When people think about a business school, the very first institution that comes to their mind is of course Harvard Business School. This is true for many other fields such as Law! The MBA program at Harvard Business School is always ranked among the top three best MBA programs around the globe. For that reason, the admission standards at HBS are extremely high, with almost just 11% of the total applicants being admitted annually. This is considered to be the second lowest acceptance rate after Stanford University. 

Online many business schools which require many essay questions and mini questions, Harvard Business School currently requires only one essay without a word limit. This is asks the applicants to inform the admission committee of any additional information not already included in the application itself. 

In a normal year, over 1,600 applicants get interview requests from Harvard Business School. Once the applicant get an interview invite, there is perhaps a 50% chance that he will be admitted to the school. 

The admission process:

• Written Application

To apply to Harvard Business School, applicants is required to assemble and prepare a variety of materials that will help the admission committee assess their qualifications. All of the materials must be submitted to HBS online by the application deadlines. The following serve as a preview of what to prepare:

• Transcript(s)
• GMAT/GRE
• TOEFL/IELTS/Pearson Test of English (PTE)
• Essay
• Recommendations (2)
• Resume
• Acceptance of Policies
• Fee

Interview:

After your written application has been submitted and reviewed, you may get an invite to the interview process. This phase of the admission process is unique in nature and very challenging. If you really want to get in to the MBA Program at Harvard Business School, it is critical to understand the interview process, so you can prepare accordingly and correctly for it. 

Most of Harvard Business school interviews are conducted by two members of the admission committee: one of them acts as the person to ask the questions (The Interviewer) and the other acts as an observer who is usually taking notes. The interview is often limited to only 30 minutes. 

The interview tends to be rapid and aggressive in nature for a very good reason. The admission committee want to know how you can act under stress. They want to get a real sense of the real person you are and how well will you perform academically under pressure if admitted to the program. 

At the beginning of the interview, the interviewer will most likely go over the applicant’s resume in an attempt to get them to defend the choices they have made up to the time of the interview. An applicant can be asked about the reason why he chose a specific undergraduate degree and how he got his first job post graduation. 

The applicant should not look like they are trying to remember what they wrote in their essays. The answers come out quick and precise. Before the interview, the applicant must go over every piece of information and paper in their application to be able to know exactly who the admission committee is interviewing. 

It is absolutely not enough to be able to discuss your application on a superficial level and attempt to just freestyle it. You need to prepare exactly a strategy on how you will speak your background, and how it will benefit your chances of admission. You will need to prepare responses to very hard questions about your past decisions. There must be a logical reasoning behind every single choice you have made in the past. 

Frequently Asked Questions during the HBS Interview: 

• Why did you choose to work for the company you work for now? 
• Describe a mistake you have made in the past. 
• Describe your greatest accomplishment. 
• Tell us about a time you have failed. Did you overcome failure? 
• How would people close to you describe you? 
• Name someone that you admire. 
• What is your plan B if you do not get admitted to the HBS MBA program? 
• Where will you be 5 years after graduating from HBS?