BusinessWeek Logo
Chat Transcript May 31, 2007, 8:52PM EST

Admissions Tips from Harvard

(page 3 of 4)

null

Deirdre Leopold
Executive Director of MBA Admissions & Financial Aid
Harvard Business School

We find that our international applicants offer the same measure of diversity of work experience and leadership styles as those from the U.S.

littledhc: I want to know if taking the GMAT exam multiple times is frowned upon and if a lower score in a previous attempt reflects negatively on an HBS application?

HBSDeirdre: We look only at the score that you report in the application.

FAMUCEO: What would cause an applicant to be offered a place on the wait list without having an interview first?

HBSDeirdre: We try to compose a wait list after each round and sometimes simply don't have the capacity to interview all applicants before making that decision. All candidates ultimately offered admission will have been interviewed—hence, wait-listers may be invited to interview at any time.

jmwass: Are applications looked at any differently if one is applying for a joint degree either at Harvard Law [School] or the Kennedy School [of Government]?

HBSDeirdre: Candidates need to be admitted to each school independently. We do ask a question about "why" the joint program and how it will benefit you personally and professionally.

ramtelecom: How many applications did you receive this year?

HBSDeirdre: About 7,400, up about 11% from last year.

saukumar: What is Harvard's take on married couples applying together to the MBA program? Do either of us have to indicate in our application that we are applying together?

HBSDeirdre: Each candidate is reviewed independently. We do have several married couples entering this fall!

RajeshG: Is HBS interested in only outstanding candidates like Olympic players, consultants from BCG and Bain, etc.? Do "ordinary" applicants stand a chance?

HBSDeirdre: I think there's a fair amount of distance between an Olympic athlete and "ordinary," whatever that may mean! We're looking for candidates who have consistently tried to achieve their best in any situation, and this can be from a vast variety of backgrounds and paths. We are very interested in seeing what individuals have done given their opportunity sets.

PJC2007: How re-applicant friendly is HBS? I have heard and read that chances aren't good the second time around.

HBSDeirdre: There's absolutely no stigma in our application process against re-applicants. When an application is read by the admissions board, previous status is unknown. However, if a re-applicant is invited to interview, we may choose to include the previous application in our preparation for the interview.

gsach: Is it true that HBS looks down upon applicants coming from the restaurant industry?

HBSDeirdre: We'd love to see more applicants from lots of industries. It would be a mistake to see a profile of our entering students' backgrounds and view that as a template for the future. Diversity of experience is very important in the case method model—we're trying very hard to be as broad as possible.

cmrMBA: How creative can applicants get with their essays? I've heard you look for essays that "stand out," but I wonder if there is a line you don't want to cross.

HBSDeirdre: As I said before, our process is not to find the most unusual or striking essays—it's to use the essays to try to get to know the candidate. Use the essays to tell us about the real you, vs. trying to get our attention.

Paradosso: When evaluating CVs, do you take into account the differences in education cycles among countries? Should one convert his academic title to the nearest U.S. standard or maintain the original?

HBSDeirdre: We have students from about 70 countries. We're well-versed in understanding the differences in international academic systems, so don't worry about trying to translate for us.

businesschat: I have 15 years of work experience and want to do my MBA now. Is too much experience a problem for getting admission?

Reader Discussion

 

BW Mall - Sponsored Links