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redbull17
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Takeaways from my journey to HBS 18 Jul 2017, 10:52
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This may be out of place since I just finished up bschool but for what its worth, here’s how I got into HBS.

Background in operations work for a large engineering company in the US. I was an Industrial Engineer in my undergrad (non-target US school) and worked as an individual contributor for 4 years at manufacturing sites for my company.

Decided to apply R1 to the top schools since my GPA and experience were sort of in line. I used a lot of P&Q ding reports to confirm this. Started studying for the GMAT in the spring of the same year. Didn’t do too hot in the sample tests from Manhattan but went and sat for the test anyways in early summer. I figured I could always retake so I went in relaxed, and ended up walking out with a score in the low to mid 700’s (very surprising since I averaged mid 600’s on the practice tests).

Now I had a decision to make, since for the top schools, my score was lower than their published averages. Got paranoid and decided to retake the GMAT and push my applications to R2. Spent the rest of the summer and fall getting crushed by application work and GMAT studies. The extra study time didn’t pay off as I ended up scoring lower the second time around, so I cancelled the score and applied with my original score.
Got interviews for about half the schools I applied to, and got accepted at HBS and Kellogg. Ended up choosing HBS. I actually considered MIT my target school but they didn’t even give me a chance to interview which was surprising.

Takeaways are:
1) Don’t stress when going into the GMAT
2) Don’t obsess about hitting the average GMAT scores. Other factors like your experience and GPA will give definitely give you leeway. For me, it was just checking the box.
3) Don’t sell yourself short, always include a couple reach schools in your applications.

GMATclub was a great resource for me when I was applying. If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask!
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Narenn
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Takeaways from my journey to HBS 19 Jul 2017, 10:47
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Thanks very much for taking time to share your application experience with us. I am sure you had a wonderful time at HBS. What is the next plan? Where you are heading after HBS?

All the best for your next journey. We have a dedicated BSchool Reviews section on forum. We would really appreciate if you could share you learning experience at HBS in HBS reviews. Thank you! https://gmatclub.com/reviews/business_schools?fl=menu
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redbull17
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Takeaways from my journey to HBS 24 Jul 2017, 20:24
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Next up is the West Coast. Im going to be working as a PM in a tech company :)
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valardohaeris
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Schools: HBS '20 (D) Stanford '20 (D) ISB '19 NUS '20 (S)
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Takeaways from my journey to HBS 25 Jul 2017, 01:25
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redbull17
This may be out of place since I just finished up bschool but for what its worth, here’s how I got into HBS.

Background in operations work for a large engineering company in the US. I was an Industrial Engineer in my undergrad (non-target US school) and worked as an individual contributor for 4 years at manufacturing sites for my company.

Decided to apply R1 to the top schools since my GPA and experience were sort of in line. I used a lot of P&Q ding reports to confirm this. Started studying for the GMAT in the spring of the same year. Didn’t do too hot in the sample tests from Manhattan but went and sat for the test anyways in early summer. I figured I could always retake so I went in relaxed, and ended up walking out with a score in the low to mid 700’s (very surprising since I averaged mid 600’s on the practice tests).

Now I had a decision to make, since for the top schools, my score was lower than their published averages. Got paranoid and decided to retake the GMAT and push my applications to R2. Spent the rest of the summer and fall getting crushed by application work and GMAT studies. The extra study time didn’t pay off as I ended up scoring lower the second time around, so I cancelled the score and applied with my original score.
Got interviews for about half the schools I applied to, and got accepted at HBS and Kellogg. Ended up choosing HBS. I actually considered MIT my target school but they didn’t even give me a chance to interview which was surprising.

Takeaways are:
1) Don’t stress when going into the GMAT
2) Don’t obsess about hitting the average GMAT scores. Other factors like your experience and GPA will give definitely give you leeway. For me, it was just checking the box.
3) Don’t sell yourself short, always include a couple reach schools in your applications.

GMATclub was a great resource for me when I was applying. If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask!
Show more

Thanks Redbull17, great takeaways. I am sure you must have done great in your applications. Though I am still trying to figure out what should I write in my Essays, why I want to do a Masters in Business. I am still blank when I think about some valid reasons. Honestly, I want to switch my career from Engineering to Management background as I have seen managers earning a hell lot of money. But this doesn't give me enough motivation to pursue MBA and it wont get me an admission in any MBA college.
So my question : why did you go for an MBA, what motivation you had in mind while applying to colleges ?
My apologies if I am digging in too much, but I want to know a general mentality of people doing MBA.
Any suggestion/advice is most welcome.

Thanks a ton :)
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Takeaways from my journey to HBS 06 Aug 2017, 00:33
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Hi redbul17

Congrats on the admit! :)

Could you tell the exact score you obtained?

I am kind of in the same situation. I scored 700 (89 percentile), appeared again and got 700 again (88th percentile ). I accepted my second score as my AWA improved to 6 (previous 5.5) and IR to 5 (previous was a very embarassing 4).

I was planning to prepare for gmat third time but now decided to prepare applications and spend time on research. Maybe will gmat again in oct /november.

Do you have any advice? Do you feel 700 is too low and I am better of retaking?

Thanks and congrats again!! :)
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forg
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Takeaways from my journey to HBS 30 Oct 2017, 19:08
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redbull17
This may be out of place since I just finished up bschool but for what its worth, here’s how I got into HBS.

Background in operations work for a large engineering company in the US. I was an Industrial Engineer in my undergrad (non-target US school) and worked as an individual contributor for 4 years at manufacturing sites for my company.

Decided to apply R1 to the top schools since my GPA and experience were sort of in line. I used a lot of P&Q ding reports to confirm this. Started studying for the GMAT in the spring of the same year. Didn’t do too hot in the sample tests from Manhattan but went and sat for the test anyways in early summer. I figured I could always retake so I went in relaxed, and ended up walking out with a score in the low to mid 700’s (very surprising since I averaged mid 600’s on the practice tests).

Now I had a decision to make, since for the top schools, my score was lower than their published averages. Got paranoid and decided to retake the GMAT and push my applications to R2. Spent the rest of the summer and fall getting crushed by application work and GMAT studies. The extra study time didn’t pay off as I ended up scoring lower the second time around, so I cancelled the score and applied with my original score.
Got interviews for about half the schools I applied to, and got accepted at HBS and Kellogg. Ended up choosing HBS. I actually considered MIT my target school but they didn’t even give me a chance to interview which was surprising.

Takeaways are:
1) Don’t stress when going into the GMAT
2) Don’t obsess about hitting the average GMAT scores. Other factors like your experience and GPA will give definitely give you leeway. For me, it was just checking the box.
3) Don’t sell yourself short, always include a couple reach schools in your applications.

GMATclub was a great resource for me when I was applying. If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask!
Show more


You were content with your undergrad GPA and relevant work experience when applying, but did you pursue anything else in the meantime to bolster your application? I am 24 and graduated a year ago and am looking at filling my free time with more opportunities. I follow my passions plenty and am looking at shelters to work with animals, but I don't think this would have a large impact on admissions. Did you branch out into any roles where you were on an organizational committee or work on any side projects that stood out?

I moved to Boston after graduating university and am looking at both MIT and HBS for myself in 3-4 years. I'd like to fill that time productively.
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Hussein3431
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Takeaways from my journey to HBS 13 Mar 2018, 09:37
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Thanks for sharing.
Did you considered taking the GMAT a 3rd time or it was to short time wise?
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Takeaways from my journey to HBS 13 Mar 2018, 10:08
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redbull17
This may be out of place since I just finished up bschool but for what its worth, here’s how I got into HBS.

Background in operations work for a large engineering company in the US. I was an Industrial Engineer in my undergrad (non-target US school) and worked as an individual contributor for 4 years at manufacturing sites for my company.

Decided to apply R1 to the top schools since my GPA and experience were sort of in line. I used a lot of P&Q ding reports to confirm this. Started studying for the GMAT in the spring of the same year. Didn’t do too hot in the sample tests from Manhattan but went and sat for the test anyways in early summer. I figured I could always retake so I went in relaxed, and ended up walking out with a score in the low to mid 700’s (very surprising since I averaged mid 600’s on the practice tests).

Now I had a decision to make, since for the top schools, my score was lower than their published averages. Got paranoid and decided to retake the GMAT and push my applications to R2. Spent the rest of the summer and fall getting crushed by application work and GMAT studies. The extra study time didn’t pay off as I ended up scoring lower the second time around, so I cancelled the score and applied with my original score.
Got interviews for about half the schools I applied to, and got accepted at HBS and Kellogg. Ended up choosing HBS. I actually considered MIT my target school but they didn’t even give me a chance to interview which was surprising.

Takeaways are:
1) Don’t stress when going into the GMAT
2) Don’t obsess about hitting the average GMAT scores. Other factors like your experience and GPA will give definitely give you leeway. For me, it was just checking the box.
3) Don’t sell yourself short, always include a couple reach schools in your applications.

GMATclub was a great resource for me when I was applying. If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask!
Show more

Hi
Congrats on completing your MBA from HBS.
Can you share more on how was your overall experience during the MBA.