I have now applied to HBS, been rejected, and plan to reapply in the fall of 2008 for the class that will begin the fall of 2009 and graduate in 2011. That gives me about 20 months in which to prepare. The question is, what can I do during that time that will be of the greatest benefit to my chances for acceptance?
Based on the feedback I’ve received on my Harvard application I’ve identified the following areas in which I can and need to improve:
1. GMAT score. While decent (710, 94th percentile), my verbal and quantitative scores were out of balance. I got into the 99th percentile on the verbal but only 58th on the quantitative. Since my weak spot in college was also quantitative it would do me well to pull up that score. I think 20 months should be plenty of time for me to study and work on that.
2. Essays. It didn’t take long after I started receiving feedback from readers of this blog to see where I had made substantial errors in my essays. I already have many things I would modify, and next time I will make sure to avoid the biggest mistake I made on the entire application–not having HBS graduates review my essays.
3. Recommenders. My recommenders are all fine people but perhaps not those HBS would have preferred. Not one of them was an HBS graduate. I will seek more input from other HBS graduates but I believe I already have an idea of who I should be focusing on, if not specifically then generally at least, and I have at least 17 months to figure out who to ask specifically.
4. Leadership experience. Ah, this is the one wherein I face not only a challenge but a dilemma. The vast majority of my leadership experiences stem from starting and running two businesses. During the past ten years I have been a member of many community and business organizations, but I have not led them. I’ve never felt I had the time to dedicate because I was already working 80 hrs per week.
Now, my time is more flexible, but I am at a loss as to what type of things I can do that would be most beneficial. Merely joining an organization or volunteering for a charity seems to be redundant with what I’ve already done and therefore of marginal benefit. Starting another company would be impractical and likewise redundant. Being on the board of or a consultant to a company might look good to some on a resume, but I’m not sure it speaks of leadership potential. I have some ideas, but I can’t help feeling there are certain things that would stand out more to the HBS admissions office.
If you are an HBS student or graduate, or believe you have a good grasp of what HBS is looking for when it comes to leadership experience, I would appreciate your comments and suggestions.
Josh:
I like your plan. Now what about charting a path to profitability
That would be a great story to tell in the essay on your application.
That’s part of why I’m reapplying in 2008 instead of 2007. In just the past few weeks the internal SEO-related project we’ve been working on here at MWI has gotten to be more and more exciting, and I want to give myself time to focus on it.
I second Chris’ statement. I really think HBS wants to see you succeed, and profitability is a one huge determinant of sucess in business.
Three comments:
Yes, your app needs work, which people have commented on…but one MAJOR problem is your quant record, both in undergrad and on the GMAT. Even with a significant improvement in your essays, your quant is hanging around your neck like dead weight. It’s entirely possible that your GMAT quant score may have dinged you before they even started on the essays.
First, I would focus on getting your GMAT quant into the 90th percentile. Also, undergrad was 10 years ago, that can’t really be helped now, but you may want to consider retaking some classes.
(None of this is meant to be an insult to you — clearly, you’re proficient in accounting if you can run your own business — but having something tangible to point to would be helpful in quelling concerns.)
Second, as some general advice, I’d reiterate the points that people have raised before –you can’t want to be a CEO in a turnaround, working in tech or retail or entertainment, while also fostering a microlending program, etc. That reads like a wish list. You need to be very focused — what type of company do you want to be CEO of? Why? Why would you be the absolute most perfect candidate for that? What in your past shows commitment to that? More than anything… what is your STORY? It’s not enough to just want to go to HBS, and to want to make a difference. A lot of people want that… why you? I work at a large strategy consulting firm, and have seen amazingly talented people get turned away from HBS because they couldn’t answer those questions.
And finally, I know you have your heart set on HBS, so this may not make a difference to you… but my office is full of consultants, all of whom have diplomas from top-5 schools, so I’ve had plenty of conversations about different schools, what each focuses on, and what kinds of people are drawn to each. And when I look at you… and I look at HBS people… I really just don’t see the same person.
HBS people want to work in a large corporation. They want to be captains of industry. They want to make a difference from the top, and have their orders translated by a black box of middle managers. Then there’s the people from schools like Stanford. They want to be in the trenches, directly making things happen, changing the world on a person-by-person level. They want to be the quarterback, not the GM.
And one isn’t better than the other, it’s a personal choice. But everything on your blog and in your past seems to indicate that you should be looking at a more entrepreneurial school than HBS. You may want to work at the top… but would you really be happy there? The politics, the multiple conflicting agendas (profitability? market share? stock price?), and most frustratingly, the disconnect between the grand vision and the execution…. It might sound like a wonderful new career path, but I really believe that working in corporate America would leave you unsatisfied. (And don’t forget, if you read the placement lists, 2/3s of HBS graduates end up taking jobs in banking/consulting, and they definitely aren’t trying to change the world… while there’s nothing wrong with that, just remember that HBS isn’t exactly the idealized bastion of benevolent spirits you may have in your mind.)
And as for the “general leadership” argument, two comments. 1.) You’ve clearly been developing that skill for 10 years without the benefit of HBS; I don’t think you would gain that much from that particular aspect of business school. 2.) One of the partners in our office led a mission for two years, and it wasn’t anything he learned at HBS that helped him do that… it was because he was just naturally a really great leader. He could have done that whether he had gone to any other bschool, or none at all.
Look… if you’re still skeptical: talk to alums from Harvard, yes, but also alumni from Stanford, MIT, Kellogg, all of the top schools. Multiple people from each school, to really get a feel. And then see who you identify most with, and who you could see yourself clicking with for two years. Then after all that, if you still feel like HBS is the best place then go for it. But I’d be really curious to see what you discover…
Hi Josh,
I came across your blog as I was surfing the net looking to see other MBA candidate’s MBA admissions blogs. I am no pro on admissions, but I know a bit about writing admissions essays.
I think your list of improvements should be rearranged. I think the biggest weakness in your application are your essays. Grammatical errors aside, your essays don’t reflect the same maturity and insight of someone that has founded two successful startup companies. Yes, admissions committees ask you to write candid and open essays, but you have to take this with a grain of salt. They aren’t therapists. In selecting the anecdotes to highlights your personality traits, resist revealing too personal or irrelevant details. You should paint them a picture of a successful business person moving forward.
What do I mean? Mentioning your ex-gf in E1 sets essay off on the wrong foot. The rest of the essay seems to be a laundry-list of the obstacles you’ve faced. Maybe you could use this space to talk about how your college experience influenced your decision to start a company?
Accomplishment 1 of E2 makes me think you lack maturity. Not everyone living in an LA parties like a rock-star. Furthermore, this seems like a given for mature adults, not an “accomplishment.” Accomplishment 2 needs to be unpacked–too many details into that paragraph. Why is starting a company important to you? (This may be the one accomplishment you need to spend the least amount of time explaining why.) Accomplishment 3 shows balance, which is good, but there isn’t really any reflection on why its important. Overall, there is an overemphasis of WHAT you did to accomplish the task and not enough of WHY its important, or WHY you decided to do it in the first place.
E3 needs development. The “good guy” / “bad guy” dilemma, in itself is very common, and doesn’t show any insight in your development. My guess is that you could have used other examples from your experience when you’ve influenced people to make decisions, had a long-term vision for the company, brought key people together to accomplish a task. Also, HBS and other top business schools have a very specific definition of what leadership IS, you should look at articles from schools websites to find out how they define leadership, and how to massage those ideas into your essays.
I don’t expect much from E4, but using an anecdote from junior-high when you lied about practicing the trumpet to talk about ethics doesn’t give me the feeling that you’re a savvy business man that has experienced many ethical situations.
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Ultimately, having founded two successful startup companies, you are in no shortage of leadership roles or accomplishments. But you’re credentials aren’t going to sell themselves. You have to sell them through your essays. The essays are going to get you the interview.
Also, why just HBS? At the end of the day, getting into a ultra-elite program like HBS, Wharton or Stanford is going to involve a bit of luck. There are a lot of overly-qualified applicants applying for a limited number of spots. Why not increase you chances by applying to a few more schools.
Just my .02
James
Check these out:
http://www.morassociates.com/itlp/itlp-readings/HBR_What_Leaders_Really_Do.pdf
http://www-tep.ucsd.edu/courses/eds280/LeadershipSampler/6Relationships%20Emotional%20IQ/GolemanWhatMakesLeader.pdf
James