Lots to say today. On the website today, you’ll see deadline and notification dates and the applicant and recommender questions. The application will go live in the next few days. We’ll also be posting a preliminary profile of the Class of 2015 early next week.
Here’s what you will notice:
· This is the only “essay” question:
“You’re applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, school transcripts, extra-curricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?”
That’s it. No word limit. Use your own judgment as to how much to tell us. We have neither a “right answer” nor a “correct length” in mind. We will review all the elements of the written application to decide who moves forward to the interview stage of our process.
Why the reduction in number of essays? Sorry to repeat myself but “it’s not an essay-writing contest”. There is always –and will always be - great variance in both subject matter and degree of polish in the essays of admitted candidates. Maybe there will be admits this year who say we don’t need to know anything else beyond the credentials they have already submitted – for them, the application may be “essay-less”. I also think that removing the word limit brings this process closer to the way things work in the Real World which is always our goal.
This is also a chance to remind everyone that the written application is just the first stage of our selection process. We review written applications in order to determine who moves forward to the interview stage. We predict that this will be roughly 1800 candidates this year - as it has been for a number of years. From this group we select the admits – roughly 1100 in order to matriculate a class of 930 or so. Our interview process is customized, careful and subject to continuous improvement. All interviews are conducted by members of the Admissions Board and we make a significant investment in their training and development.
· Here’s the second innovation in this year’s application: only two recommendations. We’ve required three for a long time. I think we can do our job with two and I hope that this may remove at least one hurdle for prospective candidates who come from organizations where there is not a tried-and-true path for talented folks to leave for business school.
A few other notes:
· We’ll be doing the Post-Interview reflection again. We liked it.
· Dates: Please note that the Summer Round is only for 2+2 candidates. Here are the details about eligibility for this Program for college seniors.
· Webinars: These are online information sessions conducted by the Admissions Board that are essentially the same format as our on-campus and on-the-road in person presentations. A good opportunity to ask questions. Details are on the events section of the website.
So here we go. Hope this finds you eager to get started. Please sign up for a webinar so I can hear what’s on your minds.
Forgot to add, it’s Graduation Day here today and there have been an awful lot of happy/sad students telling me they wish they could stay longer!