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nutmba
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 27 Aug 2009, 22:45
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Hi

I have multiple important events / stories of my life that have shaped me uniquely and I want to be able to tell these to the admissions committee. However, due to limited number of essays, I find it challenging to do so. Harvard's vision question is optional. I was wondering that for applicants that dont write the career vision question and dont explain their career vision through other essays, How does Harvard try to find out about their future aspirations etc? I believe that it is important to tell Harvard about my vision but there are other facets of my personality that I want to show too. Just wondering what is a good alternative if I dont write the vision essay and if it would hurt me negatively?

Thanks

nutmba
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skkingdom
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 28 Aug 2009, 04:59
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I will join Round 1 - best of luck to all of you!
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lakai777
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 28 Aug 2009, 21:03
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Count me in for Round 2. Good luck Round 1!
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HCGirl10
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 31 Aug 2009, 07:38
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Throwing my hat in the ring for R1...
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shadow
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 31 Aug 2009, 14:10
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i'll know after 5:30 PM tomorrow if i'm in for R1... or even in at all :shock: . good luck to everyone who is in the hunt already!
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kzslacker
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 01 Sep 2009, 06:31
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im in for R1, provided my 3rd recommender comes through by the deadline...
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skkingdom
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 01 Sep 2009, 14:51
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Is it for HBS still the case that they will process your application when two of the three recommendations are there?
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shadow
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 02 Sep 2009, 07:31
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shadowsjc
i'll know after 5:30 PM tomorrow if i'm in for R1... or even in at all :shock: . good luck to everyone who is in the hunt already!
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well i'm in for R1... good luck everyone. just as i'm finishing a month+ of studying for the GMAT, i now have a month for the HBS essays :twisted:
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latammc
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 02 Sep 2009, 07:45
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shadowsjc
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i'll know after 5:30 PM tomorrow if i'm in for R1... or even in at all :shock: . good luck to everyone who is in the hunt already!

well i'm in for R1... good luck everyone. just as i'm finishing a month+ of studying for the GMAT, i now have a month for the HBS essays :twisted:
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GMAT 770? Great feat dude...good luck for R1, I have decided to take work towards R2 for HBS.
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Aldrak
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 03 Sep 2009, 14:50
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Count me in for this suicidal mission :twisted: (Count me in R2, I'll post here if I made it to R1).

The MBA is delay-able for me (at least for one year), so I might as well target the crazy super elite schools and learn from the experience if none goes through. (Going for HBS and Stanford and maybe Wharton).
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 03 Sep 2009, 15:29
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for all you guys already preparing your apps - or for anyone who has already gone through the process; do you think there's any advantage to having an HBS alum write one of your recommendations (assuming he knows you well enough to write one)?

for my third LOR, i am selecting a VP at my previous job (an HBS alum) who regarded me highly. although i didn't report directly to him, i did deal with him daily, and prepared weekly analytical reports for him at his meetings. since the company was so small, he got to know me fairly well. i selected him instead of my manager, which i'm hoping is not a mistake further down the road.
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HCGirl10
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 03 Sep 2009, 15:36
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My sense is that it's not much of an advantage, but as long as he knows you well and will write a good rec, I think it's fine that he's not your manager. It is typically important that your manager at your CURRENT job write a rec for you, but you have more discretion with the other two recs. It's always nice to have someone that went to that school that can testify to why you're a good fit, but I don't think it will make or break you unless he's a super big shot alum.

My recommenders are 2 HBS and 1 without an MBA, and that's just a coincidence as I thought they were the best folks based on our relationship and the accomplishments they witnessed. They'll be writing recs for all of my schools, not just HBS, so I will not have official alum recommenders elsewhere.
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 05 Sep 2009, 20:00
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Hello Guys

I am working on the HBS application and wondering if any one can help me with the following questions puzzling my mind

1) Whether Chartered Accountant(india), Company Secretary(india) and Certified Public Accountant (US) should be mentioned under Graduate or undergraduate courses


2) The intership for Chartered Accountant which is 36 monhs (20 months during college and rest after graduating) should be mentioned in the full time or should be mentioned under part time (during college)?

Your help will be much appreciated
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 06 Sep 2009, 16:28
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Done with the first essay (560 words).

The accomplishments are 1 personal, 1 EC and 1 professional.
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PatrickBateman
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 06 Sep 2009, 22:03
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Does anyone know what's reasonable overage on rec letter word limits?

I know that for essays it is typically a pretty hard and fast rule to be within (or at least near) the word limits. I understand that it is commonly accepted for recommendations to run longer than word limits, but how much longer than the 250 words on Q3 is still considered reasonable? 500? 1000? 2000?

Given that LoR writers are asked to include detailed anecdotes, 250 seems like a tight fit.
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RonMexico
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 07 Sep 2009, 00:58
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Probably applying round 1 here - depending on how the GMAT goes September 28th. If it is not where I want it..... Round 2 it is.

My Recommendations are in and essays #1 and #2 are complete. Now I need to find $250 for the HBS Beer fund.
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 07 Sep 2009, 17:52
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I spoke to an alumni (~10 years out), and he told me that he got into HBS without an interview. I realize this is probably not common; does anyone know if HBS still does this? Or is an interview going to be required of everyone who is going to get in?
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gmatbschool
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 07 Sep 2009, 18:05
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I have some questions about the mistake essays:

1. Is it a good idea to use an episode that will also be covered in the "weakness" or "constructive feedback" section of a recommendation?
I think it could be good in that it reinforces I have heard and responded to feedback. It could also minimize the surface area for weaknesses...
OTOH what if MY re-telling of the story is different from that by my recommender? I think we probably will have some differences in how bad the situation was, how badly i messed up...

2. What if the mistake I talk about is another similar episode? It happened before the one that my recommender would talk about.
In this case it is almost like admitting I messed up, saying I improved, and then my recommender saying I made the same mistake again?

3. What if you can't show improvement?
The other episode I am thinking about could make for a good story but I wasn't able to turn things around and I can't find a good analogy in other parts of my life.
It also explains why I have been "sort of" involved in an EC.
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MBAgirl2010
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 07 Sep 2009, 18:28
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gmatbschool

3. What if you can't show improvement?.
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I think the improvement part is the most important element you need to have. The whole point of the essay is to show that you can learn from your mistakes - we all mess up, but if you show any hint that you are doing it repeatedly, you have may have chosen the wrong mistake.

Think of a mistake that was your fault but you and your recommender can demonstrate it as fixed and not repeated. If its something an MBA can fix - perfect. If one of your other essays talks about a success that results from your fix- you're rock solid.
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CharlieChaplin
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Calling all HBS Fall 2010 Candidates 10 Sep 2009, 07:32
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Count me in for HBS class of 2012...

My profile:

Male, 29, Engineer (PhD) , Pakistani/Canadian, GMAT 710, multilingual, international exposure

I know I am too old for it. But still, I will give it a try...
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