HBS Round 2... no interview invite

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toptenorbust: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 14; Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:44 am

by toptenorbust » Sat Feb 13, 2010 4:56 am

I was incredibly disappointed yesterday. I applied to HBS Full Time MBA Round 2 and did not receive an interview invite.

Edited for privacy reasons!

Does HBS really only consider finance majors with a 700 GMAT?
I need to be consoled!

Last edited by toptenorbust on Mon Feb 15, 2010 9:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Admissions Success Stories | Sat Feb 13, 2010 4:56 am

money9111: Legendary Member; Posts: 2109; Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:25 pmFollowed by: 79 members; Location: New Jersey; Thanked: 109 times; GMAT Score:640

by money9111 » Sat Feb 13, 2010 8:55 am

"Does HBS really only consider finance majors with a 700 GMAT?" - the short answer is no...

for me to tell you to not be disappointed would be a mute point... i think everyone who gets a rejection letter feels some disappointment even if it was the best school in the world.

honestly, who knows what they were looking for this year. from your profile it seems as though you fit in perfectly although the GMAT score is low by HBS standards. maybe that was the kicker?

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Vitalina: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 116; Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:30 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 3 times; GMAT Score:670

by Vitalina » Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:34 am

I know what you feel! I had the same "spirits crushed" state in the fall, when LBS message came.
But I always live my life with a philosophy - what is done, is done for the better! Then it was not my place there in LBS.
Now I am going to Edinburgh and feeling very good about it.
I hope you will get into a very good program, and this disappointment will be forgotten. After all, it's HBS who lost a very good student in you, right?

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money9111: Legendary Member; Posts: 2109; Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:25 pmFollowed by: 79 members; Location: New Jersey; Thanked: 109 times; GMAT Score:640

by money9111 » Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:00 am

toptenorbust where else did you apply just focus on those now? i always think that HBS is a crapshoot...

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toptenorbust: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 14; Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:44 am

by toptenorbust » Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:10 am

I got invited for an interview with BC CSOM which is coming up shortly. However it will be a phone interview due to my geographical location. Im an expat!

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okigbo: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 177; Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:39 pm; Thanked: 6 times

by okigbo » Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:40 pm

I would also agree that a 640 is way below the 80th percentile for HBS. Unless you are an olympian, or started a multi billion org or your dad is a huge donor, chances are not looking too good.

That said, keep in mind that although most of the invites have gone out, some will continue to trickle so it is too early to throw in the towel...

Best of luck though with whatever happens..

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toptenorbust: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 14; Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:44 am

by toptenorbust » Sat Feb 13, 2010 1:05 pm

You are correct about the gmat score. If the 50th percentile is 700-750 than we can assume the 80th is around 670-780, and I am no olympian. Im just a bilingual expat engineer/project manager in charge of XX million euros of engineering materials and services.

Also, it was almost mainly just for me to see if I would get accepted, this is why i feel beaten. At a school like HBS I can assume I would accrue 160,000 USD in debt over the course of 2 years, meaning I dont know if I would have even accepted the offer. Im hoping the other first class programs I'm applying to will offer me the financial support that will make their programs more interesting for me.

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money9111: Legendary Member; Posts: 2109; Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:25 pmFollowed by: 79 members; Location: New Jersey; Thanked: 109 times; GMAT Score:640

by money9111 » Sat Feb 13, 2010 7:45 pm

i find it interesting when someone applies to HBS and then basically says that they would not have gone if they were accepted... what's the point in applying then? i also think that had you been accepted... you would have gone there

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toptenorbust: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 14; Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:44 am

by toptenorbust » Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:59 am

of course it would have been a hard decision. i guess this must be something a lot of people deal with. do I go to HBS, GSB, or Wharton for xxx,xxx$ or do I take a fellowship at lets say georgetown or babson.... seeing as I am planning on becoming an entrepreneur after bschool. If i was going to go corporate that would be a different story.

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toptenorbust: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 14; Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:44 am

by toptenorbust » Sun Feb 14, 2010 2:30 am

however, the decision is a lot easier when you dont get accepted.

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okigbo: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 177; Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:39 pm; Thanked: 6 times

by okigbo » Sun Feb 14, 2010 8:19 am

Actually, most people who go to HBS come from money so debt is not really a problem. The few that don't come from money go into lucrative fields like investment banking and PE so they aren't worried about taking on the debt.

Obviously one can be successful no matter where they went to school. Harvard doesn't turn losers into winners. It only takes winners who would be winners if they had Harvard degree or not...

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money9111: Legendary Member; Posts: 2109; Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:25 pmFollowed by: 79 members; Location: New Jersey; Thanked: 109 times; GMAT Score:640

by money9111 » Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:32 pm

toptenorbust i agree it definitely made your decision that much easier! too bad though... but everything happens for a reason, you'll do well where ever you end up..

okigbo someone can be successful no matter where they go to school, but there's an innate quality that facilitates that drive... but without giving HBS too much credit... it is the best B-school in the world for a reason... I don't think it takes winners who would be winners if they had a harvard degree or not, but i think it takes people who have showed that they have the qualities to be successful. There are just as many people with HBS degrees who are not successful, as those with them.

My goal is to make MBA applicants take onus over their process.

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toptenorbust: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 14; Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:44 am

by toptenorbust » Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:45 pm

money, thanks for the kind words.

where will you be applying?

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money9111: Legendary Member; Posts: 2109; Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:25 pmFollowed by: 79 members; Location: New Jersey; Thanked: 109 times; GMAT Score:640

by money9111 » Sun Feb 14, 2010 4:19 pm

As of right now I'll be applying to Dartmouth Tuck, Yale SOM, NYU, HBS

just so I don't have any regrets, possibly Darden. I'm going up to visit Yale SOM tomorrow... excited about that

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MisterRoboto: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 14; Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 1:26 am

by MisterRoboto » Mon Feb 15, 2010 3:50 pm

Hey Toptenorbust,

If it makes you feel any better, I'm multilingual (I can speak 4 languages), have a 700+ GMAT and have lived and worked in 4 different countries, yet got dinged by HBS full-time...

With over 300K people taking the GMAT this year, various schools accepting GRE scores, and the current global economic landscape, I think it's safe to say this year was a very competitve year for bschool apps. =)

ps. I'm also a finance major. lol

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