If you’ve done a search on Google for “how to get into hbs” then you’ve probably run into the site HowToGetIntoHBS.com. The website looks horrible, but it’s a pretty good domain name, and you start reading and while it sounds a little bit like a gimmick, you read about how the guy selling this eBook is an HBS grad, and the more you read the more it sounds like this might be worth looking into more. If you’re like me, you end up at the conclusion that $97 isn’t that much to pay for this eBook if it makes even the smallest difference in whether you’re accepted to HBS or not, so you go ahead and buy it.
However, if you haven’t taken the plunge yet, then you’re thinking “Yeah, but once I buy it am I going to find out it’s a total ripoff?” or you might look at the design of the website and wonder if you’re even going to get the eBook at all or if your money is just going to disappear.
Well, I bought it a little over two years ago and read it thoroughly as I prepared to apply to HBS. In my opinion it’s definitely worth $97. However, I was rejected, so I may not be the most credible pitch man for anything having to do with getting into HBS. But I wouldn’t fault the eBook for that. My rejected application was entirely my fault, and nobody else can take any responsibility for it. So yes, I would recommend you buy it, and no, I don’t know the guy who wrote it and don’t get any sort of kickback for telling you to buy it. I do have to admire the guy, though. I’m sure he’s making plenty of money with his full-time job, but given that there are roughly 450 searches per month by people specifically looking for information on how to get into HBS, if you assume that only 3% of that number purchases the book the guy is still pulling in $20K per year for what was probably less than a 50-hour investment of upfront work with no ongoing work to speak of, unless he decides to update it at some point in the future.
As for what it contains, that first page of the site has a fairly detailed explanation of what is included, but to summarize, there are nine strategies as to what to do on your application, some bonus materials that include 40 questions asked in the interviews, and a FAQ of questions asked by HBS applicants. There are also 26 profiles of successful HBS applicants. Just what I’ve mentioned in this last paragraph should be enough to get you to fork over $97, I would think.
I’d also highly recommend reading Philip Delves’ book Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School. It may not help you get into HBS, but it might help you decide whether getting into HBS is all it’s cracked up to be and if that’s really where you want to go to school.
Hey thanks for this review. I sort of wanted to see some of the content on the package too. The thing that gets me, is that he swears he got in without an interview, yet, nobody in the program is said to have been admitted without an interview. 100% of the admitted students had to go through the interview process. That’s something that is bothersome to me and I’m still a bit timid.
If it’s any comfort, I know someone who knows the guy who wrote the book, so I have a little background info on the guy and I’m pretty sure he’s 100% legit. But regardless of whether the guy got in with or without an interview (and I don’t see any reason for him to lie about it unless the whole thing were fake) the content is worth $97. Compared to the $200K you’ll spend going to school at HBS and the millions you hope to make afterwards, you wouldn’t want to get hung up on spending $97, right? It’s a pretty good sales line because it’s true.
Hi, Joshua.
I came across your site as I was looking up some researchers at Harvard Business School, as I was recently admitted to the Ph.D program and wanted to get a sense of the work being done there. Having just gone through the admission process, I thought I would try to give some advice (although MBA is different from Ph.D)
1) Academics are important, and quantitative skills rank high on the list. I spoke to professors at many different business schools, and the general conclusion has been, verbal is rarely looked at – too much irrelevant vocab – whereas quant is important. Not necessarily because a high quant score will get you in, but more the opposite. A low quant score can hurt you significantly and brings up “red flags” according to one professor I spoke with. So you need to shape up that score. I think many schools prefer the GRE, so if you can take that, do it. If not, GMAT is probably fine for MBA. The math requirements are probably not as much as Ph.D, since you will not be doing high-level statistical analysis and mathematical modeling. (And HBS is heavily case study focused, in contrast to other schools)
2) Your experience is important. For me, going for a research degree, I had to show them I had significant high-quality research experience, doesn’t necessarily have to be in the area I will do my Ph.D in, but the skills you acquire on HOW to do research matter. Similarly, your management experience doesn’t have to be in some elite firm like McKinsey, but it has to come across as strong with very solid proof on your CV and statement.
3) Again, not sure if this is applicable, but recommendations are pretty important for a research degree. Academics trust academics, which is why I believe many people suggest you get faculty to write your recommendations. This may be different for MBAs, as it is not a research degree, so I would check around.
Hope that helps!