Harvard MBA - How hard is it once you get in?
IB
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(Orangutan, 280
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on 5/11/07 at 3:30pm
How hard is HBS actually? I know its hard as hell to get in, but are you working your ass off whenever you are actually in or is more about just networking?





The workload is not hard at
The workload is not hard at all. B-schools are mainly about networking and honing your resume. From what I heard, HBS students have a blast; they go out a lot and take lavish spring break vacations to places like Vegas, Miami, Brazil, etc. Plus, HBS has trekks, where students travel to different locations to learn about job opportunities at these places. I'm applying next year, and would lose my mind if I got in. HBS is truly a life altering experience.
on the other hand, i've
on the other hand, i've heard that some Bschool programs are extremely rigorous and strenuous. Darden (UVA), for example, works their 1st year students like dogs, but as a result they all have very solid fundamentals (hence why companies like Lazard recruit there)
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Darden is toning it down a bit because they realize that all the extra work didn't do a damn thing to help recruiting or bring up rankings. So I think they're trying to be a little closer to the rest of the top 10/15 as far as the workload.
B-school in general is nowhere nearly as rigorous as, say, law school. And yes you get to travel the world. All that said, remember that HBS and Wharton just got rid of grade non-disclosure last year. From what I've heard from friends till in b-school, it got a lot less fun this year, as grades now matter. At Wharton, for instance, participation in extracurriculars has dropped markedly from last year to this year, and I've heard the same things from friends at HBS.
It was an amazing experience with GND (which only Wharton, HBS, and Chicago had, I believe, and this year only Chicago has it). Now it's a little tougher, but still fun. And you guys who won't go for a few years will be too late to see the difference anyway.
Travel as much as you can during school, and don't sweat it if you have to take out loans for it all. I traveled to 16 different countries during my 2 yrs of b-school, and wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world.
Re: ...
Darden is toning it down a bit because they realize that all the extra work didn't do a damn thing to help recruiting or bring up rankings. So I think they're trying to be a little closer to the rest of the top 10/15 as far as the workload.
B-school in general is nowhere nearly as rigorous as, say, law school. And yes you get to travel the world. All that said, remember that HBS and Wharton just got rid of grade non-disclosure last year. From what I've heard from friends till in b-school, it got a lot less fun this year, as grades now matter. At Wharton, for instance, participation in extracurriculars has dropped markedly from last year to this year, and I've heard the same things from friends at HBS.
It was an amazing experience with GND (which only Wharton, HBS, and Chicago had, I believe, and this year only Chicago has it). Now it's a little tougher, but still fun. And you guys who won't go for a few years will be too late to see the difference anyway.
Travel as much as you can during school, and don't sweat it if you have to take out loans for it all. I traveled to 16 different countries during my 2 yrs of b-school, and wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world.
wow 16?! that is crazy and i had no idea mba school is so much fun
Re: The workload is not hard at
The workload is not hard at all. B-schools are mainly about networking and honing your resume. From what I heard, HBS students have a blast; they go out a lot and take lavish spring break vacations to places like Vegas, Miami, Brazil, etc. Plus, HBS has trekks, where students travel to different locations to learn about job opportunities at these places. I'm applying next year, and would lose my mind if I got in. HBS is truly a life altering experience.
Yeah I agree it is truly a life changing experience; BTW how many years of work experience have you had? I will be going up to visit in June... I just graduated and I anticipate to apply in a mx of two minimum of one year
is the having a blast and
is the having a blast and fun thing the reputation of HBS or of most top b-schools?
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Dammit, just posted a reply and my browser timed out. So, a second try. I have buddies at almost every b-school in the top 15. The travel and "fun thing", as you called it, apply to all the programs. In fact, from what I've seen the Wharton kids tend to travel the most. Combination of a big class, and the lowest percentage of married people of any top school (vs. say a Kellogg or Tuck, where kids and spouses limit the ability to travel as extensively as a single person could).
I definitely am on the high end as far as countries travelled to, but most of my buddies did the same. Wharton, by the way, also offers more school-planned opportunities to travel overseas than most of the other programs. Check out their leadership ventures--very, very cool.
That said, if you have the desire to do a lot of travel, any MBA program will afford you the opportunity. The reason b-school is so much fun isn't because it's not as tough, but because you have a bunch of people who have seen what the working world is like and realize that b-school really is your last chance to pretty much have unlimited funds, take as much vacation time as you want, be young, and be surrounded by people from everywhere on the planet. That's one of the best parts of b-school, no matter how exotic the destination, you're guaranteed to have at least 1 person in your class who is from that country, and will show you around. Whenever I meet people who didn't travel in b-school and didn't take advantage of the opportunities, I actually feel sad for them...