someone sent this note to  my thread on the Business Week Forum saying Dee is telling folks that HBS Round 1 interview invites will be out sorta 3rd week in Oct.

Yikes, someone do the math –20 adcoms, 20 days, how many apps, ~4000 (lowball, last yr higher), equals how many apps per day????

——————————————————- 

For what it’s worth, I met with Dee a month or two back and she indicated they would be sending invites out by the third week of October, so potentially even earlier this year!

HAHA, IT’S WORTH A LOT. THANKS, COULD BE TRUE. 

 THEY SEEM TO HAVE GOTTEN WAY FASTER AT PROCESSING THIS STUFF, THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HIRE 3 INTERNS ON OCT 2ND AND SAY –JUST THROW OUT ALL APPLICATIONS WHERE KIDS ARE 28 OR OVER. 

SK

WHEN DOES HBS SEND OUT INTERVIEW INVITES: PROB AROUND OCT 28TH (so embarrassing, no sooner do we say this than folks tell us her majesty has been telling folks in undisclosed locations that this year they will be moving faster, see post directly above this, and will be sending out invites 3rd week in Oct. week of 19th, scary)

OK EARLY BUNNIES, I’VE ALREADY BEEN ASKED THIS QUESTION FR. THE USUAL SUSPECT PRE-MATURE E-APPLICATORS (ha ha in this case the premature eblogerator was me)  WHO HAVE HANDED IN THEIR HBS APPS ALREADY AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, JUST CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR BACK.

LAST YEAR APP WAS DUE ON OCT 15TH AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF INVITES (SEE NEXT POST) WHERE SENT ON NOVEMBER 11TH –   TWENTY-SEVEN DAY LATER

APPS THIS YEAR ARE DUE ON OCT 1 AND MY CRAY SUPER COMPUTER HAS BEEN RUNNING ALL NIGHT, AND JUST MINTUES AGO REPORTED, THAT 27 +1=28, GIVING US A WORKABLE OCT 28TH DATE, IF YOU BELIEVE LAST YEAR WILL BE ANY GUIDE. AS I DO.   

for granularity on this, and HRH’s blog fibs,

—————————————

THIS WAS HRH LEOPOLD’S BLOG ENTRY ON NOV 11TH–IN A YEAR WHEN APP WAS DUE ON OCTOBER 15TH –NOT SURE IF THERE WERE IN FACT 100 MORE INTERVIEW INVITES, BUT LOTS OF POST NOV 11TH INVITES WERE THE RESULT OF BIGFOOT INTERVENTION, ETC. ETC. ALTHO NOT ALL.  IF YOU DONT GET INVITE ON FIRST BIG WAVE DAY–TIME TO START THINKING REAL HARD ABOUT OTHER SCHOOLS.

Round One Interview Invitations

Today we sent out about 750 invitations to interview. I think we will ultimately send around 850 by the notification date, January 21.

I can’t predict when this additional 100 invitations will go out nor to whom. It is possible that candidates invited in the next few weeks will not have extensive options to interview in hub cities; we will make every effort to work with them to schedule an interview which is convenient.

The Admissions Board continues to review written applications and discuss cases until the January notification date.

I also anticipate that around 100 Round One candidates who have not been interviewed will be invited to accept a place on the wait list in January. As their cases are further considered, they may be invited to interview.

We are trying to be as transparent as possible about this anxiety-producing process. I hope I am clear in my continued message that this is a “selection” process designed to bring a talented and diverse mix of students into the classroom. There are no hard and fast rules and there are many more qualified candidates than we have capacity to admit.

Today we sent out about 750 invitations to interview. I think we will ultimately send around 850 by the notification date, January 21.

I can’t predict when this additional 100 invitations will go out nor to whom. It is possible that candidates invited in the next few weeks will not have extensive options to interview in hub cities; we will make every effort to work with them to schedule an interview which is convenient.

The Admissions Board continues to review written applications and discuss cases until the January notification date.

I also anticipate that around 100 Round One candidates who have not been interviewed will be invited to accept a place on the wait list in January. As their cases are further considered, they may be invited to interview.

We are trying to be as transparent as possible about this anxiety-producing process. I hope I am clear in my continued message that this is a “selection” process designed to bring a talented and diverse mix of students into the classroom. There are no hard and fast rules and there are many more qualified candidates than we have capacity to admit.

Round One Interviews

Here are some quick but not very eloquent notes to Round One applicants:

Now that the round one application deadline has passed, we anticipate your questions about interview invitations. Our plan is to begin inviting candidates to interview on November 12. All the interview invitations will not be extended in a single day. A significant majority of invitations will be issued by the week of November 1

7. In past years, invitations have been extended up to and including the date of notification; we expect this practice to continue.

How does H/S/W treat people with unusual backgrounds such as mine?
Worked in IT company for 3 yrs, before moving on to working full-time for a rural microfinance org, that i founded in 2004, while at engineering school. Simultaneously working with mid-sized family business.
Was interviewed and dinged last year by Stanford. reapplicant at HBS.
Indian, male, age 26 soon, GMAT 710 software engineer

TO THE EXTENT YOU THINK ABOVE REMARKS DO NOT APPLY TO YOU, E.G. YOUR RURAL MICROFINANCE WAS A BIG DEAL, WELL, YOU GOTTA PROVE IT, REALLY PROVE IT W. METRICS AND BOARD MEMBERS AND OUTCOMES.

ALL THAT SAID, REAPP AT HBS SEEMS DIM SINCE NOTHING CHANGED –IF STAN LIKED YOU ENUF TO INTERVIEW LAST YEAR, WELL MAYBE.  WHARTON TAKES GUYS LIKE YOU, BUT GPA AND SCHOOLING AND PEDIGREE ALSO COUNT.

LOW BONUS NUMBERS ON YOUR B SCHOOL APPS

WHAT DO YOU DO IF BONUS WENT  DOWN LAST YEAR , AS MANY DID ?  

Hi Sandy,

How does bonus numbers get viewed in the application. I got a very low bonus last december ($XXXXX K) and am not sure how that will get viewed.
Should I address it in the application or have my recommenders say something about it.

Is it worth waiting for round 2 to drop my apps when new bonus numbers come in?

_________

LOW BONUSES LAST DEC WERE PRETTY ROUTINE ACROSS THE IB AND PE UNIVERSE (WELL, MY UNDERSTANDING, SOMEONE TELL ME DIFF?) THE MORE IMPT ISSUE IS YOUR BONUS VS. PEERS, A TRICKY PIECE OF DATA TO DETERMINE IN MANY CASE.  SCHOOLS ARE AWARE THAT BONUSES WENT DOWN BUT IF YOURS IS DONE DRAMATICALLY–IT MIGHT HELP TO EXPLAIN FIRM POLICY IN THOSE OPTIONAL SPACES APPS PROVIDE (E.G. 500 CHARACTERS AT HBS, AND ESSAY FIVE AT WHARTON)–

DIRECT SUPER. CAN ALSO MENTION IN REC SOMEPLACE. AND HE MAY KNOW MORE THAN YOU ABOUT FIRM POLICY ETC.

DO NOT WAIT TILL ROUND TWO ON THEORY OF BONUS GOING UP–THAT IS JUST NUTS.

GETTING SACKED AT HBS PROTRACTED ARTICLE  (SEE BELOW) IN HARBUS [HBS STUDENT NEWSPAPER] ABOUT HITTING THE SCREEN, I.E. BEING ASKED TO LEAVE AFTER YEAR ONE B.C. OF LOW GRADES OR MORE LIKELY TIMID CLASS PERFORMANCE (WELL THEY ARE ENTWINED] AND COME BACK A YEAR LATER AFTER TAKING COURSES IN JUNGLE WARFARE SO YOU CAN REALLY ‘DOMINATE’ YOUR PEERS IN CLASSROOM CUT THROAT CAPERS. ‘DOMINATE’ IS WORD USED BY ONE SCREEN HITTER IN STORY BELOW. HBS LACK OF STATS ON HOW MANY DO HIT THE SCREEN IS DEEPLY ANNOYING AND INDEFENSIBLE AND LEGIT ISSUE RAISED BY OTHER SCREEN HITTER ABOUT OPAQUE PROCESS ALSO LEGIT. AHEM, ALL THAT SAID, SOME ULTRA ELITE CONSULTANTS HAVE ACTUALLY HELPED STUDENTS W. THOSE 20 PAGE PETITIONS THAT YOU CAN FILE BEFORE GETTING SACKED AND KNOW THE PROCESS. SO ANY SCREEN HITTERS OUT THERE, TAKE NOTE. CONSULT IS FREE. (article below)   (more…)

softball interview w. Her Royal Highness in The Boston Globe. Not shown in photo, her gagging at the blah, blah, camouflage, and giggles she is having in misleading the often more penetrating Bob Weisman, who seems to be taking the day off.  Whether her Maj is too happy with that pic is a question I for one would like to know. What is with the schmatas in the background???? Art????

• Scoping out future leaders for Harvard

Deirdre Leopold was named executive director of MBA admissions and financial aid at Harvard Business School in 2006. (Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe)

 
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/13/scoping_out_future_leaders_for_harvard/

By Robert Weisman

Globe Staff / September 13, 2009

 Deirdre Leopold was named executive director of MBA admissions and financial aid at Harvard Business School in 2006. Leopold, 57, has been a member of the HBS admissions board for more than two decades. After working as a portfolio manager on Wall Street, she earned her master’s of business administration degree from Harvard, where she was copresident of the Women’s Student Association. Leopold spoke recently with Globe business reporter Robert Weisman in her office on the HBS campus in Boston.

How hard is it to get into Harvard Business School?

Well, I think that it is quite difficult in a good way. And I think that is exactly a point of pride for people in terms of being able to be in an institution where the selection is taken so seriously.

What does HBS look for in its candidates?

Our mission is to educate leaders who will make a difference in the world. So we’re driving back to that guiding principle. We’re looking to compose a class of talented leaders who come from many different backgrounds but share some common qualities. [LIKE BEING 25 YEARS OLD, WORKING FOR PRESTIGE FIRMS ALREADY AND HAVING EXCELLENT GPA’S]  And those qualities might include curiosity, initiative, sense of purpose, energy, self-awareness, a real sense of others, and an ability to engage in a community, and a moral compass that points true north. [GAG, GAG, GAG]

What kind of candidates do you actively avoid?

Think of the qualities I described, and think of their opposite. [Meaning, why is your photographer hanging up those schmattas and why even bother thinking about an answer, you seem like you are asleep today Bob] We want people who can come here and believe that they are as invested in their classmates’ learning as they are in their own. [oh, that is the secret sauce, now the truth is out there]  We’re looking for people who, over the whole course of their lives, [provided those lives have not gone on very long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] have been givers versus takers [but what about test takers??? and gmat takers] , who are not bystanders but active participants.

Some applicants hire admissions consultants to try to game the system. Can you detect an application that’s written by an admissions consultant?

The written application is only one part of our process. We start with a written application, but we interview every applicant who is ultimately admitted. [And despite that, we kick out a couple of kids every once in a while who like no speaka the language anyway] So we are not reliant only on a written application. I think we’re in a culture now where consultants are hired to do a lot of different things. We understand that some people - particularly those who do not work with people who have gone to business school, who do not have expertise in this admission process - we understand that seeking out advice is natural. [here, here!!! And we also recognize  people who work for PE and IB firms and are just so anal and so obsessed, and just dont believe in like taking chances with their own lives altho they are very willing too take crazy risks with yours and the entire economy, well they also hire consultants]

 But there is no such thing as a reputable consultant who will write business school applications.

Has the economic downturn increased your applicant pool in the past year?

Well, our applicant pool increased last year. . . . It was the second highest year. . . . (But) we have learned that we are not good macro predictors of general applicant trends. So we think that, yes, some people may turn to business school because of an economic downturn. On the other hand, some people may become more invested in staying in their jobs.

If a young executive is already on the corporate fast track, do you recommend that he or she come to Harvard Business School?

If they’re thinking about Harvard Business School, which is truly a transformational experience, I’d ask that person: Do you want to be open to that change? Do you want to find out different ways of doing things? Do you want to possibly have your plan completely turned around, find out things that you didn’t even know were possibilities for you?

What do students learn at Harvard Business School that they can’t learn at a Wharton or a Stanford?

I’m only speaking from a point of expertise about Harvard. It’s where I went to school, so I’m speaking as an alum and also as an admissions director. The case method, which is our pedagogy, is truly distinctive. We’re educating leaders to be effective. Leaders operate in gray areas. It’s not about the specific analytical tools you have in some imaginary toolbox. It’s developing the judgment to know which tool to use when, to be comfortable in uncertainty, to be able to make decisions day in and day out with imperfect information, not enough information, never enough time, and to be able to take a stand and to be able to communicate it to others and to bring people along with you.

[Correctly interpretated that last blow hole performance can be of value, but dont overdo the making decisions w incomplete info jive, everyone says that, it is more about communication and bringing people along that hits a button w. them–if you can personalize it  ]

INTERVIEWS AT H/S/W

HBS INT IS BY INVITE , AND ALL ACCEPTED KIDS ARE INTERVIEWED.
NO INVITE, YOU ARE NOT GETTING IN.
DITTO-WHARTON AND STANFORD AND COLUMBIA.
RATIO OF INVITES TO APPLICATIONS VARIES.
HBS INTERVIEWS 1800 KIDS FOR ~1000 ADMITS
STANFORD TYPICALLY 800-1200 FOR 450 ADMITS
WHARTON INTERVIEWS 40-50 PCT OF ALL APPLICANTS, SORTA.

At 12:06 AM 9/8/2009, you wrote:

Dear Sandy,

First of all, I would like to say congratulations on running a very informative and well-organized blog. I recently found your blog after searching for the answer to my question, which I hope you can provide an answer to.

For the HBS admissions process, is an interview required of all applicants who are to be accepted? Or do some people get accepted to HBS without being interviewed? (I know this was the case ~10 years ago, but I’m not sure if this practice continues today). Similarly, are interviews a required part of the admissions process for other top 5 schools?

Many thanks in advance for your reply.

Best wishes,

2+2 STATS FR. DIRECTOR’S BLOG ARE BELOW.

WE NOTE:

1. YEAH, AS ALWAYS I’D LIKE TO MEET THAT KID W. THE 510 GMAT.

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/blog.html

SEVERAL THINGS NEW HERE: INCREASE IN TOTAL ADMITS FROM LAST YEAR FROM 106 TO 115 IS YET MORE EVIDENCE THAT HBS TOTAL CLASS IS GOING THRU GROWTH CREEP, AND MAY ADD A SECTION AND TOTAL OUT AT 1000 WHEN THESE KIDS HIT THE CAMPUS IN TWO YEARS, CONFIRMING DEAN LIGHT’S NOTION THAT INCREASING CLASS SIZE IS A REVENUE ENHANCER. THE INTERNATIOL COHORT SEEMS UP, ALTHO LAST YEAR FIGURES WERE UNCLEAR ABOUT THIS, ONE KID FROM INDIA LAST YEAR VS. 3 THIS YEAR (ALL FRM IIT BOMBAY –THAT STAT IS UNOFFICIAL AND GOTTEN THRU MY OWN SOURCES + SEEMS LOW, ANY DESI 2+2 ACCEPT NOT FRM BOMBAY PLEASE CHECK IN) –MY GUESS IS LOTS OF THOSE INTERNATIONALS ARE CANADIAN! THE SPLIT BETWEEN 50 PCT ENGINEERING + NATURAL SCIENCES AND 50 PCT ALL THE OTHER CUTIES MEANS THE PROGRAM IS STILL HALF A PROGRAM TO FIND KIDS FR. SCIENCE WHO MAY NOT HAVE EVER THOUGHT OF B SCHOOL, AND HALF BEAUTY CONTEST, E.G. JUST HIGH ACHIEVING KIDS WHO THEY ARE STEALING FROM STANFORD AND LAW SCHOOL.  FOLKS, I KNOW A BUNCH OF 2+2 ADMITS, AND IF ANYONE EVER SENT DERICK BOLTON [ADCOM DIRECT AT STANFORD B SCHOOL]  A LIST OF 2+2 RESUMES AND SAID YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET A CHANCE TO BID ON THESE KIDS FOR STANFORD B SCHOOL, HIS HEAD WOULD EXPLODE. AND IT MAY HAVE ALREADY.

ONCE AGAIN WE SALUTE HER ROYAL HIGHNESS DC LEOPOLD FOR COOKING UP THIS SCAM CUM BABY THEFT CUM YEAR LONG JUNKET ACROSS THE COUNTRY–IT’S LIKE LOLITA IN REVERSE: IN THAT BOOK, HUMBERT GOT THE NYMPH AND THEN TOOK OFF ACROSS AMERICA, HERE THEY START OUT W. ANY EMPTY CAR, DRIVE ACROSS AMERICA, AND COME BACK W. 115 NYMPHETS.   STANFORD WILL HAVE A PROGRAM LIKE THIS WITHIN 3 YEARS, THEY JUST GOTTA.

AND IF YOU HAVE READ THIS FAR, HERE IS YOUR REWARD, ONCE AGAIN, THE DIRTY LITTLE SECRET ABOUT

HBS ADMISSIONS AT ALL LEVELS: GPA TO WIT

2+2 Class of 2014

Happy to introduce the newest 2+2 admits… here’s the profile:

What the stats don’t show is how much fun we had meeting these folks. They all have leadership talent and they bring an infectious level of curiosity, initiative and energy. We are proud to welcome them to the HBS family.

 by the way, unofficial word is that hbs 2+2 accepts were ~115 (up from 106 last year)

which leaves

  dings at 729

OFFICIAL HBS TWO +TWO = NOT YOU LETTER, it’s like the Shamwow –you’ve been rejected –but wait, Keep Reading, there’s more –borrowing frm the world of cable infomercials, funeral sales, and even TP ads, HBS creates the perfect ding letter.

 You did not make the last squeeze but KEEP READING,

September 1, 2009

Dear Dingbell,

I am sorry to inform you that we are not able to offer you admission to the 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School.

Please keep reading.

I speak for the entire Admissions Board when I say that we were very impressed with the candidates who came to campus to interview. We will all remember the uplifting and positive atmosphere in Dillon House during the week of August 17. Every single one of you had a positive interview. [Even the kid who barfed and the two girls from Japan who it turns out really don’t speak English.]  We have no questions about your ability to do top level academic work. We find your experiences and energy to be noteworthy. Your commitment to changing the world is inspirational. Our daunting challenge was not to rank order you in any way [oh no, we dont do that], but to compose a cohort with maximum diversity and texture [ texture?????, this is sounding more  like an ad for TP than  TPT] . These decisions have been among the most difficult I have experienced in a long career. I mean, how hard is it to ding geezers, even really talented ones.We have created bandwidth [!] to speak to each of you personally if you wish. This isn’t  for the purpose of critiquing your 2+2 application (which was perfect)  but an attempt to indicate our continued interest in each of you. We hope that many of you will be students here at some time in the future. But see our note at the end about free lunch program for reapps. We hope that all of you will be MBA students somewhere. The world needs your passion and talent and we think the MBA is a degree that will open many important doors.

Should you wish to speak with us, please call HBS Mortuary Services at  617-999-9999 and we will make arrangements.

(and also enlist you in our perpetual care program, where your dead app can be trimmed by our expert gardening staff forever)

Please know that we recognize the time and effort you put into your application. Your spirit of adventure in approaching this program has been transformative for us and we are deeply appreciative.

Also, for those of you who became addicted to our frantic Twitter “countdown’ feeds, in the good old days last June,  before we actually had to, ahem, “decontexturize” some of you  (well, most of you)–we are issuing that in a special DVD, w. a director’s cut (hard to get that mania into 140 characters, so we got some deleted material in there).

Have a great year, and we do regret that our endowment meltdown and budget cuts constrain  us from giving you any more free lunches, even if you plan to apply as a senior.  You can apply as often as you like, but we don’t have to keep feeding you!    

HRH DCL ETC ETC