HBS

I am currently in the process of applying to business school via the deferred admission route, and would like to give my $0.02 on the decision of whether to take the GMAT or GRE. When I first decided on whether to really focus on the GRE or GMAT for business school I looked at a bunch of posts on...

18 May 2020

Does anyone have insights into what happened at General Atlantic? They are coming to HBS to recruit and we are trying to figure out what happened.

23 Jun 2022

Hi everyone, I've been admitted to HBS vs. Wharton/Lauder, but there's a lot of different factors at play into my decision. Hoping to source some opinions or perhaps hear from people who have been in similar situations. Offers 1. Harvard Business School - 100K most in financial aid, and might be...

21 Dec 2021

"Blood streaming down my face, I turned away and started to run." You wouldn't think that was the opening to an admissions essay for the best business program in the world. I certainly didn't before I applied for Stanford GSB. It was only through sheer luck and privilege that I was able to reach out...

03 May 2022

Just graduated college and was fortunate to be accepted to the 2+2 program at HBS. When I was going through the application process there was a noticeable lack of business school info on WSO geared towards college seniors, so I figured I'd do a Q&A to help future monkeys. Some basic info on my...

05 Aug 2018

I'm in the process of exiting Bain (I'll refer to it as MBB from now on so that others searching can see the keywords) have a few questions about moving from MBB to MM/LMM that I haven't been able to find clear answers to, and I was hoping you monkeys could help me. Don't feel obligated to answer...

16 Dec 2020

I would like to extend a warm welcome to myself, Prestigious Pete. I am a jealousy amalgam, created from combining all the conceited, self-assured finance super douches into one man called Prestigious Pete. After finishing up at Andover, I went on to attend Yale University, where I majored in...

06 Apr 2017

About one year ago, I did this Q&A about finishing my first year at HBS. Two years ago, I did this Q&A about being accepted and attending HBS. Seems only appropriate that I close this series out with Part 3... I will be busy with graduation-related activities (we just finished this thing today...

02 Jun 2018

Interested in hearing peoples views on the value of HBS / a Wharton MBA for those who plan on ending up in continental Europe / London over the long term. Recently discovered the HBS 2+2 program, and before I commit to preparing for the GMAT etc., I was wondering if anyone on this forum has been in...

24 Apr 2020

Approximately one year ago I did this Q&A about being accepted and attending HBS. A week ago I finished my last final exam of my RC year (1st year) at Harvard Business School. I have had some time to reflect on the experience (and some spare time before I start my internship this summer) and I...

04 Jun 2017

I'm currently in IB and just really really hate the lifestyle. I definitely have realized that WLB will be my priority afterward, so I have been looking into LMM PE (if I am off base thinking LMM PE has good WLB, please let me know lol) or Corp Dev exit ops. I am looking to apply to business school...

05 Sep 2022

HBS is my dream school, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to prepare for interviews. I'll be interviewing on campus. Does anyone have anything that helped them out tremendously? Or guides/resources you could point me to? I have various friends there to practice interviews with, I just want to...

07 Oct 2022

Hey all, been through an extremely fortunate R2. Was originally just aiming for a few of the M7s (Kellogg, Sloan), but somehow got into H and W. My post MBA goals aren't anything crazy, going to MBB and then startup. Definitely not interested in anything finance related (PE/VC). I come from a...

18 Apr 2021

Mod Note (Andy): Each day we'll be posting the top WSO forum posts of 2014. This one was originally posted on 10/1/2014 and ranks #23 for the year by total silver banana count. You can see all our top ranked content here. I'm just about a month and a half or so into my first year ("RC year") at...

17 Dec 2014

Here's a high-level overview of my background to level set readers: Asian female in mid-20s Moved to the U.S. for college and have been here since; grew up abroad (UK, Australia, etc.) Went to top 15 undergrad; finance & econ major; 3.95 GPA; graduated Summa + a bunch of honors; also was very active...

05 Jan 2021

Wondering if this has ever happened? (barring something like a full ride to Wharton) When I was applying, H didn't even rank in my top 3 choices. I loved Stanford, Wharton and MIT, HBS just seemed very uptight and outdated to me. The other 3 schools are pushing innovation while HBS cases still seem...

16 Mar 2021

Just some stats I found online and would like to share for those who are interested: HBS Class 2020 Undergrad and Company representation: https://fortunaadmissions.com/wp-content/uploads/… 37% of the HBS class of 2020 came from 14 institutions, out of a total of 254 schools: Harvard (46) Penn (39)...

04 Oct 2021

I was fortunate enough to be accepted into HBS in Round 2 and will be heading there this Fall. I have never done a Q&A on this site before and I feel that now might be a good time to do so. I hope that sharing my experience with the MBA application process might be somewhat useful to the WSO...

03 May 2016

25, Asian M. Humanities background from a Russell Group uni in London (strong 2:1) and strong a-levels (AAA). I work in a global FTSE 15 listed financial institution. In the space of two years I've been promoted from executive, associate to senior associate in various market analytics/ trading...

29 Nov 2020

I sometimes see discussion on WSO as to whether an MBA is worthwhile for someone coming out of investment banking, especially if they are at the associate level. I recently interviewed Ida Valentine for Admissions Straight Talk, Accepted's podcast. It was an amazing episode, but she addressed that...

17 May 2019

I got accepted into both HBS and GSB for the Class of 2020. I see several pro's and con's with each school for my particular situation, and I'm having a hard time deciding between the two. I'm interested in tech and want to live around the San Francisco Bay Area longterm, which I think would - under...

05 Apr 2018

Hi guys - I'm going to begin my MBA application process for the class of 2020 soon (will be applying round 1), and I am trying to decide which of the MBA admissions consultants to engage with for my apps As background, I have a classic IBD / PE background (GS TMT / MS M&A --> Megafund like KKR /...

21 Apr 2017

Hi, I'm currently 5 years into a career working in trading at a top prop trading firm (SIG, Jane Street etc) as part of a growing and successful team. The pay is now pretty decent ($400-600k) and the hours are manageable (~50 per week) but I feel that I might be more interested in a more qualitative...

19 Oct 2019

Was very lucky to have gotten into W. However, I was hoping for a H/S outcome. Should I re-apply? Basic info: ORM (770 GMAT, 3.4 from T10 school). WE: Startup (3 promotions in 3 years). First employee that helped build the company to 150 people. What would change if I re-apply? - Startup getting...

23 Mar 2021

All - Some of you might be knee-deep in the MBA application process (currently Round 2), and others might be considering applying next year. I was in your shoes about a year ago and know how convoluted the process can be - it's about as "black box" as it gets. Before I get any further - a bit about...

20 Feb 2018

Venture Capital and Private Equity has surpassed Consulting as the top industry experience at HBS class of 2017, accounting for 17% of incoming students. [quote] For the first time ever, Harvard Business School is enrolling more students with backgrounds in venture capital and private equity than...

02 Sep 2015

Each year, every first-year student at Harvard Business School spends a semester building a startup in teams of five or six. In total, 180 teams work to gain traction and prove a viable business model in less than six months. I learned a lot from starting cleverlayover with my team as part of this...

11 Jul 2015

A bit of background: I interned at a BB in S&T last summer and took the return offer. My desk placement isn't done until the summer. I'm apprehensive as to whether I should ask an MD whose desk I interned on for a letter of recommendation to HBS's 2+2 deferred admission program. (It's deferred up to...

27 Jan 2020

Did any of you guys get a hug from these hotties a few weeks ago? Former model and Goldman Sachs employee (I'm thinking sales) Olga Vidisheva, 27, has launched Shoptiques.com after her stint at Harvard Business School. The site is a worldwide boutique aggregator, and it's a pretty cool idea. You can...

15 Oct 2012

It doesn't seem like a particularly controversial statement to say there are only a few reasons why someone from a top banking/consulting + private equity background would apply for an MBA: You think you want to stay on the path you're on, but kind of burned out and want to have a good time while...

13 Apr 2014

"Absurdly profitable company seeks journalist with ten years' experience and a Harvard MBA for extremely highly paid, low stress job in which he can wear nice suits and loaf around in air-conditioned splendor making the very occasional executive decision. Requirements: an acute discomfort in the...

09 Mar 2013

As some celebrate the end of the grueling admission process (short,compbanker etc) others are just beginning (class of 2016) I will be applying to the usual suspects this fall, came across this post and thought to myself "the new formula for getting into HBS" goes something like this; found a start...

08 May 2013

I was fortunate to be accepted into HBS round 1, and am now weighing my options. I was also accepted to Booth(w/ 70K), Kellogg(w/ 90K), Tuck (full tuition), Yale SOM (full tuition), and McCombs (full tuition). Although HBS was my top choice, I am having a tough time coming to grips with the debt...

03 Jan 2015

This is consistent with what I've been hearing from inside sources for a number of years. That dual admits long used to split about 50/50 but that recently (for a few years now) it is heavily in Stanford's favor to the tune of 3:1. [quote]"These choices are closely guarded secrets in the world of...

03 Feb 2015

Mod Note (Andy): This is a syndication from ryanallis.com The admissions department at Harvard Business School asked me to write a reflection on my first semester for the Class of 2015 pre-matriculation blog. Here's what I sent in. I hope it gives an insight into what I've experienced the last four...

26 Dec 2012

Ok. I'm going to get sht on REAL hard for making this thread but whatever. I just got an e-mail from a friend who just started HBS. I'm pasting the contents below verbatim, except for names of course. "Sup Brady! It's great hearing from you. Hope chi-town is treating you well. But yeah, HBS just...

28 Aug 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/education/harvard-business-students-s… Does anyone else thing this article is kind of stupid and non-news? To summarize: There is a select group of international, very wealthy, ostentatious and cliche-y students at HBS. Big fucking deal. That's the case in every...

09 Sep 2013

With the release of the HBS application today, b-school application season has officially begun. There are some huge changes here, but I will let you see for yourself. Here is the application as presented by Dee Leopold, Director of Admissions: Stage 1: Written Application Demographic data,...

22 May 2012

Bloomberg had an interesting article up today discussing whether our top business schools are properly teaching ethics to their students. In summary, the article uses some of the recent examples of top execs that were convicted on insider trading charges who were Wharton and HBS grads to argue that...

17 Jul 2012

Hello, I am considering applying for the 2+2 MBA program at HBS and Deferred MBA at GSB, and I wanted to know if I have a decent shot before I spend the time writing essays and asking for recommenders. Here is some info: * Senior Undergrad at USC / UCLA / ND / Georgetown tier school (graduating in...

08 Dec 2018

Hey, So I'm getting prepped to apply this fall for 2018 admission, and wanted to get an assessment on my chances of getting into HBS or Stanford and how realistic that is. I would love to go there but also don't want to get my hopes up to high as I've just started the application process. My Stats...

05 Apr 2017

Wondering how you guys would gauge the value of an MBA for someone in my position (experienced assoc. at a young LMM). I'm comfortable with my resume from a name-brand standpoint, having done the whole Wharton + BB path, and on-paper I don't see myself as needing an MBA (debut fund, LMM, team...

23 Nov 2019

For 72 hours only I am pleased to announce that the Clear Admit Harvard Business School guide will be FREE for download on the Clear Admit site! Read the post on the Clear Admit blog to receive the code to check out this 48-page, critically acclaimed guide for free! Get an edge on the competition as...

05 Sep 2014

My profile: - Ivy grad, 3.8 GPA, magna cum laude, science major, philosophy minor, English minor - 337/340 GRE (170 V/167 Q/5.5 essay, 99th percentile, 1600/1600 on old scale) - White - 1st job: worked at M7 b-school for 2 years as research assistant - 2nd job: Startup for 1.5 years - 3rd/current...

07 Dec 2016

Hi guys, I am facing an important decision for my career and I like to share it with you. Background: • Italian Management Consultant, I've been working for almost 3 years now for Second Tier Consulting firm (Top 4/5 in Europe according to most rankings , way below in US) • Planning to apply to...

27 Sep 2016

New video from HBS professor Deepak Malhotra Hi Andrew, I just posted a new video that you and your Wall Street Oasis community may find interesting. It's a lecture I gave to HBS students on "Negotiating Your Job Offer". It is 15 pieces of advice, followed by some Q&A. I hadn't planned on making it...

05 Dec 2012

A moment of silence for my insecurities, please. ..... thanks. profile: foreigner, 6', black hair, (kidding, but i really am an immigrant) college: top 25 public state school 3.9+ GPA - summa cum laude multiple honor societies (pointless tho really) internship at equiv of Fed in home country school...

23 Sep 2009

Last night I met a recent Devry alum through a mutual friend. We were just relaxing at a Denny's and talked about a bunch of stuff. I of course asked him about his experiences at Devry and his thoughts on it. Some choice quotes from that conversation: "Devry completely made my life. Anyone who gets...

17 Dec 2011

Moderator Note (Andy): Ryan Allis is a tech entrepreneur currently attending HBS. This is a syndication from his blog following his experience at HBS. Read his full bio here. Reflections on the Last Three Weeks at HBS: Over the weekend, I took some time to reflect on my last three weeks at HBS and...

11 Oct 2012

The dream and desolation of the high finance world. Which path to the upper crust of middle-class suburban boredom do I take? Do I jump to the buy side? Do I stick it out in this simian hell of pitch books and Excel? Which is really right for me? A friendly look in the rearview at how simply the...

03 Oct 2010