January 31, 2012

Hello Everyone,

Even though the first of the month isn’t until tomorrow, I thought an “early edition” of the monthly waitlist update might be helpful.

Today we are sending out the first wave of interview invitations to Round 2 candidates. Here’s how this affects the waitlist:

For candidates who have NOT been interviewed yet:

• Some of you may be invited to interview today
• Some of you may be invited to interview in one of the next two waves: February 7 or 14
• Some of you may be “released” on February 14
• Some of you (a small handful) may be asked to stay on the waitlist beyond February 14

 

For candidates who have ALREADY BEEN INTERVIEWED:

You should not expect any activity on your application this month. We will revisit your application again in March as we make decisions on the Round 2 candidates. Many of you should expect a final decision on your application on March 29, the decision notification date for Round 2. I will send another update in mid-March as to how we’ll be communicating decisions.

Since we do not plan to make decisions any earlier than what I have outlined above, we understand that some of you may require a different timeline; if so, and you would like to remove yourself from our waitlist, please email me at dana_scalisi@hbs.edu.

I hope this is helpful! Thank you for your patience, and please contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Dana Scalisi
Assistant Director, MBA Admissions
Harvard Business School
Dillon House
Soldiers Field Road
Boston, MA 02163

Her Royal Highness, and HBS adcom Dee Leopold, in a blog message  has noted that HBS will put 120 applicants on the WL on Round One Decision Day (December 19th, 2011).

Some back-of-the envelope nubmers based on her blog entry (there is a link to it above and it is reprinted at the end of this entry).

~850 total round one interviews 

(source: historical data, personal sources, data from sign up sheets)
120 on Waitlist (source Dee’s blog)
730 left (source Euclid)

in the past, HBS has had a  59pct post-interview admit nubmer, which is historical, and has been confirmed by HBS on occassion, but do not sue me if that number has changed, altho I think it is +/-5 valid
If you apply that 59 pct to the 730, you get 430 admits, but you really need to apply it to the 850
to get 501, but 501 admits will not be sent out on D-Day,  because some of those ultimate admits will be  on the WL.
But WL admit is not 59 pct (by a long shot). Sooo, have fun and good luck figuring out how many admits go out on D-Day

 I say, 480 or so. Based on what?

 the above and some hunches.
thus

850 kids Waiting Right Now Who Have Been Interviewed

Genius Boy, me predicts, of those 850
480 Admits
120 WL
250 Dings

see below for Her Majesty’s Blog Entry.

 

———————————————-

Round 1 Notification
Date: December 12, 2011
It’s a week away…so I thought some details might be in order.

In addition to admit and deny notifcations, we will also be inviting about 120 or so candidates who have been interviewed to join our waitlist. All waitlisters will receive additional information from Dana Scalisi, who manages this process.

For candidates who are denied admission after an interview, there will also be information about call-in hours in January if anyone would like to have a conversation with me. I wouldn’t call these “feedback” calls since they aren’t very detailed…but sometimes it can be reassuring to hear that there were not specific weaknesses in an application, but rather just the reality of a highly selective process with the goal of maximizing the mix of voices and perspectives in the classroom.

For those of you in waiting mode, I send you all good wishes for distraction.

HER MAJESTY ANNOUNCES ROUND ONE INTERVIEW SCHEDULES FOR HBS –FYI, LAST YEAR, WITH SIMILAR COUGHING AND DUMURRING ABOUT NOW ALGORITHM–A GOOD DEAL OF THE INVITES WENT OUT IN THE FIRST WEEK OR SO OF THE WINDOW.  

 ——————————————————————————————

Round 1 Interviews

Date:	October 04, 2011

I know that the feeling of triumph from submitting an application can be short-lived – and gives way to Phase 2, the “Anxiety of Waiting about an Interview.” Please be assured that we are in full-scale reading mode as of this morning – all hands are on deck. Let me walk you through Round 1:

• October 3: Deadline for receiving applications has just passed.
• October 26 – November 9: Interview invitations will be issued via email. Please read this part carefully – We don’t have some complicated and/or malevolent algorithm that determines which interview invitations go out first or last or even how many go out on any given day. If you’d like to suggest one, give me a call.
• November 9: All candidates not invited to interview will receive one of two communications – “We are unable to offer you a place in the Class of 2014″ or an invitation to join our waitlist.
• November 7 – approximately November 29: Interview weeks, both on and off campus. Off campus locations in Round 1 include New York City, Palo Alto, London, Paris, Dubai, Sao Paulo, and Shanghai.
• December 19: Decision notification (admit, deny, or waitlist) for all interviewed candidates.

 

Now, I need to repeat language I used last year because I can’t think of a better way to say it. While no one applies hoping for a “deny” decision, we have heard you say that the worst case is extended uncertainty. We think that getting news out on November 9 is helpful so that denied candidates can re-direct energy toward Round 2 applications to other schools. Yes, we have the resources to ensure a thorough review of all applications before rendering any decisions. All applications are reviewed at least twice. Our Admissions Board is fully staffed and able to make this work.

All those invited to join our waitlist are candidates whom we would like to “further consider.” Our plan is for waitlisted candidates to receive further consideration in Round 2. Our intent is for all to receive a final decision by the time we make Round 2 notifications in late March. We completely understand if such a candidate might elect to withdraw his/her application.

I promise that all letters will clearly communicate a candidate’s status.

Most of all, we thank all Round 1 applicants for all the hard work and high aspirations that go into these applications. We are humbled and committed to doing our very best to give all candidates full and careful consideration

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

                                         WHEN AM I GETTING MY 2+2 INTERVIEW INVITE????

[JULY 19TH, 2010]
Warm greetings from Harvard Business School!

July 19, 2010

Admits in Harvard Business School’s incoming fall class with six or more years of work experience increased by a whopping 69% over last year, reflecting a greater preference for slightly older MBA candidates, according to the school’s admission office today (June 21). The school’s admissions office reported that its incoming class includes 191 candidates who earned their undergraduate degrees six or more years ago, up from only 113 last year.

http://poetsandquants.com/2011/06/22/hbs-liking-slightly-older-applicants/

Politico reports that

a half-dozen [WHITE HOUSE] staffers will begin at the premier law school this fall, bringing a rare skill set, a golden Rolodex and tales of the corridors of power to Harvard Yard. The exodus of the younger White House staffers marks the first major departure of junior aides in the Obama administration.

Wall Street layoffs usually lead to spiked B school applications, they did after 9/11 and also after 2008 Lehman meltdown,  how will that square with HBS trend in accepting fewer finance types in  favor of manufacturing?????

Could be real scary.