The Application Process

I'm going to send my HBS app next week, and I really, really want to do the joint degree with HKS.

The problem is that HKS has not released essay topics and, in general, the app hasn't gone live, so I can't ask my recommenders to write the letteres yet.

The question is: what happens in the remote scenario in which I apply to HBS next week INCLUDING the additional "why do you want to joint degree" essay, and then it happens that in November I decide that I do not want to go ahead with the joint degree, and do not apply to HKS? Do I look bad in the eyes of HBS for having told them that I was going to apply to HKS too and then I didn't, or do they simply evaluate my MBA admission as usual?

You may ask why my mind would change in just a few months. It really has to do with recommendation issues that are difficult to explain, but just trust me, my recommenders' availability in the future is somewhat uncertain, so I want to be prepared for a scenario in which I cannot apply to HKS.