an HBS thread but this is for those of you that also got interviews for the GSB or just want to get a peek into what a day at the GSB looks like.

NEW VIDEO: INTERVIEW TIPS FROM CURRENT STANFORD GSB STUDENTS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF_ilB1jSe4

Enjoy, please like the video, subscribe to the channel and let me know what else you would like me to ask my classmates

Interviewing with HBS tomorrow. Wish me luck -- will report back on how things go!

Good luck!! I will be doing the same on Friday. Going to be distracted all week lol.

For those that have been to campus, am I supposed to meet at the classroom for my class visit? Or is there like a reception area at Spangler where we sign in?

You should go to the Meredith Room at Spangler, where there will be a Hospitality Suite for you to check in. They'll walk you to class. Get to Spangler at least 15 min before class just in case.

Awesome, thanks! My schedule showed Meredith Room, but I assumed that was the classroom.

TheEngineerMBA did a full and comprehensive debrief on his interview experience on my blog (https://grantmeadmission.com/ and hyperlinked below).

He describes

1) Boston in Winter
2) HBS Interview Prep
3) HBS Interview
4) HBS Tour & Lunch

Good stuff and I hope this helps other applicants! (Make sure to subscribe to my blog to get free updates on his HBS journey!)

Hm...I noticed that a few applicants didn't seem to have an observer along with their interviewer--do we think anything of that? HBS seems hyperfocused on making sure the process is fair and equitable, so it's somewhat surprising that they would have some people with an observer and some without (?) o.O

I guess the off-site interviewees mostly don't have observers though, right? (so maybe that throws a wrench in any type of idea that there's a pattern?)

As usual--unnecessary overthinking on my part

Observers tend to be interviewers-in-training....they're new to adcom so they want to let them observe a bunch of interviews before they start doing them on their own.

It doesn't mean anything significant. The "observer" is probably in training for next year/round....and there is probably <1 "observer" available for every interview, hence why not everyone had one.

Yes, the process is fair and equitable, but it's mostly down to having highly-trained people do the interview (almost always AdCom members vs. the possible wild-card variable that an alum or student interview might pose).

I know this is easier said than done, but please don't worry about this Poor AdComs are so overworked this time of year that honestly, "What secret message can we send by choosing some people to get to get an observer and others not?" is probably not even crossing their minds.

Beat me to it! You military folks are PROMPT! Ha ha...