Admitted to Harvard Business School

[reggi]

LOL pareto's!

Anyway, I wanted to say Wharton has too many internationals -- 42% of the class consists of foreign nationals.

[iswear]

I got into hbs with a GPA 3.0 GMAT 720. Very surprised considering i didnt do anything remarkable ... just worked as an auditor at a big4. But then again .. we're not talking about Harvard med or Harvard law. B-school is a 2 year cocktail party. Many who have the MBA have told me you could learn all the substance in about 6 months. You'd actually learn more substantive material in one semester of law school or medical school (by far) than two years in B-school.

[madinhell24]

hi people,
those admitted into Harvard, can you shed some light on what exactly the application should be like? Should it more professional? More passionate? More abt extra culliculars? More abt work? Or even split, as u think okay?
Have heard that Harvard loves something you began yourself. So, if you didnt begin anything, do u still stand a good chance?
tks for replying/.....

[dyoh]

It's nice to see that someone from this forum will attend HBS. I love the Harvard rankings that place it anywhere below first. I think the most important ranking is done by tallying the number of CEOs at fortune 500 companies. Guess which school wins? Harvard wins and no other school is even close, but that may be changing so maybe the rankings are ahead of their time, but the New England schools will out rank others for years regardless of the rigor of their programs.

http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/news/p...ceos_04.05.asp

Students at any top school can handle quantitative work, but would you rather be a leader or a number cruncher?

Good job getting in!

[indentured]

International students at top business schools are an extraordinary addition to any U.S. organization. They:

- have a strong work ethic
- are adaptable and team-oriented
- have fluency in multiple languages

Visa Issues

Nearly all international students are eligible for U.S. work authorization after their first year through Curricular Practical Training (F-1 students) or Academic Training (J-1 students) and do not require employer sponsorship to take part in a US-based internship. Hiring international students for the summer is easy.


Upon graduation, these same international students will have full U.S. employment authorization for 12 to 18 months as part of Optional Practical Training or Academic Training. They are able to work in any professional business function for that period and employers will not need to interact with the U.S. government. There is:

• no cost to employers;
• no need to involve immigration attorneys; and
• students are generally exempt from Social Security tax withholdings, adding a cost-benefit to the company.

Securing longer-term employment for new international employees is not difficult. The H-1B category is the most common work status, but it is just one of a number of options available to MBA graduates. Although the annual H-1B quota was an issue for employers in the past, the increase in the annual number by 20,000 has made hiring an international graduate significantly easier than before. As a result of this special exemption for US advanced degree holders — which includes MBA graduates — employers should be able to secure H-1B status for their employees for at least 6 years without worrying about visa numbers being available.

[Mrdstein]

Dear all,

I haven't been posting for a while. In all honesty, packing my things and moving to Boston from abroad as well as integrating into the program have been at the top of my list in the last couple of months.

I screened the posts and would like to share with you my two cents. I apologize if I miss out on any questions or comments. Please let me know and I will do my best to respond promptly.

MBA Rankings and surrounding discussions
Does it really matter which school ranks number 1, 2, 3….etc in a given year? I personally found that all schools at the top of any ranking are of high quality, however, each school has a more or less different objective and unique means to reach the desired ends. What was important to me was the following question: “Which school fits best with me given my personal goals?” In my case, Harvard resulted top of my list given my unique personal goals. For some of you out there, another school might suit your goals and personality better. Just give it a moment of thought – does there really exist an overall better or worse school?

Lack of technical expertise
HBS is a general management program. By definition, you will not engage into the deep seas of financial modeling in first semester, and, no-one here expects that. Other programs may put more emphasis on financial modeling - possible. What I have found here at HBS is the following: If you lack a financial background and want to become an investment banker, people take own initiative and acquire skills and capabilities by themselves after class (if not covered in class). Moreover, I believe that no MBA program in this world can spoon-feed you every aspect of everything. So, it is up to yourself – what you put into it is what you get out of it, and, this should not only hold for in-class material.

Some thoughts for Application
I do not claim to have superior knowledge because the entire application is a mere black box for me. However, I believe some of the following pitfalls are common, and that you should give it a thought.

First, don’t take the selling process too far. I know that everybody tries to put together the best possible application – however, if the person you are describing in the essays is completely detached from your real life personality, you might have just overdone it. Think about the following. The interviewer will have read your application before meeting you. If his/her expectations of who you are based on the written application is not at all congruent with the real life Joe – how likely is a positive admissions result ? You might want a friend or someone else read your essays and give feedback on consistency. Choose your person wisely, sometimes friends and family members simply want to be polite – but politeness and bad feedback doesn’t get you anywhere – except in the wrong direction.

Second, avoid mixed messages. Check your application for consistency. Just for sake of illustration an extreme example. If you praise yourself as a superb team player in every setting and your CV shows that your biggest interest are your chemistry lab in the basement of your home, you have taken chess to mastery and you have a stamp collection filling an entire book shelve. Or you claim to be a well balanced Joe, very social, spending a lot of time caring for family and friends, and your CV shows you are an M&A investment banker on Wall Street. There is nothing wrong with that but think about mixed message you might be sending.


Third, too narrow in the picture that you are describing. Be as comprehensive as possible (I know it is not easy given the word limits and the questions). For example, not all accomplishments need to be from work. Consider your professional life to-date covers only 20-25% of your lifetime. There may be aspects from undergraduate or high school that may be relevant. Moreover, choosing 3 partners, MD’s or senior managers as your recommenders is not going to add to creating a more comprehensive application. More information can be provided from a diverse base of recommenders (e.g. one senior manager, a direct supervisor and a peer, or, direct supervisor peer and direct report, etc.)

Fourth, don’t get lost in vague explanations and descriptions. It is both a waste of precious words and very boring to read. Make use of specific examples where you have proven your qualities to back your claims. If you claim something and have a hard time coming up with a good example – chances are high that you aren’t good at what you are claiming or that wishful thinking has set in.

Finally, rushing to meet the application deadline. Start early and take a couple of days/weeks to revisit, revise, consistency check, and polish your application. I personally underestimated this time and really needed to push hard to meet the application deadline. And no, you will never come to the point of saying “this is a perfect essay”. You can always find things to improve – don’t take it too far.

Good luck to all of you. Hope to see some of you on campus next year.

Cheers
MRD

[ramji]

Congrats MRD, Awesome job. Iam applying there for R2, fall 2007. Hope I get lucky,
Your advise is very invaluable on this forum.....
Cheers,
RG

[painkiller009]

Congrats MRD, thanx for your invaluable suggestions.

[sdcr]

Congratulation!!! You did an awesome job!!

[karmaholic]

Congratulations!