1999 Profile Update
School Statistics
Graduates' Comments
SURVEY DETAILS
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Harvard fell one notch to No. 5 as a result of lower scores received in both the student and corporate polls. But the school needn't worry: The Harvard name still commands plenty of respect from its 683 recruiters. The Class of '98 found that out firsthand, bagging average total pay packages worth $163,792 -- roughly $11,000 more than grads at No. 2 postgraduate breadwinner, Stanford. Harvard graduates also received the highest average base salary, weighing in at $90,675. Of course, Harvard students also had the highest salaries before enrollment, averaging $60,000 apiece, and that undercuts their return-on-investment. Still, nearly 29% of the students surveyed received stock options as part of their compensation, the highest class percentage in the Top 25. And 52.6% received guaranteed yearend bonus compensation -- third best of the 61 schools reviewed.
HBS grads credited their success in part to the job-market connections afforded by the school's extensive 36,400-strong alumni network. That helps explain why only grads at Purdue received more than the 3.95 job offers averaged by Harvard MBAs. In addition, recruiters ranked Harvard grads No. 1 for both their general management and communications skills. They also praised HBS grads for their global business, marketing, and finance abilities -- placing them among the top three in each category. After all is said and done, it's no wonder HBS received some 8,061 applications for its Class of 2000 -- only Wharton entertained more. But with the good comes the not so good: Harvard students also suffered from the second-highest debt at graduation, exiting an average of $51,400 in the hole. Only Chicago grads were in as deep.
Students and recruiters ranked the school's curriculum as the fourth most innovative. That's pretty heady for a school that employs more than 220 faculty members. Harvard faculty were, however, ranked 23rd for their accessibility outside of the classroom. Despite a technology initiative laid out by Dean Kim Clark two years ago, HBS grads' assessment of their own ability to deal with computers was lowest among Top 25 students. Other sobering news: HBS grads' teamwork skills were rated lower than any other school in the Top 25. Also, underrepresented minorities made up an estimated 7% of the student body -- fifth-lowest in the Top 25.
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STRATEGY FOR APPLICANTS
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While Harvard is not the most selective B-school in the U.S. -- those honors go to Stanford -- it's still extremely difficult to capture a spot in the MBA class, with more than 8,000 applications vying for the 880 available places each year. Only 13 percent of those who applied were admitted, and few turned down the offer if it came -- some 87 percent of those admitted did enroll. The school made a decision in 1998 to cut way back on its interviewing, which is done by invitation only. Just 14 percent of those who eventually get in are called for an interview, but if you do get the call, consider it a positive sign -- about 50 percent of those interviewed are given the nod. And don't forget that since 1996, the school has again required applicants to take the GMAT, which was optional for about a decade.
Harvard considers applications in three rounds, and Jill Fadule, managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid, says that those received for all three deadlines are given equal consideration. Similarly, it doesn't matter whether you apply for the January or September cohort; the school first decides whether to admit you, and then discusses with you which cohort you should be in.
Fadule says Harvard is looking foremost for strong leadership potential, so you should emphasize your record as a leader in work experience, community service, and extracurricular activities. Also, seek out recommenders with whom you have worked closely and who can comment on your ability to work with and manage others as well as your long-term potential -- scrambling to get letters from alumni or senior executives who don't know you well are a waste of time.
Expect to invest plenty of time in filling out your application, one of the more involved of any school, with eight essay questions to answer. "I tell people they should answer them as if the questions were being asked of a good friend," says Fadule. "They shouldn't get so focused on this being a business school application and overly restrict the scope of how to answer the question." The application can be downloaded from the HBS Web site, but must be mailed in, or a paper copy can be requested from the admissions office. Prospective students are invited to visit campus and attend one of the HBS information sessions conducted daily by second-years; with advance notice, a class visit can be arranged as well.
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CURRICULUM
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Electives available in 1998: 86
New electives in past three years: 47%
The core curriculum was last revised in: 1998
Accelerated MBA program offered?
No
New Courses in Past Three Years
Achieving Performance Goals and Strategies, Analytical Reasoning, Coordinating and Managing Supply Chains, Creating Value Through Corporate Restructuring, General Management: Processes and Actions, Managing in the New Health Care Industry, Managing Regulation, Deregulation, and Privatization, Negotiating Complex Deals and Disputes, Running and Growing the Small Company, Dealmaking: Financial & International Negotiations, The Moral Leader, Globalization, Culture, and Management, Management of the Family Business, Starting New Ventures, Strategic Distribution Channel Management, Competing in the Information Age, Managing Marketspace Service Interfaces, Building Information Age Businesses, Strategic Perspectives in Professional Service Firms, Top Management Negotiation, The Knowledge Lab, Managing Medicine, Entrepreneurial Negotiations, International Entrepreneurial Finance, Women Building Business, Business and the Environment, Industry and Competitor Evolution, New Opportunities in Emerging Markets, Law and the Corporate Manager, Business Leadership in the Social Sector, CCMO: Compensation and Incentive Systems, CCMO: Governance and Control
Most Popular Electives
Corporate Financial Management, Coordination, Control and Management of Organization, Entrepreneurial Finance, Investment Management, Managing the Marketspace Service Interfaces, The Coming of Managerial Capitalism, Service Management
Most Popular Professors
Andre Perold, Ben Esty, Jeffrey Rayport, Nancy Koehn, Thomas Piper, Bill Sahlman
Majors or Concentrations Added in Past Three Years
N/A
Teaching Methods
Lecture: 15%
Case Study: 80%
Other: 5%
| Full-time faculty members: |
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221 |
| Adjunct or visiting faculty: |
N/A |
| Average core class size: |
80 |
| Range in elective class size: |
14 - 102 |
Laptop computer required?
Yes
Grading System
Grades are calculated on a curve. At the end of the required and elective curricula, honors designations are awarded to the top 15-20% of students in each class. The students who receive honors at the end of both curricula receive an MBA with distinction. Students who finish the MBA Program in approximately the highest 5% of their class graduate with an MBA with high distinction as Baker Scholars.
Exchange Programs or International Campuses
N/A
Best Areas of Study
N/A
Areas School Would Like to Improve
N/A
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1998 PLACEMENT
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On-campus recruiters for graduates: 683
On-campus recruiters for first-year internships: 391
On-campus student full-time job interviews: approx. N/A
On-campus student internship interviews: N/A
Job opportunities posted via the Internet or E-mail: 2,000+
Top Employers/Number of 1998 Hires
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ALUMNI NETWORK
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Number of living alumni: 36,397
Alums who gave to the school during the 1997/98 academic year: 30%
Median alumni gift: N/A
Number of alumni clubs: 120
Number of dues-paying members: 25%
Number of staffers devoted to MBA alumni relations: N/A
Placement services offered for alumni?
Yes
Description of Alumni Placement Services
Alumni Career Services provides a twice-monthly jobs newsletter (in print form and online); seminars, videos, and printed career materials; access to Baker Library career research services; one-on-one career and job search counseling and on-campus work space for alumni. They also support the HBS alumni club career services, which oversees its 25,000 member HBS alumni career advisory network (available to alumni online).
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1999 Profile Update
School Statistics
Graduates' Comments
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Key Contacts
School Web Site
E-Mail:
admissions@hbs.edu
Address:
Graduate School of Business Administration
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
Dean:
Kim B. Clark
(617) 495-6550
Director of MBA Programs:
Steven C. Wheelwright
(617) 495-6054
Director of Admissions:
Jill Fadule
(617) 495-6127
Director of Alumni Relations:
Christine Fairchild
(617) 495-6890
Director of Financial Aid:
Jamie Millar
(617) 495-6640
Director of Career Services:
Kirsten Moss
(617) 495-6232
Application Deadlines:
U.S.
November 12, 1998; January 8, 1999; March 5, 1999
International
November 12, 1998; January 8, 1999; March 5, 1999
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