Written Application
To apply for the Harvard Business School MBA Program, we ask you to assemble and prepare a variety of materials that will help us assess your qualifications. Remember, all materials must be submitted to HBS online. The following serves as a preview of what you need to prepare.
Application Components
The application for the MBA Class of 2011 consists of the following:
- Responses to the application essay questions
- Current resume
- Three recommendations (must be submitted online)
- Self-reported transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate academic institutions attended (full- or part-time)
- GMAT scores from a test taken January 1, 2004 or later (and TOEFL or IELTS score, if applicable, from a test taken January 1, 2007 or later)
- Signed HBS Community Values statement
- Signed Statement of Application Integrity
- Nonrefundable U.S. $235 application fee (credit card only)*
- Interview (by invitation only)
*College seniors pay a reduced fee of $100.
Verification
The School will verify application information and reserves the right to withdraw any offer of admission already made if there is any discrepancy between the self-reported information and information provided through verification.
Essays for the Class of 2011
As an opportunity to present your distinctive qualities, your essays are an important part of your MBA application. You will be asked to submit your personal statements online with the balance of your application materials. Essays should be single-spaced. Please limit your response to the length indicated.
All applicants must submit answers to four essay questions. The first two questions are required of all applicants. The remaining two essays may be in response to your choice of the next four sub-questions.
Joint program applicants for the Harvard Medical School, Harvard Law School, and Kennedy School of Government must provide an additional essay.
Essays:
- What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)
- What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)
- Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each):
- What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?
- Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.
- What area of the world are you most curious about and why?
- What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?
Joint degree applicants:
- How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (400-word limit)
Recommender Questions for the Class of 2011
Recommendations must be completed online. The form includes essay questions along with other types of questions.
- Please comment on the context of your interaction with the applicant. How long have you known the applicant and in what connection? If applicable, briefly describe the applicant's role in your organization. (250-word limit)
- Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response. (250-word limit)
- Please make additional statements about the applicant's performance, potential, or personal qualities you believe would be helpful to the MBA Admissions Board. (250-word limit)
In college, teachers talked for an hour then you left to remember what you could. Here the case method pushes me to speak on topics I don't completely understand. I'm becoming more articulate, more thoughtful about major world issues.
My wife and I were accepted by seven other business schools. But Harvard was the only one we knew we'd regret if we didn't go. 
In the beginning of the first term there's more talking than listening. Then as we become more experienced, there's a shift to listening. A lot more listening.
In the beginning, I didn't always have the right answers. But that's not a bad thing—here I learned that there is no one right answer. HBS encourages different perspectives. Suddenly it clicked—I have more to offer than I thought.
Cases not only require students to understand and analyze content, but also to make decisions. You learn how to defend your position on your feet, even when that position is based on imperfect information. I've found the experience incredibly rewarding, beyond my expectations.
I want something more than just work, more than just numbers. It's about passion. I want to contribute to the growth of Latin America.
In class, there's a lot of role playing in difficult situations. It's our chance to practice our management styles with our section mates. Every day, I feel like I'm sitting in a board room making decisions with people who are equally capable. With each case, I become more confident in my arguments and in my ability to express myself.
The case method teaches you to develop better ways of approaching a business challenge, of how to think it through. With so many points of view being presented, you learn to separate the person from the argument, so that you're judging arguments, not people.
I've learned a number of practical skills here. Things like trimming operating processes. Working through time-management issues. Taking a structural approach to pricing. The program is very challenging, but I've learned more in the past eight months than in four years of college.
The discussion of race raised in an HBS case was so enlightening that our professor organized further conversation after class to talk about the history of race relations in the United States and what we could do to improve it. I came out of that class and thought, 'Today, my perspective is bigger than it used to be.'
Having access to Financial Aid played a huge role in my decision to come to HBS. Just knowing that all I needed to worry about was getting admitted was a huge relief! An MBA education is an expensive venture. With Financial Aid, HBS turned my dream into reality. 