FN
you are welcome..remember try to find examples of leadership ..you still have time to ..so go do something about it!
First tip, you dont have to apply r1 and compromise on the quality of your application, remember saying you are leader isnt going to cut it, you need to give examples. Dont hesitate to reach out to the CEO and get him to notice you and hopefully come R2 he will write your LOR.
Second tip, make sure your essays are not boring, dont appear monotone; make em exciting and lively. Key to any good essay is that the first line is catchy ..and as I read it I get more involved and i want to get to the end of it!
Third tip, contrary to popular belief you dont need to get a letter from the manager who has known you since child birth..the big names matter PERIOD! if some guy happens to advice the President of the USA, his letter/phone call will get the Deans of these schools scrambling to get you!
Fourth tip, HBS really doenst give much weight to GMAT, they care more about GPA, they are willing to overlook a subpar gmat score if your GPA is solid..i got this from own experience, I asked the adcom during my interview, why she hadn't asked about my sub-rockstar gmat score and she plainly said, we care more about your UG/Grad GPA. So if you went to a decent academic UG school, your GPA will carry you!
Fifth tip, please prepare for the B-school interview! I realize it was a bad idea for me to stop my kellogg interviewer halfway in the interview and tell her she is wasting her time asking me mundane questions that really are not very important to my profile.. I will say spend $$$ and call HBSguru, his coaching helped me stay to the point, not go into story telling and yet be very high-level, details are boring and only you like em cause you went thru em...unless of course you are talking about your experience being shot at by the taliban in the swat valley while you were trying to protect kids in the school you had helped build (true story by the way)!
FN,
can you add this to the HBS thread and the best app threads?
thanks