HBS is famous (infamous?) for preferring younger candidates (2 - 3 years out of undergrad). But according to a new article from PoetsandQuants, that trend may be changing:
"New admits in HBS’ incoming fall class who earned their undergraduate degrees just two years ago plunged by 48% to 58 from 118 a year earlier—despite the impact of the school’s relatively new 2+2 program to attract younger candidates."
To be fair, it looks like 3 - 5 years is the sweet spot, and that average age at HBS is going up a bit mainly due to a few outliers (49 members of the class of 2014 have 8+ years since graduating from undergrad, maybe due to HBS admitting more military veterans, who tend to be older than applicants from the private sector.
Also of note is the minimal impact the 2+2 program has had:
" This year, HBS received only its second cohort of 2+2 program admits whose admission had been deferred two years ago. As reported earlier, however, many 2+2 admits are requesting additional deferments because they are either in jobs they like or have found love (see Harvard’s 2+2 Adjusts to Work & Love). “A lot of 2+2 kids, almost near half, are taking a third work year before enrolling,” adds Kreisberg. “That could explain it.”
Will be interesting to see how this plays out the next few years. Is this a sea-change in the HBS admissions philosophy or a fluke?
Full article: http://poetsandquants.com/2012/09/06/at-hbs-older…
I am friends with at least a few of the 58 - one of them thinks he's the only one in his entire section with 2 years experience.
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