HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ADMISSION: SCARY STATISTICS
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With
David Apaflo, ACA
David, a chartered accountant, is one of the founding partners of Shelze Consulting. He also shares his thoughts on his personal blog
A few days ago Harvard Business School (“HBS”) was in Lagos for an information session at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.
So as it seems, these ivy league schools are paying more attention to Africa. I know Wharton and Stanford have similar events coming up in the next couple of days.
I was at the program and even though I was a few minutes late, I don’t think I missed much.
There was a panel of current MBA students (Class of 2015) and some other Harvard Alumni at the program. The students talked about several things – course work, campus life etc.
We were also given a run through of HBS’ evaluation criteria which is as follows:
- Habit of leadership
- Analytical aptitude and appetite
- Engaged community citizenship
For the admission process, you would need the following:
- Written Application
- Transcripts
- GMAT
- Resume
- Recommendations
- Essay
Some points to note however
- The average GMAT score for the Class of 2015 is 730 out of a possible 800
- Average age 27
- You need at least 2years of work experience to apply else try HBS 2+2
- Recommendations are very important
Check this out:
MBA CLASS OF 2015 PROFILE
ADMISSIONS
TOTAL MBA ENROLMENT – 932
APPLICATIONS – 9315
% ADMITTED – 12%
YIELD – 89%
CITIZENSHIP
NORTH AMERICA (UNITED STATES) – 611 (66%)
NORTH AMERICA (OTHERS) – 40 (4%)
ASIA – 142 (15%)
EUROPE – 81 (9%)
CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA – 34 (4%)
OCEANIA – 13 (1%)
AFRICA – 13 (1%)
Once you are successful with the above, you would be shortlisted for an interview which can take place over skype of a one on one. After the interview, you have 24 hours to let the school know if there is anything you missed out which would aid your application but forgot to mention.
For those not aware, an MBA at HBS costs a staggering $300,000 (inclusive of tuition, living expenses and lost income). For my undergrad at University of Lagos, I don’t think I spent up to $7,000 so this is well over 40 times what it cost me to acquire a first degree. HBS however assists their students secure financing and fellowships for the program.
The presentations were over and we began networking. I met a couple of people I knew and some new people too. I met a guy who scored 700 in GMAT had worked at a big 4 audit firm in Nigeria but wasn’t even shortlisted for an interview last year. Suddenly the odds of admission began to dawn on us as we listened to his story.
Leaving the venue that day we reached two main conclusions:
- Our chances of getting in would be almost 100% if we find the missing Chibok girls (lol) did I mention a Nobel Peace Prize to go with it;
- If we do not get into the MBA, we would get into the EMBA just like how if you can’t get on through JAMB You try Direct Entry J .
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This is so funny. Had a good laugh to start my day. This is really discouraging but possible. I’ve learnt ‘NEVER SAY NEVER. If you want it,really want it,really really want it,Go For It!
Yes, the stats look very discouraging, but attending Harvard or any of Yale, Wharton, Stanford, Sloan and co – though not highly likely – is never impossible.
And it is very unfortunate that someone would compare gaining Harvard admission to rescuing Chibok girls. It is doubly unfortunate that the article is published – unedited – on a forum/blog that aims to gain wide prominence and acceptance. Why trivialize the misfortunes of over 200 families? Let’s see if the writer would have done same if two of his sisters were being raped by those monsters! We should learn to be sensitive to the plights of others; someone affected by the whole Chibok saga could be reading this forum.
Back to the MBA thingy, the fact that someone with a perfect score and good work experience failed to be invited for admission interviews does not mean that those with below perfect scores were not invited or even extended admission offers. There is a bit of randomness, luck and God factor in these decisions, and admissions officers will never tell you this.
It is good to have a Noble peace prize, but you don’t need one to get admitted to any of the top 5 business schools in the world..This exaggeration is getting excessive. I can only guess that the writer is being sarcastic here.
EMBA is good if you have the money. Although I don’t know whether Harvard offers this, I agree that it is a great alternative to the regular MBA.
Conclusively, if your mind is set on attending Harvard or the likes, forget about the stories of Mr. A scored X in GMAT but was not admitted. Try to get the highest possible score that you can get. Prepare a very solid application (I can assist here) and make sure you have a glowing number of relevant leadership and extracurricular activities under your belt. You also need a good work experience. Provided your BSc is not bad and work experience is decent, you just could be lucky. There is an element of luck in these things. I cannot begin to tell a myriad of stories to support the existence of luck in MBA admissions.
Good luck.
Admit.
My apologies for the insensitivity displayed in the titling on this article and thanks for bringing that out.
I will edit accordingly.
Jarus
I sincerely apologise for my apparent insensitivity in titling. I would like to assure you that it is not a matter I take lightly and from my little corner I have joined the protests and said my prayers.
Back to the MBA Issue, as the writer of this article, I was simply sharing my OPINION! Nowhere was it mentioned that admission to HBS was impossible let alone needing a Nobel Peace Prize to get in. Please re-read.
Thank you for your readership.
PS: Your contact details would be helpful for people who might be interested in your services.
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nice