Ask Sandy about HBS
Andy note: Sanford Kreisberg is the founder of hbsguru.com, a business school consultancy specialing in HBS, Stanford, Wharton, and Columbia and Chicago.
He has master's from Harvard in English and was the Director of Communication at MIT/Sloan Business School for a very short time before realizing he would rather tell the truth about business schools than write Twitter spam, even though Twitter had not yet been invented.
This past year he did mock interviews of over 100 HBS applicants (out of a total 1800 interviews granted by the school -- that means more than 5 percent of the entire interviewed cohort) and his knowledge of what it takes to get into HBS is based in part on that, and in part on 15 years of being a business school consultant with hundreds of clients admitted to H/S/W.
What your fellow WSO Members have said:
Sandy is one of the very few consultants who know what's going on. He has a masterful understanding of the admissions process and give a very honest accurate assessment of one's chances. His poets and quants series is AMAZING. I think sandy will add tremendous amounts of value to WSO.
I think he is one of the best in the business - especially with respect to HBS. I had a lengthy conversation with him about a week ago and was impressed. One of the things I like about him is that he is very blunt and does not hold back valuable information like most other admissions consultants do.
Here's what he will be talking about:
-H/S/W applications, admissions and how to answer their new applications/essays
-How to not screw up your interviews
-General application questions
Please feel free to post brief questions about your profile






Comments
How do you make up for a less
How do you make up for a less than stellar GPA? Alternative transcripts?
Thanks Sandy
See my other WSO blog posts
What business schools are
What business schools are receptive to prop shop traders looking to transition to investment management? I've read that Booth, Wharton, and CBS are more receptive than HBS.
valuationGURU: How do you
How do you make up for a less than stellar GPA? Alternative transcripts?
Thanks Sandy
HMMMM, often you don't. That is one truth that dare not speak its name. Top schools really put a A LOT of weight on GPA, at HBS it is the single best predictor of admission (along with pedigree). Sure, alternative transcripts can help, I suggest taking real courses in Quant type subjects (Micro Econ, calculus, stats, etc) IN A REAL CLASSROOM, not some online jive. Also, obviously, a good GMAT can give you both a halo, and some cred that you are not going to be a problem if admitted. If schools really like you based on work pedigree, victim or any other status, background, etc. AND you have a solid GMAT they will wink at GPA but it remains the hardest boo-boo to erase. How come? Well, it makes sense if you think about it. Adcoms help run a school, and despite all the BS of what that school is looking for, at bottom, it is looking for good students, not future leaders, blah, blah. And the best predictor of a good student is your demonstrated record in sitting still and shutting up and digesting crap and spitting it back in your former life as a student. That is also true at HBS where you have to spit it back quicker, and aloud, but that is only dif. Sorry for the tuff love, but that is the dirty truth.
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Tiger Blood: What business
What business schools are receptive to prop shop traders looking to transition to investment management? I've read that Booth, Wharton, and CBS are more receptive than HBS.
You read right. HBS is not overly fond of traders as either a place to come from or a place to be headed. Trading is considered solitary, greasy, zero-sum, and not for our type of people. Stanford holds the same views. There are traders at both schools, but usually they got in some other way. MIT is OK with traders, esp. traders with BIG GMATS. They are possibly the last bar in the deserted Wild West where 'financial engineering' is not a dirty word. The schools you mention are prob. neutral on trading, so if you are trader with solid stats, you should be OK.
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hbsguru.com
Thanks, Sandy. I appreciate
Thanks, Sandy. I appreciate your honesty.
I want to get into H/S's
I want to get into H/S's Masters in Education... is this program more or less competitively selective than the b school?
See my WSO blogs here.
Are prop shop traders and
Are prop shop traders and bulge bracket/middle market traders (i.e. market makers) looked at the same way in the eyes of admissions? I know the lines are and can be blurred, but will having the "big name company" i.e. JPM, Citi, BoA or whatever versus a prop shop hold more weight, or are you still just looked at as a "trader"?
Thanks!
M Friedman: I want to get
I want to get into H/S's Masters in Education... is this program more or less competitively selective than the b school?
LESS SELECTIVE BY A HUGE AMOUNT. Of course, it helps if you have some kind of relev. background, often in, errrr, education. Harvard Ed School is home of LEFT leaning reformers, feminists, one-worlders, rainbow big gov types. Take a walk in Harvard Square and just check out the tote bags, another Ed School marker. My guess is, on less evidence, Stanford is much the same. I mean if you are passionate about using data mining and economic models to reform education, well, they will also welcome you, but dont expect a lot of shop talk in the caf about that.
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hbsguru.com
leveRAGE.: Are prop shop
Are prop shop traders and bulge bracket/middle market traders (i.e. market makers) looked at the same way in the eyes of admissions? I know the lines are and can be blurred, but will having the "big name company" i.e. JPM, Citi, BoA or whatever versus a prop shop hold more weight, or are you still just looked at as a "trader"?
Thanks!
well, BRAND always helps, and if you can combine some JPM trading gig with a big GPA and GMAT and some signature extras, you can get out from under the trading curse. Put another way, being a trader at no-name shop=death fer sure at HBS, being trader at name shop=license to hussle hard, but odds are still high.
Ask [email protected]
hbsguru.com
Hi. I pretty much know I
Hi.
I pretty much know I have no chance at H/S/W but I think I may have a shot at Columbia if the cards fall in place. I go to a no name state uni but I am going to graduate with around a 3.9 and I already have internships at a HF and currently corporate fin with IBM. With a 720 GMAT and good work exp, would I be competitive?
Speculate Away.
Here to learn and hopefully pass on some knowledge as well. SB if I helped.
Sandy, I fly F18s for the
Sandy,
I fly F18s for the Navy.
700 GMAT, 49Q
3.5 in Physics from a middle of the road state school
Stanford is my first choice. Do I need to retake the GMAT?
Also, could you shed some light on the MIT LGO program, and if it increases or decreases your chance of admission if you are a strong applicant for one of the technical degrees?
Gun Control Discussion
That_Aston: Hi. I pretty
Hi.
I pretty much know I have no chance at H/S/W but I think I may have a shot at Columbia if the cards fall in place. I go to a no name state uni but I am going to graduate with around a 3.9 and I already have internships at a HF and currently corporate fin with IBM. With a 720 GMAT and good work exp, would I be competitive?
Speculate Away.
not sure I totally get this, when are you thinking of applying? Right out of school? or after 2-3 years? real impt. for you and other profile seekers.
Ask [email protected]
hbsguru.com
hbsguru.com: That_Aston: Hi
Hi.
I pretty much know I have no chance at H/S/W but I think I may have a shot at Columbia if the cards fall in place. I go to a no name state uni but I am going to graduate with around a 3.9 and I already have internships at a HF and currently corporate fin with IBM. With a 720 GMAT and good work exp, would I be competitive?
Speculate Away.
not sure I totally get this, when are you thinking of applying? Right out of school? or after 2-3 years? real impt. for you and other profile seekers.
I was planning on working 2-3yrs first
Here to learn and hopefully pass on some knowledge as well. SB if I helped.
Hi Sandy, In your
Hi Sandy,
In your experience, how have MBB consultants best differentiated themselves from one another? Is it work related (international projects, sexy high-level strategy, etc.), extra-curricular (are people needing to start companies and non-profits while working? What do strong extra-curriculars look like for MBB consultants?), or another category altogether?
Thanks,
Proboscis
Proboscis
That_Aston: hbsguru.com:
Hi.
I pretty much know I have no chance at H/S/W but I think I may have a shot at Columbia if the cards fall in place. I go to a no name state uni but I am going to graduate with around a 3.9 and I already have internships at a HF and currently corporate fin with IBM. With a 720 GMAT and good work exp, would I be competitive?
Speculate Away.
not sure I totally get this, when are you thinking of applying? Right out of school? or after 2-3 years? real impt. for you and other profile seekers.
I was planning on working 2-3yrs first
____________
well, if you got a prestige job, at e.g. consulting or banking or Brand Name Corp (IBM, GOOG, FB, Disney, and many other names we all know and love) with a 3.9 and 720, you could be a real strong applicant to Columbia (apply before Thanksgiving and even sooner if psble, once they are no longer hungry, they stop eating, other schools have better appetite controls) and could be doable at Wharton and even HBS, depending on other factors like diversity, extras, victim status, etc. Accept the most selective job you can get, do well, develop a signature extra curric, and welcome to B school roulette but you will have some real chips on the table.
Ask [email protected]
hbsguru.com
hbsguru.com: That_Aston:
Here to learn and hopefully pass on some knowledge as well. SB if I helped.
Hi Sandy, Can you give some
Hi Sandy, You mention company
Cries: Hi Sandy, Can you
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hbsguru.com
lil_barac: Hi Sandy, You
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Hi Sandy, I'm still an
Re-posting since I think my
Proboscis
How does Harvard look at
Great thread. Sandy, I'm
Great thread. Sandy, I'm
Sandy, What do you think of
My WSO Blog
"Unbelievably Believable" -- RG3
HBS joint law and b school
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hbsguru.com
Marketman9311: Great
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How do places like HBS feel
EJS123456: How does Harvard
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hbsguru.com: EJS123456: How
How much do extracurriculars
FernandoTorres9: How much do
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BLACKSTONE, KKR, TPG, CARLYLE
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15xEBITDA: How do places like
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Proboscis: Re-posting since I
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Any shot for a freshly
Bob Loblaw: Any shot for a
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wannabeaballer: Sandy, I fly
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@Sandy: How competitive is
M7MBA_hopeful: @Sandy: How
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hbsguru.com: M7MBA_hopeful:
M7MBA_hopeful: Thanks for the
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M Friedman: I want to get
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Hi Sandy, What do you think
Sandy, do you think it's
allanfive1: Sandy, do you
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Hey Sandy , In High Frequency
GS: Hey Sandy , In High
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hbsguru.com: GS: Hey Sandy