Harvard Business School (HBS) Director of Admissions Dee Leopold shared that she’s been answering the general phone line in the admissions office in an effort to understand first hand what kinds of questions applicants have at this stage in the process.
According to Leopold’s post, one of the questions they’ve been receiving is whether there is any advantage to submitting Round 1 applications now, well in advance of the October 1st deadline. “Not really,” Leopold responds. “We don’t begin to read applications until the day after the deadline.” That said, if you wait until the very last minute, you could encounter heavy server traffic, she warns. “So somewhere between very early and just-in-time is probably smart.”
Other applicants who can’t attend an HBS information session have asked what they are missing. Leopold answers this question in detail, both for information sessions that take place outside of Boston and those that take place on the HBS campus itself.
Outside of Boston, an admissions board member will present attendees with general information about HBS and more specific details about the MBA program and admissions process, Leopold explains. Attendees also get to watch a new video showcasing student experiences and the campus and participate in a panel discussion and question-and-answer session with recent alumni from the area in which the presentation is being given. For a schedule of upcoming presentations in a range of cities, click here.
For those who are able to visit the HBS campus, an admissions board member conducts an informal session in an HBS classroom. These afternoon sessions, which haveanywhere between 10 to 30 attendees, allow plenty of time for questions, Leopold says. During the summer, there are no MBA classes in session for prospective applicants to sit in on, but the Spangler Student Center is open for breakfast and lunch and applicants can take a 30-minute self-directed iPod tour of campus.
In addition to regular afternoon sessions, the HBS Admissions Board will add four evening information sessions, scheduled for September 3rd, 9th, 17th and 23rd. To learn more about on-campus visits, click here.
In answer to the question of when class visits will resume at HBS, Leopold doesn’t give a precise answer, stating that they will begin in early October but that an exact date hasn’t yet been set. “In September we will post the date and there will be a link to an on-line scheduler,” she explains. Lunches with students and campus tours will also resume then, she adds.
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