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LB20
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Obviously a moot point now, but I was just wondering how people approached the character limits on the HBS application. Based on the four applications I did, HBS seemed the most restrictive on the amount of space they gave you to answer the minor questions, such as describing your biggest challenge at work, your extracurriculars, etc. etc. I think the limit for a lot of those questions was 200 characters.

Anyway, I was just wondering what people thought of that...
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Personally, I liked the constraints, it eliminated the fluff that we put into it all. When I did my first draft on the accomplishments essays, I was at 850 words (600-limit), and was amazed by how I could bring it down to 600 without changing the meaning. Embellishments, fluff - those were eliminated with the constraints, and made the essays more direct and readable.

I was, however, challenged with the 500 character limit on the Additional Info section - I misread it initially and drafted a 500-word essay, only to then realize i had to drop 85% of the text and not tell the adcoms the entire story. Oh well.
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GordonBombay
Obviously a moot point now, but I was just wondering how people approached the character limits on the HBS application. Based on the four applications I did, HBS seemed the most restrictive on the amount of space they gave you to answer the minor questions, such as describing your biggest challenge at work, your extracurriculars, etc. etc. I think the limit for a lot of those questions was 200 characters.

Anyway, I was just wondering what people thought of that...

My kid brother was looking over my shoulder as I struggled to list my accomplishments in 200 characters and said, " Gosh! Facebook gives you more characters for your status updates than does HBS for your accomplishments!"

:D :D :D :D :D
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GordonBombay
Obviously a moot point now, but I was just wondering how people approached the character limits on the HBS application. Based on the four applications I did, HBS seemed the most restrictive on the amount of space they gave you to answer the minor questions, such as describing your biggest challenge at work, your extracurriculars, etc. etc. I think the limit for a lot of those questions was 200 characters.

Anyway, I was just wondering what people thought of that...

My kid brother was looking over my shoulder as I struggled to list my accomplishments in 200 characters and said, " Gosh! Facebook gives you more characters for your status updates than does HBS for your accomplishments!"

:D :D :D :D :D

:D awesome quote, lol
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Yeah, I'm curious how the adcoms look at all the random minor questions on the application. You never hear anyone talk about all the random questions on there and what they mean. I would assume they just take it all in as additional color on what you do, but it's hard to see the value in a 200 character explanation of your challenges and accomplishments at work.

I was also thrown off by the 500 character or less additional information section. For my other apps I had included a little less than a half page for that part.
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Count me in for Rd2 - submitted 01/19
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I applied for R2 on Jan/19 ... add me to the roll call.

I'd like to share how much I disliked the HBS questions and the word limits.

I made all essays for Wharton, Columbia and Stanford in 10 days ... then I had two weeks for Harvard, and still I struggled, to the point that two days before the deadline I seriously considered not applying.

Would anybody know:
. how many days to schedule the interview one has?
. how much is the commitment deposit, and when is it due?
. when is the admit weekend?
Can't find this info online.

I am too busy these days, and (assuming I get the interview) I hope to be able to delay the interview as much as possible.
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mp2437
Personally, I liked the constraints, it eliminated the fluff that we put into it all. When I did my first draft on the accomplishments essays, I was at 850 words (600-limit), and was amazed by how I could bring it down to 600 without changing the meaning. Embellishments, fluff - those were eliminated with the constraints, and made the essays more direct and readable.

I was, however, challenged with the 500 character limit on the Additional Info section - I misread it initially and drafted a 500-word essay, only to then realize i had to drop 85% of the text and not tell the adcoms the entire story. Oh well.

I could not agree more.. I flushed out all the fluff and was under 400 words for most of my essays except one I went to 407...
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powerka
I applied for R2 on Jan/19 ... add me to the roll call.

I'd like to share how much I disliked the HBS questions and the word limits.

I made all essays for Wharton, Columbia and Stanford in 10 days ... then I had two weeks for Harvard, and still I struggled, to the point that two days before the deadline I seriously considered not applying.

Would anybody know:
. how many days to schedule the interview one has?
. how much is the commitment deposit, and when is it due?
. when is the admit weekend?
Can't find this info online.

I am too busy these days, and (assuming I get the interview) I hope to be able to delay the interview as much as possible.

I am surprised how hard people found the HBS essays... to me that was the only school I enjoyed writing the essays for... got done with my essays in under a week w/ reviewer updates.. now I am beginning to think may be I screwed up big time!
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Turnpike


On another note: In one of Hinduism's great philosophical discourses contained in the Bhagwat Gita Lord Krishna advises man (and woman) to work without thinking of the fruits of labour. It says "Kaam karo; phal ki chinta mat karo". Tranlated it means: Concentrate on your labour; not on the fruits it will bear.

So feel proud that you've given your best shot, and move on. I really mean it MOVE ON ! And life will follow :D

Good luck to every one.

Seriously... I have tried hard to keep the thoughts of the fruit of labor out.. live in the now... but then you can hardly remove the thought from the subconscious mind that shows up as nightmares..
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Unfortunately I think my HBS application was my worst one, primarily because of my essays. I'll be honest here, my three biggest accomplishments are nothing stellar, so that's a definite weakness.

I wrote the undergrad experience and career vision essays, and think those are strong and cohesive, because combined they kind of tell a story about how i got where i am and where i'm going from here. But I wasn't thrilled about the two required essays, which they presumably read first and perhaps weight more heavily.
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I don't think one essay weighs more heavily than another. I think they read all 4 essays and try to get the big picture in their head - this picture should be consistent and show aspects of your growth and perseverance, etc. Then they go on to the numbers and facts (GPA/GMAT, work experience, etc.). They probably then take into account the recommendations to check for more consistency and validity between what you wrote and how others assess you. Just my 2 cents though.
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powerka
I applied for R2 on Jan/19 ... add me to the roll call.

I'd like to share how much I disliked the HBS questions and the word limits.

I made all essays for Wharton, Columbia and Stanford in 10 days ... then I had two weeks for Harvard, and still I struggled, to the point that two days before the deadline I seriously considered not applying.

Would anybody know:
. how many days to schedule the interview one has?
. how much is the commitment deposit, and when is it due?
. when is the admit weekend?
Can't find this info online.

I am too busy these days, and (assuming I get the interview) I hope to be able to delay the interview as much as possible.

- Don't remember the exact number of days, but slots fill up quickly. Most people schedule within the same day of invite, so it's slim pickings if you're not prompt.

- Deposit is $1k

- Round 2 admit wknd is April 22-23
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from R1, you get 2 emails regarding interviews. the first email simply tells you that you've been invited to interview; it contains the date and time that email #2 will be sent out (typically a few days later).

the 2nd email contains the link to the interview sign-up page. you really need to be sitting in front of your computer refreshing your inbox if you would like to secure one of the off campus interview slots (last year they had NYC, cali, chicago, and a few international ones). the nyc ones filled up in under a minute. if you would rather just go to campus and interview there, those do not fill up so you can take your time scheduling that.
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mp2437
I don't think one essay weighs more heavily than another. I think they read all 4 essays and try to get the big picture in their head - this picture should be consistent and show aspects of your growth and perseverance, etc. Then they go on to the numbers and facts (GPA/GMAT, work experience, etc.). They probably then take into account the recommendations to check for more consistency and validity between what you wrote and how others assess you. Just my 2 cents though.

This may be the case.. However, why are some essays routine fixtures in the applications while others keep rotating?
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shadowsjc
from R1, you get 2 emails regarding interviews. the first email simply tells you that you've been invited to interview; it contains the date and time that email #2 will be sent out (typically a few days later).

the 2nd email contains the link to the interview sign-up page. you really need to be sitting in front of your computer refreshing your inbox if you would like to secure one of the off campus interview slots (last year they had NYC, cali, chicago, and a few international ones). the nyc ones filled up in under a minute. if you would rather just go to campus and interview there, those do not fill up so you can take your time scheduling that.

To add to ShadowsJC's post: the blog post from HBS said that the majority of invites will come out on Friday Feb. 12 (a.k.a. email #1). Then the interview scheduler will be open for business on Tuesday Feb. 16, since that Monday is President's Day and the HBS admissions office is closed.
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GordonBombay
Unfortunately I think my HBS application was my worst one, primarily because of my essays. I'll be honest here, my three biggest accomplishments are nothing stellar, so that's a definite weakness.

I wrote the undergrad experience and career vision essays, and think those are strong and cohesive, because combined they kind of tell a story about how i got where i am and where i'm going from here. But I wasn't thrilled about the two required essays, which they presumably read first and perhaps weight more heavily.

Not many applicants have stellar accomplishments but still manage to get in... We can offer up the best of our life and then just wait to find out if it is good enough!

Good Luck to all of us!!!
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