How to make a successful application for Harvard Business School?

Among all the top Ivy League B-Schools, the Harvard Business School stands at the top offering the most prestigious MBA program. The candidates start preparing with the motivation of getting admission to Harvard Business School and thus, require a lot of hard work and effort. While the score of different acceptable examinations matter, there are various other measures that are required by the Harvard admission committee in a candidate.

While the aura of Harvard MBA can bog down the candidate applying for it, it is better to aware of all the sort of expectations that might be there in the mind of the admission officer. The alumni accomplishments along with the strong name of the brand can become an overhead in performance. We are here to clear any sort of doubt that the candidate might face while preparing for the Harvard MBA program. Let us look at important points that the candidates must be aware of while preparing for a Harvard MBA:

• Examine Exterior Factors
• Examine Interior Factors
• What the Harvard Business School Admission Committee would want?
• Filling any gaps in the Harvard MBA application
• Preparing for GMAT and acing it
• Application of MBA at Harvard Business School

We will be analyzing all the points in detail below. However, it is important to note that the research must start at least 1 year prior to the candidate applying for the program. While for the Harvard MBA program of 2022, the applications for Round 1 will be considered from September whereas, for Round 2, the deadline is January. It will be better to apply in the first round itself.

There is no better statement that defines the Harvard MBA than the fact that the very high median GMAT Score is 730. Thus, without any doubt, it is of best interest to study as hard as one can in order to score above the median score for a successful entry in the Harvard MBA program.

Examine Exterior Factors

There are various factors that the candidate must research before making a decision, and examining the external factors will provide the stimulus to that decision. Given below are the few external factors that can affect the decision of students with respect to the MBA program at Harvard:

Harvard Business School Website Research

The aspirant can start with research on the Harvard Business School via the official website. It will help in exploring the program the candidate wants to apply for i.e. two-year flagship MBA program, Executive Program, Doctoral Program, or HBX. Aspirants can then look at the facts associated with the MBA program, Alumni, research, or campus of Harvard Business School along with the class profile and employment reports.

Research on Social Media

It is best to research the School’s alumni network on social media to come across the accomplishments of those people and how they are shaping their lives. It will not only help the candidate in improving their current profile but also there would be certain individuals who might have extraordinary profiles, which can become a target for the candidate.

Social media websites such as LinkedIn or Quora can help the candidate immensely as they will help in connecting personally with such extraordinary people. Candidates can also contact these people for advice. It is, however, important to contact a pool of people because most of them are working at high importance jobs resulting in no time for such interaction. Thus, the best opportunity is when the candidate has contacted a lot of people.

How are the external factors benefiting the candidate?

When the candidate has completed the exterior research, there is an ample amount of information that is available in hand for further drill down and profile building. Information like programs, campus, culture, alumni, and diversity of Harvard Business School will help in analyzing how the candidate can add value to the classroom. I also help in finding the USP which is very important o move further.

Further, with the complete information, the candidate can identify gaps in the current academic profile and the score that is required in the GMAT exam for recommendation in the school for MBA program. It is, however, possible to crack the Harvard admission with a low score as 600 on GMAT, but such candidates have extraordinary profiles. Also, connecting with people with similar profiles will not only be a source of valuable information but also a source of inspiration for you.

Examine Interior Factors

This might be the most important part of this article, since, once the candidate is done with the external research, there will be enough information that could be used to measure the competitiveness. This part requires a complete introspection related to the life lived till now or asking a question, how will you measure your life?

Without any doubt, while the candidate introspecting must stay away from any type of distractions as this time it is important to write down the thought that is there in the mind. These thoughts would give the candidate a clear picture of where the candidate is. It is also recommended to list down a few of the achievements as well as the leadership roles that the candidate has taken till now. This activity can be repeated every day for a few minutes, further in a week or two, there will be a list of solid thoughts that the candidate has written for self and has a clear story for the journey ahead.

How are the internal factors benefiting the candidate?

The candidate after having done the introspection and focusing on the journey ahead can follow the mantra of the great Steve Jobs, who said that the dots can only be connected looking backward. This will help the candidate in making sense of self unique story.

What the Harvard Business School Admission Committee would want?

The admission committee of the Harvard Business School wants the candidate who able to march forward in the MBA program without any hitch. It is thus, important for the candidate to build a profile that helps in getting admission to Harvard Business School or in any of the Ivy League B-School. Thus factors listed below are crucial to a candidate:

• Understanding the different factors which are to be considered in the application.
• Measuring the weightage of all the factors involved in the application.
• What factors are at best under the control of the candidate - unchangeable and changeable factors?
• Working on the factors which are still under the control of the candidate and can further help in the application for Harvard Business School.

Further, if the work experience of the candidate is exceptional, addition of the extracurricular work can make the resume more attractive to the admission committee of the Harvard Business School. Thus, roles involving leadership skills, social work will have a huge impact. The candidate can join an NGO and help in building weak communities.

Filling any gaps in the Harvard MBA application

The candidates will find information based on the internal as well as the external assessment is done, this would give rise to the changeable and unchangeable factors. It is important for the candidate to see how many factors are still possible to tap for the betterment of the profile and hence the betterment of the application.

How can the candidate benefit from the factors introspected?

There are two types of factors that are there before the candidate is filing the application form. They are changeable and unchangeable evaluation factors. In an MBA application process, parameters such as the employer’s brand or the marks till the graduation cannot be changed. However, there is still a lot that the candidate can do to improve the application which includes getting a good score in GMAT, interviews, and recommendation letters. Thus, it is important to focus on putting the best out so that the admission committee finds the application worth noting.

Preparing for GMAT and acing it

Graduate Management Aptitude Test has a weight-age of 22% in the application where the 16% is for total GMAT score and 6% is for GMAT quant score. Most of the successful candidates have suggested that the preparation for the GMAT examination should not take more than 3 months in order to get a GMAT score of 740+.

However, experts suggest that the candidate must target a GMAT score which has an addition of 20 more marks in the median GMAT score of that School. Thus, to have higher chances of admission in the Harvard Business School, the candidate must be able to score around 750 as the acceptance rate and interview invites are directly proportional to the GMAT score.

Application of MBA at Harvard Business School

There are 3 steps in the application process which comprised of the following:

• Written Application which includes the Transcripts, GMAT Score, Resume, Fee, and Acceptance of policies.
• Interview - After submitting the application, it will be reviewed, and then the candidate can be invited for an interview
• Post – Interview - The candidate has to submit a written reflection through the online application system of HBS within 24 hours of the interview

At the end of the day, the candidate who has done well in the GMAT exam has a great chance of getting admission to Harvard Business School or any of the top Ivy League B-Schools. Candidates have to make sure that they are working with due diligence and do not get distracted.