Calling all HBS Fall 2009 Applicants

I have a somewhat non-traditional background as well. If anything I think this will help you at HBS, especially if you talk about entertainment and politics as passions, rather than simply as jobs you've had. My interviewer spent at least half my interview chatting about the non-traditional side of my background and was very interested to hear my story. In my opinion this is definitely something to play up.

As for the age issue, I felt pretty concerned too after reading this board (I'll be 27 at matriculation). After talking to some friends who are current students, I decided not to worry too much. There are plenty of people my age and your age at HBS now, and besides, it's not something you can change. I think real world experience in interesting industries will add to the classroom experience...but of course I'm not adcom....

Good Luck!

A friend of mine emailed AdCom and fwd me autoreply he received. I thought R2 candidates might find it useful.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from Harvard Business School!

HBS and the MBA Admissions Office will be closed for Winter Break from December 24 to January 5.

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MBA Admissions

you wont change, will you.

I GOT ONE!!! I GOT ONE!!!!

Interview invite! Can't believe it. Check your e-mails guys/gals!!

Thanks guys!

Everyone still has a chance! Dee made it clear that the invites sent out today aren't the only invites they will extend in R2.

Congrats foodstamp!

No interview invite here, either. Here's to the class of 2012!!

I also received an interview invite. That is 3 out of 3 (H/S/W) for R2 for me

Good Luck to all the R2 interviewees!

The most helpful (and calming) advice I had was from a current RC student. He said they test the following three areas during the interview:

1. Can you speak English well enough to succeed with the case method?
2. Did you lie on your application? They will probe your essays for detail. If you told the truth, you have nothing to worry about here. Just re-read your essays and refresh your memory with the details.
3. Can you pass an 'airplane test'? In other words, if the interviewer were stuck next to you on a long flight, would he/she be happy to chat with you for hours? My advice here is to be yourself. Don't be arrogant or pretentious. Be friendly, personable, down-to-earth and respectful. Shower

If you read back to the posts from R1, you'll find that almost everyone reported that their interviewers were really nice!

I just recieved my HBS invite today. I was a little worried because the supposed February 9th "deadline" came and went, but they are still sending out invites. Good Luck to everyone else, and hang in there.

HI I REALISE THIS MAY BE THE WRONG PLACE TO BE ASKING THIS QUESTION... BUT I AM NOT ABLE TO FIND THE RIGHT PLACE WHERE SOMEBODY CAN GIVE ME THE ANSWERS I WANT....

I HAVE A EXP OF 7 MONTHS TO DATE... I AM PLANNING TO JOIN A SCHOOL IN SEP 2010 WHEN I WILL HAVE 2 YEARS EXP. I HAVE A 9.04 OUT OF 10 CGPA IN B.TECH AND 91% IN 12TH AND 93.5 IN 10TH. SOME SMALL INSTANCES OF LEADERSHIP IN SCHOOL AND COLLEGE DAYS ALSO BUT NOTHING MAJOR.... CAN ANY BODY TELL ME HOW GOOD MY PROFIL WILL BE WITH A GOOD GMAT SCORE.... WILL I BE ABLE TO MAK IT ESPECIALLY AS I HAVE LESS WORK EXP... AND ALSO WAT OTHER SCHOOLS I MAY HAVE A DECENT OPPURTUNITY.... PLEASE ANSWER

THANK YOU

1. Pls avoid caps.

2. This might be a better place.

Hey Guys,

Finished my HBS on campus Interview, and I wish I could say I felt good coming out of it, but it was definitely a daunting experience.

Like a lot of other people have reported, it was 30 minutes on the dot. Very few pleasantries, the interviewer explained the process, reiterated that if she interrupted it wasn't because she was trying to be rude, and that she had read my file.

Most of the questions were very specific to my application - we jumped around a lot. She threw random questions at me that weren't specific such as:

Why my undergrad institution
What book i've recently read
What I think of the current financial markets

All in all, it reminded me of an I-bank interview - keeping me off balance and asking digging questions. The questions I had prepared, didn't come up at all (resources: Montauk, clearadmit.com, etc.), and I definitely felt as if I fumbled through a few of the answers.

The best advice I can give, is to really take a second before answering questions, it definitely would have made my thoughts that much clearer.

Good Luck to Everyone

A useful "Something for Everyone" blog entry:

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

Something for Everyone!
Date: March 24, 2009
This is the time of year when we have all three rounds in play, so here is some news for everyone:

Round One Waitlist - We will be extending offers of admission to about 40 round one waitlisters shortly after April 2. We will continue to maintain a waitlist and Eileen Chang will send out an update in early April.

Round Two Notification - April 2 is the notification date. All decisions will be released online - you will receive an email instructing you to check your status. We won't be making any congratulatory phone calls in advance of April 2!

Round Three Interview Invitations - Many, but not all, will go out on April 3.

OK guys,
I'll go first......
Why do you think HBS is leading the drive to go younger??

Really not sure but that's not in my favor as I will have 6 years of experience when school starts...

HBS will be VERY tough if you have lots of w/e, unless you are ex-military or did something unique. Most of the kids I met at Wharton Welcome Weekend were absolutely fabulous, but had gotten dinged by HBS b/c they had 5-6 years experience (typical example: a guy with 3 yrs in M&A at Lazard, and 2 years in a top PE firm; one guy with 3 years at McK and 2 years in early stage VC). So good luck but just know it's tough if you are over 27

Kids having 5-6 yrs. exp.??? how old are you?? 80???
Nah..... I m not worried as I m 24 now....... 25 when hopefully matriculate........ So, this news is roses for me, but I was concerned about the motive behind this "innovation".....