MBA

In response to many helpful suggestions, we are changing what you see after you have submitted your application. Instead of just the message that the application has been submitted, you will see an additional note indicating that your application is "under review." Hopefully this will give more reassurance that we are indeed moving applications through the process - something we've been doing all along, but the messaging was confusing.

We plan to begin sending out interview invitations on Friday, February 12. The invitation will be an email from HBS MBA Admissions. Our office will be closed on Monday, February 15 for President's Day. On Tuesday, February 16, our online interview scheduler will go live. Detailed instructions will be in the invitation email.

We plan to interview around 800 candidates in Round 2, including some Round 1 candidates on the waitlist who have not yet been interviewed. Most, but not all, of these invitations will go out on February 12 so that all invitees have equal access to locations and dates. As always, we will continue to send some invitations up to and including April 6, the notification date for Round 2.

Please note that interviews are by invitation only. We do not accommodate requests for interviews from candidates who are visiting campus.

This is where we plan to interview in Round 2:

London
Paris
Mumbai
Dubai
Shanghai
Tokyo
Sao Paolo
Palo Alto
San Francisco
NYC
Chicago

Candidates are always able to schedule a campus interview. If you are coming to campus to interview, we have reserved space in our first year classrooms for interviewees to observe a class. We also offer a lunch program with current students.

The majority of interviews will take place during the weeks of March 1 - March 19.

There will also be a small number of interviews conducted by phone, in case you are unable to travel to any of the above locations.

I'll do a separate post next week about when and how we expect to release interview invitations.

Another question, this time about recommendations:

Do I have to wait for my recommenders to finish before I can submit my application?

That's an easy one to answer: no.

We hope that all recommendations will be received by 5:00pm on January 19. Of course, that rarely happens. Our advice: don't wait until you get the notice that your recommendations have all been submitted before you hit the "submit" button for your application. We will start to read your application as long as two of your recommendations have been submitted. "Late" recommendations received within a day or two after the deadline will be added to your file.