22 Dec 2022

A Goodbye from Chad + Reminder for Round 2


As we close out 2022, I write to say farewell and thank you.

Serving in this role for the past six years has been an honor and a joy—learning deeply from my colleagues, from you, and from thousands of prospective and current HBS students around the world. I am a better leader and person as a result. Thank you. Even as I look ahead with excitement to my next professional chapter, I am sad that this one at HBS has come to a close.

But enough about me! I am excited to introduce you to my wonderful manager, Jana Kierstead, who will be taking over this blog for the time being.

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Greetings, prospective students! My name is Jana Kierstead and I’m the Executive Director of the MBA and Doctoral Programs at HBS. I have the amazing job of overseeing the full student experience at HBS, from admissions through graduation, and am excited for the opportunity to get to know our applicant community even better over the coming months.

I’ll be working closely with our MBA Admissions team as we continue the search for the next Managing Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid. In the meantime, I will go on providing admissions and application updates via this blog. So, with that in mind, here are a few updates:

  • Our admissions and financial aid processes have not changed nor have our decision criteria: admission is based on merit and financial aid is based on need
  • The last chance to apply to the Class of 2025 (entering fall 2023) is less than two weeks away: January 4, 2023
  • HBS is closed from December 23 through January 2. We will reopen on January 3, 2023. But we are here for you!
  • We will be monitoring ApplyTech@hbs.edu if you have any technical challenges with the application; we will respond to other messages after the office reopens.

Our best wishes for a peaceful holiday season and a happy new year, and good luck to those of you working through your applications!