Program Basics

• • Harvard Business School Full-Time MBA
  • Harvard Business School
  • Soldiers Field
  • ma
  • Boston, 02163, Massachusetts
  • United States
  • Program Web site: www.hbs.edu/mba
  • Status: Private
  • Program e-mail address: admissions@hbs.edu
  • Graduate business school is accredited by:
    • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

SCHOOL BASICS

• Graduate business school enrollment:

  • Total: 1,937
  • Full-Time MBA: 1,802
  • PhD Program: 135

PROGRAM COSTS

• Total direct costs (tuition and required fees) of the entire MBA program:

  • Resident: $121,220.00
  • Nonresident: $121,220.00
  • Recommended annual budget (Resident): $84,000.00
  • Recommended annual budget (Nonresident): $84,000.00

PROGRAM LENGTH

• • Full-time program (months): 18

ADMISSIONS

• Application Deadlines

  • Semester: Fall 2012
  • Deadline: Oct 3, 2011
  • Semester: Fall 2012
  • Deadline: Jan 10, 2012
  • Semester: Fall 2012
  • Deadline: Apr 10, 2012
• • Does the program have rolling admissions? No
  • Is proficiency in English required for admission? Yes
  • Is a minimum score on an English language proficiency test required? No

• Which English language proficiency tests are accepted?

  • • IELTS
    • TOEFL Internet Based Test

• Relative Importance of Application Elements:

  • GMAT Score: Very Important
  • Resume/Work Experience: Very Important
  • Application Essays: Very Important
  • Interviews: Very Important
  • Recommendations: Very Important
  • Undergraduate Transcripts: Very Important

APPLICANTS

• • Applications (admitted and denied) to the newest class: 9,134
  • Applicants who were accepted to the most recent class: 12 %
  • Admitted applicants who enrolled in the newest class: 89 %
  • Applicant interviews are: By invitation only
  • Admitted applicants who were interviewed: 100 %

CLASS PROFILE

• Full-time students in newest entering class (2010-2011) that are:

  • Female: 39 %
  • International: 34 %

• Students from following regions:

  • Africa: 2 %
  • Asia: 13 %
  • Europe: 10 %
  • North America: 70 %
  • Latin America and the Caribbean: 4 %
  • Oceania: 1 %
• • Mean months of work experience of newest entering class: 47
• • Mean age of entering class: 27

FINANCIAL AID

• • Full-time MBAs apply for financial aid through: Dedicated financial aid office at the B-school
  • Full-time MBAs who applied for financial aid for the current academic year: 69 %
  • Full-time MBAs receiving financial aid in the current academic year: 64 %
  • Mean MBA financial aid package for the current academic year: $57,665.00
  • Median MBA financial aid package for the current academic year: $62,515.00
  • On what basis are scholarships awarded?
    • financial need
  • How does an applicant apply for scholarship consideration? Unique scholarship application
  • Mean scholarship awarded to full-time MBAs in the previous academic year: $28,410.00
  • Percentage of first-year students receiving financial aid who receive at least the same amount in their second year of study: 90 %
  • Mean outstanding debt among the most recent graduates from the full-time MBA program: $77,880.00

GMAT

• • Are applicants required to take the GMAT? Yes
  • Are applicants allowed to submit the GRE? Yes

• GMAT score distribution (applicant pool):

  • 0 (option: 0) 701

• GMAT score distribution (incoming class):

  • 0 (option: 0) 724

CLASS OFFERINGS

• • Average number of students in a full-time MBA core class: 91
  • Average number of students in a full-time MBA elective class: 54
  • Elective courses available to full-time MBA students: 110

• Electives that have been added to the full-time program since June 30, 2010:

  • Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage
  • Entrepreneurial Solutions for Market Failure
  • Field Course: Innovating for Sustainability
  • Field Course: Social Innovation Lab
  • IXP Japan Course: Organizational Strategy Post-Disaster

• Joint-degree programs offered to full-time MBAs:

  • • MBA/JD (Law)
    • MBA/MD (Medicine)
    • Other
• • Does the school offer an accelerated full-time MBA program? No

• The school believes that its leading areas of study for full-time MBA students are:

  • • Corporate Social Responsibility
    • General Management
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Leadership
    • Strategy

FACULTY

• • Faculty employed by the B-school: 264

• Full-time faculty:

  • Tenured: 88
  • Non-Tenured: 137

• Adjunct/Visiting Faculty:

  • Tenured: 5
  • Non-Tenured: 34

• Women on Faculty:

  • Tenured: 18
  • Non-Tenured: 40

• Minority Faculty:

  • Tenured: 25
  • Non-Tenured: 41

• International Faculty:

  • Tenured: 21
  • Non-Tenured: 66

• Faculty with PhDs:

  • Tenured: 93
  • Non-Tenured: 146

STUDENT LIFE

• Professional clubs available to full-time MBA students:

  • • Biotech/Health care
    • Business Law
    • Corporate Social Responsibility/NetImpact
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Consulting
    • Other
    • Business Ethics
    • Finance
    • Marketing
    • Nonprofit
    • VC/ Private Equity
    • Environmental
    • High Tech
    • Information Technology
    • Investment Banking
    • Manufacturing
    • Media & Entertainment
    • Human Resources
    • E-business
    • New Media

• Networking clubs available to full-time MBA students:

  • • Black MBA Association
    • Hispanic Student Organization
    • International Club
    • Partners/Family
    • Women in MBA
    • Other
    • Volunteer
    • Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual
    • Wine

TEACHING/ACADEMICS

• Teaching methods used:

  • Case Study: 80 %
  • Distance Learning: 0 %
  • Experiential Learning: 5 %
  • Lectures: 2 %
  • Simulations: 3 %
  • Team Projects: 10 %
  • Other: 0 %

• Requirements for graduation:

  • • Students must write a complete business plan
    • Students are required to complete international experience
    • Students must complete a company-specific project and present results to relevant parties
    • Students must have attended a minimum number of classes

TECHNOLOGY

• • Technology improvements in the last three academic years: Major IT projects include:a new LMS with custom built applications to aid collaboration;a new research information system to improve sharing of faculty work;a new videoconferencing infrastructure;Web-based collaboration spaces; interactive learning tools, games, and simulations;an all-digital classroom media framework;enhanced traditional/mobile websites and social networking capabilities;a statistical computing grid to aid research;an iPhone powered HBS Learning Nexus for Executive Education.
  • Amount spent: $145,000,000.00

B-SCHOOL ALUMNI

• • Living MBA alumni: 43,347
  • Active MBA alumni clubs: 106
  • Countries in which MBA clubs exist: 39
  • Living MBA alumni who gave in past year: 27 %
  • Mean gift from MBA alumni: $5,615.00
  • Median gift from MBA alumni: $250.00
  • Did school receive an individual gift in excess of $10 million in the past academic year? No
  • Does the main university offer career placement services for alumni? Yes
  • Does the main university have an alumni networking Web site? Yes
  • University alumni networking site: http://alumni.harvard.edu/
  • Does the B-School have an alumni networking Web site? Yes
  • Business school alumni networking site: http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/
  • Does the B-SCHOOL offer career services for alumni? Yes
  • Do current MBA students have access to an alumni database? Yes

CAREER SERVICES

• • Graduates seeking full-time professional MBA employment: 75 %
  • Graduates not seeking employment: 25 %
  • Graduates for whom you have no information regarding employment: 0 %

• Annual job-searching trips that the school coordinates or participates in:

  • Destination: School-led Immersions (IXP): Brazil, China, Haiti, India, New Orleans, Rwanda,, Silicon Valley, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam
  • Month: January/March
  • Destination: Career Treks: Days on Wall Street Trek
  • Month: December
  • Destination: Career Treks: Business Sports Trek to NYC, Hollywood Entertainment & Media Trek, TechMedia Club Seattle Trek, TechMedia Club WesTrek, Non-Profit/Philanthropy Interest Group Trek to Boston
  • Month: January/February
  • Destination: Career Treks:Venture Capital/Private Equity Boston Trek, Venture Capital/Private Equity Hong Kong Trek, Venture Capital/Private Equity London Trek, Venture Capital/Private Equity Los Angeles Trek, Venture Capital/Private Equity Mexico City Trek, Venture Capital/Private Equity New York Trek, Venture Capital/Private Equity San Francisco Trek
  • Month: January/February
  • Destination: Career Treks: NYC Entertainment & Media Trek, Education Interest Group to Boston, Asia Business Club to Hong Kong, Business, Industry, & Gov. Club to DC, Hospitality & Travel Industry Club to NYC, Human Capital Management to NC, Canadian Club Trek
  • Month: March/April/May

• Job Offers for 2011 graduates

  • Received first job offer by graduation: 94 %
  • Received first job offer in three months following graduation: 3 %
  • Did not report having received a job offer: 3 %
  • Accepted first job offer by graduation: 83 %
  • Accepted first job offer in three months following graduation: 10 %
  • Did not report having accepted a job offer: 7 %
• • Job-accepting graduates who received a signing bonus: 67 %

• Base salary, signing bonuses and other compensation for most recent employed graduates:

  • Mean base salary: $121,785.00
  • Median base salary: $120,000.00
  • Mean signing bonus: $26,216.00
  • Median signing bonus: $20,000.00
  • Mean other guaranteed compensation: $62,568.00
  • Median other guaranteed compensation: $35,000.00

• Graduating students who accepted jobs in the following functional areas:

  • Consulting: 30 %
  • Finance/Accounting: 39 %
  • General Management: 10 %
  • Human Resources: 1 %
  • Marketing/Sales: 16 %
  • Management Information Systems: 0 %
  • Operations/Logistics: 1 %
  • Other: 4 %

• Graduating students who accepted jobs in the following industries:

  • Government: 1 %
  • Consulting: 24 %
  • Consumer Products: 5 %
  • Financial Services: 39 %
  • Manufacturing: 4 %
  • Media/Entertainment: 2 %
  • Non-Profit: 2 %
  • Petroleum/Energy: 2 %
  • Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health Care: 4 %
  • Real Estate: 1 %
  • Technology: 11 %
  • Other: 6 %

• Graduates who accepted full-time jobs in the following regions:

  • Africa: 1 %
  • Asia: 9 %
  • Europe: 7 %
  • North America: 80 %
  • Oceania: 0 %
  • Latin America and the Caribbean: 2 %

• Within the U.S., graduates who accepted full-time jobs in the following regions:

  • Northeast: 54 %
  • Mid-Atlantic: 6 %
  • South: 4 %
  • Southwest: 4 %
  • Midwest: 8 %
  • West: 23 %

• Weekly internship compensation:

  • Mean: $1,608.00
  • Median: $1,732.00

• • -Case method, with the famous "cold calling," is great preparation to think and speak on your feet in front of large groups. Life is "cold calling," so it's great to get exposure at HBS. Also, the energy and scale of the place is incredible. There is a constant stream of worldwide leaders visiting campus to meet with students and an immense array of diverse opportunities to pursue beyond the classroom. Perhaps most importantly, the school has broadened the idea of leadership beyond aspiring to be a CEO of a for-profit company. Now, students aspire to apply HBS's leadership skills to lead non-profits, public sector companies, and even balance their work and family life.
    
    -HBS has a unique curriculum and culture that works really well for some and may not be the best fit for others. The best fit is for those who want to be CEOs of mostly larger companies one day. There is growing interest among students in entrepreneurship and social enterprise, but for these "non-traditional" interests (especially retail/e-commerce), it's harder to find a large group of students with shared interests versus other programs that might be known for such a focus.
    
    -Harvard Business School social experience is awful, but I am definitely more prepared to deal with the real world now.
    
    -I had a fantastic MBA experience, one that I strongly encourage many of my friends and colleagues to consider pursuing. In particular, I felt that I grew and matured immensely as a person over the last two years and developed meaningful relationships and valuable habits/skills. Moreover, while I remain confident that the true value of my MBA will only be apparent in 10-20 years when I'm actually in a real leadership position, I wouldn't trade the past two years of personal growth for all the lost time and income. My only reservation about recommending my school would be if the geography or curriculum were not a good fit personality wise with my friend or colleague.
    
    -The experience can be impersonal and we don't get to visit companies as part of the tuition/fees we pay, which is what I wanted most out of the experience.
    
    -During the downturn, the power of the HBS brand and network were really put on display--while my friends at other top schools were struggling to find interviews in investment management, HBS was fortunate enough to have a reasonably large set of employers recruiting on-campus. The career services office was also great in continuing to provide resources to help students find jobs.
    
    -Very few business schools put much thought or effort into attracting married students with children. These schools are missing out on a high-quality group of individuals, as married students are often times more focused and driven. HBS goes out of its way to attract and take care of students with families. All of the students with families at HBS formed a strong network and contributed significantly to the overall community feel.
    
    -Overall Harvard Business School was a great experience; my only substantial complaints would deal with their occasionally inappropriate unyielding adherence to the case study method and the frustrating subjectivity of their grading. Having come from an undergraduate experience majoring in the sciences (physics), the relative lack of feedback in conjunction with forced grading curves proved quite difficult to adjust to.
    
    -Many of my peers and I agree that our biggest surprise at HBS was the quality of people (including administrators, faculty, and the Harvard community, but specifically students). Many of us (students) chose HBS largely based on its brand and reputation at--what we perceived to be--the expense of quality of peers. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that the era of the entitled, snotty students is over. Sure, those people do exist in the student body, but they are the exception, not the rule. The vast majority of students come to HBS ready to learn from one another--academically, socially, and culturally. Backgrounds are diverse and eclectic in both work and life experience, which makes for insightful conversations and thoughtful debates. And I leave HBS with more 'life long friends' than I ever would've imagined when I began two years ago.
    
    -For an international student, HBS has a name and network globally which no other school could match which made it by far my top choice.