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

Good luck everyone!! slightly over 15 minutes left...

Dinged. Good luck everyone.


Dear Applicant:
I’m sorry, but we are unable to offer you a place in the MBA Class of 2017.

Every year we receive roughly ten applications for every available spot in the class. While we are pleased that so many talented people want to be students here, the numbers make for many very difficult decisions. In all likelihood, you are a viable candidate with many strong attributes and accomplishments. Our challenge becomes not one of "evaluation," but of "selection." In order to deliver a class who brings as many different backgrounds and perspectives as possible, we must turn away many qualified candidates.

Thank you very much for your interest in the School; I wish you success and happiness as you go forward.

Sincerely,



Deirdre C. Leopold
Managing Director, MBA Admissions & Financial Aid

Dinged. Good luck all !

Dinged but very happy to have tried. Heading to Chicago!

Dinged

Getting ready for R1

Dinged! oh well! R1 here I come!

Dinged.

Basically, the top schools should tell applicants that if you are anything short of amazing, you need not apply in the last round. So, unless you have played in a Super Bowl, cured an infectious disease, or won an Olympic medal, you have no shot at being admitted.

Dinged. (:
Congrats to those who made it to the interview round!~~~

Dinged ...

Hope to see everyone in Round 1

Good luck to everyone preparing for R3 interviews and to those re-applying at R1! Wanted to share this blog entry from MBAOver30.com - it's my story and his coaching was a really helpful resource for me; hope others can find it helpful as well.

https://mbaover30.com/2015/04/21/how-i-g ... bs-mba-17/

FROM HBS Admissions Blog: Round 3 Update

Just letting you know that we are on track to send out interview invitations and release notifications today at 12:00 noon ET. Detailed information for interviewees will be included. Thanks to all of you who engaged in this year's application season. Next week we'll get some news out about our summer activities for prospective applicants and also tell you about when the application for the Class of 2018 will go live.

Quick announcement: HBS pre-MBA travel is $100 off through Friday via TripWeave. Thanks!

FROM HBS Admissions Blog: Winding Down and Gearing Up

As we head into Round 3 interviews with the finish line for this application season in sight (MAY 13!!!!!), we are already thinking about the Class of 2018. So we hope you are too. Class visits: continue through mid-May and there is still sign up availability.  I would encourage any potential Round One applicant who would like to see the case method in action to come now since class visits in the fall don’t begin until after the September deadline. On-Campus Information sessions:  the schedule changes to Monday and Friday at 2:00 pm Boston time beginning May 8.  No advance notice required.  All of our sessions are conducted by members of the Admissions Team with plenty of time for QA.  We don’t meet individually with candidates.  Our calendar will announce room locations each week. Campus tours:   beginning on May 8, we’ll host tours at 1:15 Boston time on Monday and Friday.  Again, no advance notice required - just come to Dillon House a few minutes before.  If you come to campus when we don’t have anything scheduled, just stop in at Dillon House for a map and a friendly welcome. We’ll be hosting various types of presentations in many locations this summer - including great student panels - watch the website for our schedule. And here’s some advance info: ·        Essay and recommender questions will be posted on May 15 ·        Application for Class of 2018 will go live in mid-June ·        Round One application deadline will be Wednesday, September 9th

FROM HBS Admissions Blog: Winding Down and Gearing Up

As we head into Round 3 interviews with the finish line for this application season in sight (MAY 13!!!!!), we are already thinking about the Class of 2018. So we hope you are too. Class visits: continue through mid-May and there is still sign up availability.  I would encourage any potential Round One applicant who would like to see the case method in action to come now since class visits in the fall don’t begin until after the September deadline. On-Campus Information sessions:  the schedule changes to Monday and Friday at 2:00 pm Boston time beginning May 8.  No advance notice required.  All of our sessions are conducted by members of the Admissions Team with plenty of time for QA.  We don’t meet individually with candidates.  Our calendar will announce room locations each week. Campus tours:   beginning on May 8, we’ll host tours at 1:15 Boston time on Monday and Friday.  Again, no advance notice required - just come to Dillon House a few minutes before.  If you come to campus when we don’t have anything scheduled, just stop in at Dillon House for a map and a friendly welcome. We’ll be hosting various types of presentations in many locations this summer - including great student panels - watch the website for our schedule. And here’s some advance info: ·        Essay and recommender questions will be posted on May 15 ·        Application for Class of 2018 will go live in mid-June ·        Round One application deadline will be Wednesday, September 9th

With the official end of the 2014-2015 MBA admissions season just over a week away, Harvard Business School‘s Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Dee Leopold previewed what’s ahead for next season’s Round 1 applicants.

One important tip for candidates aiming for the first round is to plan for a campus visit right now, if possible, while there’s still signup availability over the next 10 days. There will be no opportunity to see the famous Case Method in action prior to the September 9th deadline.

Beginning May 8th, on-campus info sessions will take place Monday and Friday at 2 pm with AdCom members with plenty of time for questions, Leopold assures, noting that the calendar will post room locations each week. No advance notice is required.  Also as of May 8th, HBS will conduct campus tours at 1:15 pm on Monday and Friday.

Finally, the director says essay and recommender questions will be posted on May 15th, and the application for Class of 2018 will go live in mid-June. Stay tuned!
You may also be interested in:
Make the Most of Your B-School Campus Visit

Thinking About a Harvard MBA? Plan a Campus Visit!

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FROM HBS Admissions Blog: Waiting and Wondering

What is the purpose of this? Meaning this blog/column/thing. Not HBS. We already know that: to educate leaders who will make a difference in the world. Back to This Thing. As we get ready to kick off another admissions season, aka The Search for the Class of 2018, I think it might be a good idea to tell you what we are trying to accomplish in this space. And what we’re not. And where to find the stuff we’re not talking about here. So, here goes: In this column, which has been re-named Direct from the Director, my objective is to speak ONLY about admissions-related issues. To inform applicants what is going to happen, when and, often, why. It will draw back the curtain as far as we can so that this intense and intensive process of applying to HBS is as transparent as we can make it. To shun a “black box” mentality. To address myths that float around out there - and say which have some credibility and which don’t. This may be most helpful at times in the calendar when you are waiting and wondering. Waiting for interview invitations. Wondering about in which order we read applications. Waiting for decisions. Wondering how they will be communicated. In fact, I think maybe a better name for this might be “Waiting and Wondering”. What I won’t be doing in this column is talking much about life at HBS. What it’s like to be a student. What’s going on here on campus. I’ll try to be 100% admissions focused. Sometimes I’ll throw in my personal opinions on admissions issues. And I’ll do my best to make sure your have all the facts when you need them. But you do (really really) need to know more than that. Part of doing your due diligence about which MBA Program may be the best for you is to hear from students, faculty and alumni about their experiences and how they made this important decision. So we’re launching a separate admissions blog which will do just that. In the words of the Dillon team on this project: We want to tell you compelling stories from around HBS. We want you to get to know our students, alums and faculty. We want to help you get a better understanding of our clubs, initiatives and the student experience. We want you to gain insight into the career choices our students make and the myriad activities that make our campus come to life. We also want this blog to evolve to fit your needs. We want to write about what interests you and what your want to know more about. We’re aiming to launch this blog later in May and will be updating it once a week. So, I guess this announces two things: a clarification of Direct from the Director (aka “Waiting and Wondering”) and the launch of a new comprehensive blog about the HBS Experience from the Dillon House Team, MBA Voices.

FROM HBS Admissions Blog: Class of 2018 - The Essay Question

There is one essay question for the Class of 2018: It's the first day of class at HBS. You are in Aldrich Hall meeting your section. This is the group of 90 classmates who will become your close companions in the first-year MBA classroom. Our signature case method participant-based learning model ensures that you will get to know each other very well. The bonds you collectively create throughout this shared experience will be lasting. Introduce yourself. Note: Should you enroll at HBS, there will be an opportunity for you to share this with them. We suggest you view this video before beginning to write. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, it’s “new”...but most of you are embarking on this business school application journey for the first time too!     Why do we like it? • It’s just about as straightforward and practical as we can make it.   It gives you a chance to tell your story however you choose. Imagine simply saying it out loud. This is what we mean when we’ve been encouraging you to use your own “voice” when approaching this part of the application.  We have no pre-conceived ideas of what “good” looks like. We look forward to lots of variance. • It’s useful. You will actually be introducing yourself to classmates at HBS. Why did we drop the “optional” option? • We were trying to signal that the essay wasn’t The Most Important Element of the application so we thought saying “optional” might accomplish that. But, this season, every applicant submitted a response. We get it. You want to tell us things. Tell us again what the essay is for? • For you: an opportunity to pause and reflect. Business school is a big experience -  it’s exciting, it’s an unknown,it’s a beginning, it’s an investment in your future. Stopping to reflect and gather your thoughts in writing is a useful exercise. That’s not just our opinion -  it’s what we hear from students all the time. • For us: a chance to get to know you beyond the elements of the application that feel fixed and stationary. Can also be a starting point for interview conversations.