Have you heard any numbers on 2+2? I just got email, no interview, so rejected.My stats are GMAT 730 (49q 41v)GPA 3.45 con/math captain varsity crew, good summer work/male,american

HBS 2+2

NO NUMBERS PER SE, BUT I KNOW SEVERAL KIDS WHO GOT INTERVIEWS: AND OTHERS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR MOCK INTERVIEWS. THE GOLDEN THREAD FOR THE ELECT, AS IT OFTEN IS W. HBS AND COLLEGE SENIORS [2+2 IS A VARIANT]  IS REAL, REAL HIGH GPA FOR STARTERS, YOU HAD THE REST, BOFFO EXTRAS, ETC. IN THEORY.  THE 600 2+2 APP FIGURE IS OUT THERE SOMEPLACE, BUT I AM NOT SURE IF THAT IS COLLECTIVE GOSSIP WHICH MIGHT HAVE STARTED HERE. AWILE BACK,  SOMEONE SAID THEY HEARD THERE WERE  600 2+2 APPS, AND THEN I ASKED THAT PERSON SOURCE OF THAT NUBMER , NEVER GOT AN ANSWER, BUT THE NUMBER SEEMS TO HAVE TRACTION AND IS QUOTED ELSEWHERE. I ALWAYS THOUGHT–AND THIS IS TOTAL SPECULATION BASED ON NOTHING MORE THAN THEIR OWN STATEMENT THAT ULTIMATELY THE PROGRAM WILL GROW TO ~90 KIDS, THAT THEY WOULD START W. A PILOT PROGRAM OF ~30, WHICH IS LARGE ENUF TO GET RESULTS AND SMALL ENUF TO MANAGE. THAT IS WHAT I WOULD DO, BUT AS YOU KNOW, I AINT THEM. BUT JUST TO USE THAT 30 NUMBER, I COULD SEE THEM INTERVIEWING ~80 KIDS TO GET TO 30, AND EXPANDING THAT 30 NUMBER IF THEY FELL IN LOVE W. MORE KIDS, WHICH IS UNLIKELY, AFTER A WHILE, IT’S THE SAME OLD SAME OLD, EVEN THO THE SHMUCKS ARE YOUNGER AND CUTER W. BRIGHT, BRIGHT FUTURES.  BUT I’M A HARD GUY, AND THEY PEDDLE OPTIMISM AS THEIR BASIC PRODUCT. THEY GOT ABOUT 400 POSSIBLE INTERVIEW SLOTS ON THE 2+2 SIGN UP SHEET, BUT THAT DONT MEAN SQUAT, ADCOMS LIKE NOTHING MORE, ESP. IN AUGUST, THAN TO ROLL IN, INTERVIEW SOME TOT AT 11, EAT LUNCH AND INTERVIEW TOT2 AT 2:30 AND HEAD HOME AFTER A HARD, HARD DAY AT THE OFFICE. WELL, THIS WILL WIND UP AS EGG ON MY FACE, BUT I AM SAYING THAT THEY ARE INTERVIEWING 80-100 KIDS TO GET 30-45. FEEL FREE TO QUOTE ME, BUT ADD IT IS A TOTAL GUESS BASED ON ALMOST NOTHING. ONE ADV. TO STARTING RAMPANT AND UNFOUNDED SPECULATION, IS THAT HER MAJESTY GETS WIND OF IT, AND  JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE, AND BLOG/FOGS A CORRECTION, IN HER FASHION– SUCH IS THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO PROGRESS ABOUT FINDING SOMETHING OUT FROM HBS.   

NOT SURE WHAT TO TELL YOU ABOUT APPLYING NEXT YEAR AS SENIOR, DONT THINK YOU WILL GET INTO HBS, COLUMBIA MAYBE, BEST THING IS GET ALL A’S, GET A GOOD JOB, KEEP UP EXTRAS, AND APPLY IN 2-3 YEARS. SORRY. 2+2 IS REALLY FOR NOSE BLEED GPAS AND/OR BOFFO, BOFFO EXTRAS. SHOW STOPPING STUFF LIKE HELPING THE LEPERS.

HBS AND AGE: HER MAJESTY, ER, COUGHS UP NOT MUCH REAL DATA.

Below, is Dee-Dee’s latest fog, er blog, on the very touchy issue of HBS and age, a topic we have been following like hawks for past coupla years but ESPECIALLY  since fall when we first became aware of the new super-secret HBS AGE JIHAD, which was started by HBS Admin w.the idea of getting younger kids [e.g. 26 or less in many cases, esp. in areas of MC and IB/PE, exceptions for military, PH.D’s and rare oddballs] w. the idea that 1. younger kids are cuter, dumber, more easily trained, have longer earning curves, are nicer to look at, more easily cowed, etc. etc [REAL REASON], 2. recruiters want younger kids [dunno about that, but sure, could be for same reasons as 1. 3. to allow females to have career start, MBA and family planning before say 30 [older females now blocked by this Age Jihad thank you for CHOICE OPTION,but HBS continues to mention benefit to females, AMAZINGLY along w. all the other fog]. Her figures actually CONFIRM the age Jihad, by noting just how many kids are ~25and under, 40 percent  OF THE CLASS,   and as usual she leaves out the KEY stats, which is WHAT IS THE ACCEPT RATE FOR KIDS IN THE NEW DEAD ZONE, 27/28+. Yes, 541 kids in the class have been out of college more than 4 years, but ~100 of them are military, PHDs, MDs and oddballs. So like 441 real kids are left in age bracket 25+ and my guess is, the BULK of those kids are 25 and 26, and maybe 27–w. as noted the new DEAD ZONE being  28. With 27 being the gray zone, and 26 being the safe area, where you do not get age punished or benefited. If you are 1-3 years out, you def get a premium. What am I smoking??? How do I know this. We compiled more robust stats on my blog about age and HBS admits, see http://hbsguru.com/blog/2008/03/where we did a sample of about 60 random admits, and they fell out  as follows, for kids in class years 08, 07, 06, 05 we predicted 36 percent, and now DEE has said actual number is 40percent, so Age Jihad is worse on the super low end (and folks w. error of 4 percent, we are pretty darn happy w. out stats], but more importantly, for the next two class years, e.g. 04, 03, [age 25-27] we show class of  2003 19%, and class of 2004 being 31%–e.g. 50 percent of the class, there is ONLY 10 percent left after behind class of 2003, and if you keeping score at home, and applying next year, THAT MEANS IF YOU ARE CLASS OF 2003 [FOR NEXT YEAR] OR EARLIER, THAT COHORT WILL BE TEN PERCENT OF THE CLASS, e.g. 90-100 kids (higher number is accepted, not enrolled) AND MY GUESS IS, ABOUT 30 PERCENT OF APPLICANT POOL, if not more. To put that in perspective, say there will be 10k apps,  3300 of those will be geezers, of whom 100 will get in, for a geezer accept rate of 3 percent, vs. general rate of 10-12 percent (next year w. 10k apps). Even if I am wrong in speculation that geezers are 30 percent of app. pool (and that is a guess) we have firm stats w. great support in our own sample and Majesty’s partial stats, that geezer cohort is 90-100. FOLKS THAT IS THE AGE JIHAD. Now how else do I know about age Jihad. BECAUSE HER MAJ AND OTHER ADCOMS HAVE AS MUCH SAID SO. Many victims of age jihad are well-connected bankers etc. and their patrons often have contacts in adcom who they can query when pissed, and many of the adcoms when pressed how come 28 year old ace banker or consultant or pe guy did not get in, HAVE ANSWERED, QUITE BLATANTLY, AGE JIHAD.   Sure that is an easy way to get  hothead bigshot distracted, but I believe it is true, some of the convos were actually honest, as I hear them 2nd hand, and you keep hearing it. Also, as Age Jihad issue has become more widely spread, kids are pressing adcoms in face-to-face forums etc. about this issue, and like only about 10 percent of Adcoms can lie w. a totally straight face (it takes lotsa practice). The rest of the adcoms get this grin on their face, and thru clenched teeth, sorta fudge.  Also, in official feedback to WLers, those elite WLers who get feedback,  adcoms are dithering over reapp issue and age, and wishing the call was over (happened MANY TIMES).  So there you have it, Below is Her Maj fog, er blog, and it actually CONFIRMS THE AGE JIHAD, notwithstanding its not very serious attempt to rebut it.  READ HER FOG, ER BLOG HOW MANY HALF-TRUTHS, LOGICAL FALLACIES, FIBS,AND CORPORATE TEETH-CLENCHES CAN YOU FIND IN THE BELOW

DEE-DEE’S BLOG ON AGE JIHAD

WHAT IT REALLY MEANS

This is probably an opportune time to address another frequently asked question: “Is Harvard Business School looking for a younger class?” [HELL YES!!!!!!!, WHAT A QUESTION, STRONG EVIDENCE OF A GUILTY MIND, WHERE DID THAT QUESTION COME FROM ???  ]Here’s how the incoming class looks: we have 912 people expected to matriculate in September. 371 of these are what we call “within three years of college graduation” which means that they have graduated in 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005. We keep track this way, not by age. About a dozen are coming right from undergraduate school - and another dozen were admitted directly from college but elected to delay matriculation in order to get some - or additional - full-time work experience. Many of the directly admitted college seniors have worked full-time already - all have had significant roles on campus or entrepreneurial experience. All directly admitted seniors are welcome to postpone their date of matriculation.Back to the class profile and the original question. Do the numbers and I think you’ll find that 541 members of the class of 2010 have been out of college for more than 3 years. That’s more than the total enrollment in many business schools. [YEAH, AND WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO W. ANYTHING???]Are these numbers “quotas” or “targets”? [YES, GUILTY MIND AGAIN, HOW COME SHE IS ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE,IF THERE IS NOTHING THERE, WHERE DID THEY COME FROM]  No. We’ll still do our evaluation and selection the old-fashioned way: OH BOY, CATCH PHRASE FROM OLD TV COMMERCIALS–CAUTION]  one folder at a time. [I GIGGLE] Lots of attention to the written application and mandatory interviews by invitation only. We ask the same questions about every candidate we consider: Is this person a leader? Does he/she give evidence of ability to engage enthusiastically in serious intellectual and analytical work? Will this person invest as much in the educational experience of others as in his/her own? So the answer would be that we think you can come to Harvard Business School and thrive earlier in your career than you might have heard via the grapevine. [NO, THE GRAPEVINE, AT LEAST THE ONE RUN BYME, IN FACT SAYS THE OPPOSITE, TODDLERS WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] That doesn’t mean that those with more experience should be discouraged:[HAHA METHINKS THE LADY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH] apply when it’s optimal for you. When you can look at the questions we pose and feel eager to respond, that’s a good indication of readiness. YES, READINESS TO GET DINGED.

HER MAJESTY CONFIRMS THE OBVIOUS, AND DEIGNS TO TALK TO THE BOSTON HERALD.

said Leopold, who anticipates an even bigger surge in applications this fall for next year’s incoming class [than the 16 percent last year]

PHEW, THAT WOULD MEAN 10,000 APPS.

No job, no prospects? More flock to biz school

By Jay Fitzgerald
Friday, July 25, 2008 - Updated 6h ago

Boston Herald General Economics Reporter

The economic downturn has now been academically confirmed: Area business schools are seeing a spike in applications for MBA programs.

For years, academics and economists have noticed a correlation between a poor jobs market and an increase in people returning to schools for advanced degrees, especially for master’s degrees in business.

Sure enough, Harvard Business School reports that applications for this fall’s incoming class jumped by nearly 16 percent, to 8,600 applicants. Other area business schools also report double-digit increases over last year - with MIT’s Sloan School of Management scoring the largest application increase with 28 percent. . . . .

Deidre Leopold, managing director of Harvard’s MBA admissions, said the business school noticed an applicant increase of 10 percent two years ago, when the economy was still in generally good shape.

But the recent downturn, while not as severe as recessions in the past, is clearly driving more and more students to apply.

This past May, Leopold said HBS hosted a “full to capacity” recruitment conference in New York, where prospective applicants were asked if they had “uncertainties” in their econommic lives.

“More than half raised their hands,” said Leopold, who anticipates an even bigger surge in applications this fall for next year’s incoming class.

HARVARD AND STANFORD LAST WAIT LIST LETTERS: HBS TOASTS THE LAST 30 KIDS, BUT OFFERS ‘FEEDBACK’. STANFORD PLAYS SURVIVOR, TELLING 40 KIDS ONE WILL GET IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  AMAZING.

BTW, IF YOU GOT HBS FEEDBACK AND WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT REALLY MEANS, CONTACT ME AT SANDY413@YAHOO.COM  I’VE ALREADY SPOKEN TO SEVERAL OF THESE KIDS AND HAVE A GOOD IDEA WHAT EILEEN’S CODE LANGUAGE MEANS.