In reference to the guy above saying "Don't cry, you didn't lose your wang" - please show a little respect for some of the people here. The fact that you are 23 and have 3 years of experience already, and given HBS was your reach school, you may not feel too bad, but try to understand it from other peoples' perspectives.
Yes we are all trying to keep a positive attitude, but I have met some truly amazing candidates with stellar stats, recs, essays, and currics that did not get invited for an interview. It frankly BOGGLES my mind that some of these people did not get invited for an interview. I didn't get one, that's fine, but when some of the people that I KNOW deserve one, did not get one, I actually feel SAD, because I have no way to make some of these people feel better.
To give you an example: a female Ivy leaguer on this forum with a close-to-perfect GPA that worked 5 years in PE with a 760 GMAT, founded a women's networking program overseas and works in homeless shelters 10 hours a week despite her crazy schedule. She personally turned a company around preserving the primarily female-employment, and used her position of strength to implement programs that would help them work productively while getting cost-effective child care. Probably one of the nicest and brightest people I know. She has personally raised close to 18 million dollars for charities. Comes from a lower class family and worked her way up in a highly male-dominated field. Her essays were filled with the courage it took for her to get in her current position. No invite.
Moreover, some of these people are 27-28-29, and this will the last opportunity they have to apply before they will be over the hump and no longer be within the target age range for HBS or GSB. There are some people who are applying for their second, or maybe even third times or fourth times as well. For some of the women on here who are already trying to condense highly competitive careers with a top-tier MBA in their 20s, and now need to move on because it will conflict with their other goals in life: I am truly sorry.
Example: I look at engy and I think, wow, what an incredible candidate, and second-time around he goes from being waitlisted to not even getting an interview.
So anyone who cries please do so. We are here to listen to your sob stories about HBS or any other top tier school and their random admission process. You have spent hundreds of hours trying to explain in a very limited application, what sets you apart. You have spent hundreds of dollars on GMAT, b-school application fees, etc. Is it all fair? No, life is never fair. In the mean time please keep trying for other Round 3 schools and know that even if America values HBS as the pre-eminent b-school - if you end up at another school that is Tier 2 for example - you will be the big fish in the small pond and can shine.
HBS is not necessary for success. The CEO of PepsiCo went to Yale after all, and Warren Buffett went to Columbia for an MS.
We should never deny our internal emotions lest be labeled as sore losers who weren't good enough to make the cut. We are human, not robots. Our emotions are just as important to us as our capability to innovate - they define our civilization and species.
Bottom line: seeing some of the incredible applicants that did not get an interview, there was no shortage of extremely qualified people that were dinged - clearly the 800 people invited must have distinguished themselves in a way that got the attention of the AdCom, and for that I congratulate them, and hope they do exceptionally well in the interviews.
I also hope the people admitted, aware of astounding nature of the applicant pool this year, truly take advantage of their time at HBS to network and build relationships. I believe when it is all said and done, this coming Fall will represent the best MBA class HBS has ever had.
My 2 cents.
12 Feb 2010, 17:32
)
.. 
