Harvard (HBS) Calling all applicants - Class of 2016

Any insight into how much the interview counts?

Curious to hear if anyone had a very good, or very bad experience.

Hard to say what weight the interview is given, but it's definitely an important data point for them to make a final decision. Below is a response from Dee in a P&Q interview a few years ago:

"A superb, off-the-charts person in an interview may not get admitted because at the end of the day the interview isn’t meant to be the lightening round where how you perform in 30 minutes determines your fate. It’s not, 'you’re in or you’re out.' You might say this person is a star in the interview but we have a lot of people with similar backgrounds who did well and we just can’t take them all. So the shaping of the class can become more of a driving factor than the evaluation."

This was echoed during my interview by the interviewer. Hope it helps.

I'm inclined to agree with what Sandy K. (aka HBSGuru) has to say about interviews...basically, that a bad interview hurts you MUCH more than a great interview can help you. A "bad" HBS interview would usually fit into one of a few categories:

-Your English isn't very strong, causing the interviewer to question whether you'd be able to follow (and contribute to) a fast-paced case discussion.
-You can't answer questions and make your points concisely, leading the interviewer to envision you wasting way too much airtime in a case discussion without saying anything that advances the discussion.
-You come off as an arrogant jerk who the interviewer thinks would have a negative impact on your future section's experience, or who would reflect poorly on HBS once you get out into the real world.
-You can't explain your career goals well, or you can't answer "Why HBS?" with something more substantive than "Because Forbes/BW/Bloomberg says it's the #1 MBA program."

Now that interviews are over, what are you guys doing to bridge this painful wait? what are the next steps for those lucky ones who will be admitted on the 26th? And when is R2 admitted students weekend?

16 more days to go...!

What time on the 26th does the decision come out?

Posted from my mobile device

r1 decisions were released at noon eastern. would imagine the same thing for r2.

since my interview, i feel time has nearly come to a halt...aghh.

This has got to be the longest wait ever. Having the most unproductive days at work (and feeling extremely ashamed about it!).
Like a lot of you, I keep refreshing this thread and reading through interview experiences on various blogs. Wish I could go into hibernation and wake up straight on D-Day. I realise all we can do is keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

On a related note (considering how my mind keeps drifting), I am trying to figure out how has the HBS adcom managed to interview 800 applicants based on the timeslots/locations provided in the initial interview mail. Assuming 1 candidate per slot, for every slot, across every location, I got to 350 interviews. Throw in another 50-100 via Skype that is still shy of the 800 number.
Wondering if my hypothesis of 1 candidate per slot is flawed - do on campus interviews/US based interviews not follow this rule? (I know all of this doesn't matter, but trying to keep myself distracted and entertained in the process

Yes hard to concentrate at work! I keep replaying my interview over and over again in my head and wishing I said things a certain way and handled the "curve ball" questions better- I had quite a few! Trying to figure out what a good vs bad answer is as well as good vs bad interview...

I saw commentary on another post that a good interview still may not get you in based on the building and diversity of the class. If you have a bad interview can you still get in then? If you have a lot to bring to the table and just had a bad 30 min?

I interviewed on campus and about 8 other people interviewed during the same time slot as me. We each went into a bunch of different rooms.

Same here. There was about 50 people interviewing on my interview day.

I think you could. Though generally, most "bad" interviews went well, we just have weeks to over analyze them before we find out. Dee Leopold mentioned during my day's "what's next" session that from this point forward their goal was to build a diverse class. I am sure that factors into who gets an interview invitation as well. From there, they probably figure out what type of demographics they want for the class, break it down into sections, and start placing applicants into slots. If you have a background they can't replicate with another applicant, they may put a lot more wight on your reflection piece to determine admittance.

Got it- so what you are saying makes me think there are actually more interviews ranked "good" vs "bad" and then it comes down to what is unique about you relative to others within your industry.

Posted from my mobile device

I would say less "good" vs. "bad" and more who are you and what can you bring to your section. So if you have a room of 90 people what is this person going to say that is different from the other people there. I think if you are coming from a traditional industry (banking, consulting, etc) - the interview is partly to gauge your perspective on the world. If you are coming from a non-traditional industry, the interview is to see if you would be a good fit in an MBA environment. Beyond just totally sitting there with nothing to say, I think it is really hard to completely tank your chances. Also, if you did totally tank it, you have the written response to reaffirm yourself.

Obviously though, only those in Dillon House really know anything... we are just speculating. I interviewed in mid February, so the wait has been excruciatingly long. I have spent a lot of time just reflecting on the process and discerning how they go from 10,000 applications to 1,100 acceptance letters.

I know exactly what you mean. I interviewed on campus, and I thought that pretty much everyone I met all day was incredibly talented (and did not seem like the type to get rejected due to bad English, extreme introversion, lack of ability to articulate, etc.). I have no idea how they take a pool that strong and then cut off 50% of it.

Well judging from posted numbers and the data from posted users on this site, if they interviewed 800, ~480 will be accepted ~140 will have the option to be wait listed and another ~180 will be rejected. So that means you are absolutely right. The vast majority of the people interviewed will get amazing or stressful news on March 26th. A smaller group will get pretty sad news considering that many of them invested time and serious cash to apply and travel to participate in the interview process.

Of the ~480 people who are accepted, ~160 will probably be international students. That group is probably pretty self selecting because of English proficiency. Of the ~320 domestic students accepted, ~130 will probably be female and ~190 will probably be male. They have, correct me if I remember incorrectly, 10 sections of a little over 90 people. Dee mentioned in my "whats next" session that they try and keep the demographic parameters equal among all sections (to try and keep each section pretty similar so to create more of a standardized education experience).

All of these numbers don't account for the fact that some of these positions were predetermined by the 2+2 applicants who applied in 2012, but since there are 2+2s also applying now this is probably a numbers wash. What it does affect however is the demographics of the class. I would be surprised if they don't keep track of the 2+2s to see what industry experience they are bringing into their respective class.

So long story short, if you are coming from a traditional background, it is really difficult to get through (after all this is one of the world's most selective schools). If you are not coming from a traditional background, you have a higher chance of getting in. Ultimately, the biggest factor affecting your chances at this point is your fellow applicants. That makes this process stressful regardless of your GMAT, GPA, or level of experience.

Yes, I have thought way too much about this process over the past couple weeks.

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On average, does anyone have any idea on how many interview invites are typically sent out for Round 3?

I believe the number is around 200 (not sure if this includes 2+2), from which they admit about a 100. That said, there is a much smaller applicant pool than either R1 or R2