- Roughly 10,000 students apply to Harvard Business School each year, but the acceptance rate is only 11%.
- Harvard was recently ranked No. 1 in the world for business and management studies in 2020 by higher-education analysts at Quacquarelli Symonds.
- Five successful applicants told Business Insider what worked for getting in the door and what didn't.
- For instance, the managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid pinpointed three qualities shared by successful applicants, including the ability to enjoy and partake in "lively discussion in a classroom setting."
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The latest stats on Harvard's website show only an 11% acceptance rate for its prestigious MBA program. Those are intimidating odds for the roughly 10,000 students who apply to Harvard Business School each year.
Harvard was ranked No. 1 in the world for business and management studies in 2020 by higher-education analysts at Quacquarelli Symonds and topped the Financial Times' 2020 global ranking of MBA programs — so, basically, it's very prestigious, and competitive.
If you're hoping to get a foot in the door, the best advice is often insider advice — something we specialize in at Business Insider. Read on to learn tips from the trenches about what worked and what didn't for HBS applicants who broke through the noise and were admitted.
Make your essay a 'window into your soul'
A critical component of any business school application is the personal essay — so when you're pitching to get into a school as coveted as Harvard, you need your written statement to not just shine, but sparkle and dazzle.
"At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, the essays are the windows into your soul," said Patrick Mullane, the executive director of Harvard Business School Online and an HBS graduate. "They are a chance to put a personality around the numbers that will make up much of an application. It's not enough to be a great writer — although that's essential. An applicant must also be able to communicate, in a relatively short amount of space, something that makes them human."
Mullane doesn't think this "something" needs to be a tale of overcoming incredible adversity, saying that overplaying that could be detrimental — and that the writing need not be complicated.
"Good communicators use simple language and short sentences to get their point across," Mullane said. "Comedian George Burns once said, 'The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and to have the two as close together as possible.' I think that's great advice for admissions essays as well."
Read more: The ultimate guide to nailing a sales pitch that closes the deal every time
Have a novel story to tell — and tell it well
Knowing that thousands of other top-caliber candidates may be following the above advice too, the question then becomes how to give your essay the best chance to rise to the top of the heap.
Mike Rivkin, an author and owner of Silverfish Press who graduated from HBS, said that having a different story to tell than the average college student might help tip the balance when it comes to winning over the admissions committee.
Rivkin said that though his college grades and scores were "good but not exemplary" and his extracurricular activities were modest, he focused his essays on his unique experience of running charter and commercial fishing boats out of San Diego. As a Coast Guard licensed captain who earned his money for college by fishing for billfish and tuna, he recognized that he had a story to share that few other applicants could mirror.
"Looking back, I think the novelty of such a background resonated with HBS's search for diversity," Rivkin said. "The details of running an expensive fishing boat and being responsible for all related charters, fuel, crew, maintenance, and more were not part of your typical application."
He added that some favorable letters of recommendation might have helped too.
Channel authenticity
In the quest to come up with a standout story, it's important to ensure that your essay is still true to who you are.
Shaifali Aggarwal, an HBS graduate and the founder and CEO of Ivy Groupe, a boutique MBA admissions consulting company, said that communicating authentically was a key factor that helped her get selected for the program.
"I took the time to think about my experiences across the personal/extracurricular, professional, and academic realms to gain an understanding of what my unique strengths and attributes were, and then highlighted those qualities through specific examples throughout my application," Aggarwal said.
Additionally, Aggarwal connected the dots in her story so that the admissions committee could understand the choices she made and how they linked to her future aspirations.
"To further differentiate myself, I provided color on why some experiences were instrumental in shaping who I was and were meaningful to me," she said. "In doing so, I demonstrated the human aspects of myself as well as self-awareness."
Give yourself enough time to write your masterpiece
Once you've identified the authentic tale that only you can tell and are committed to delivering it "George Burns-style," be sure not to sabotage your efforts by failing to carve out enough time to actually craft it.
Kaneisha Grayson, who was admitted to HBS with a 620 GMAT score and now helps others do the same as the founder and CEO of The Art of Applying, emphasized the importance of giving yourself enough time, space, and support to write an outstanding essay, saying that many applicants dedicate too much time and energy to getting "GMAT final" while leaving themselves with just a few weeks — or even days — to work on the essay.
"The essay is the part of your application process over which you have the most control," Grayson said. "By making your essay a concise, compelling, and authentic representation of your personal and professional accomplishments, goals, and interest in joining the HBS community, you give yourself a huge advantage over people who treat the essay as an afterthought."
Camilo Maldonado, a member of HBS Class of 2017 who cofounded The Finance Twins, also focused on highlighting his unique work experience in his HBS application.
When he applied, Maldonado worked at Bonobos, a men's apparel e-commerce company, where he was promoted to chief of staff at age 25. As a result, Maldonado had a lot of responsibility working for a smaller, less structured company.
"I made sure that my recommendations highlighted the experiences I had working at a high-growth company," Maldonado said. "I knew that many of the applicants at the top business schools come from Wall Street, Fortune 500 companies, or tech giants and that my less typical work experience would help me stand out."
Get your feet wet in industry
What else can you do to up your chances of getting into HBS in addition to writing a phenomenal essay? Some HBS grads mentioned working or interning in their field — whether in traditional MBA territory, such as finance and management consulting, or areas like startups, healthcare, government, or nonprofits — before applying to Harvard's graduate business program.
Paige Arnof-Fenn, the founder and CEO of Mavens & Moguls, ticked all the boxes by being a Stanford undergrad and a self-described "good student, strong in math, did well on my GMAT — it did not hurt that my father went there too." She added to these credentials by working for two years on Wall Street as a precursor to her business school application.
"I had great recommendations from bosses, wrote good essays, and applied in the first round so felt I had a good shot to get in," Arnof-Fenn said — and she did.
Marques Torbert, an HBS graduate who's now the CEO of Ametros, also pointed to the value of working in industry before throwing his hat in the ring at Harvard Business School.
"Coming from a family background that didn't include business, finance, or higher education, I leveraged the resources and connections around myself that I already made," Torbert said.
With the help of a mentor and an alumnus of his high school, he started his career by interning and working for equity firms, where he gained a wealth of financial knowledge.
"With my drive to challenge myself, I wanted to expand my financial experience and understand the operations side of business," Torbert said.
Target these 3 characteristics
When Chad Losee, HBS's managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid, chimes in with admissions guidance, candidates for the program would be wise to listen.
Losee said successful applicants share three characteristics.
"First, they have demonstrated leadership, whether it be in an academic, professional, or extracurricular setting, and show the potential to have even more impact," he said.
"We're also looking for applicants who have analytical aptitude and appetite, are able and willing to analyze a situation and form an opinion based on that analysis, and enjoy a lively discussion in a classroom setting, a key component of our case method of learning."
Finally, Losee emphasized that the school seeks students who will engage in the HBS community and be respectful of their classmates.
"The best discussions come when there is diversity of thought, so it's very important to us that our student population reflects the global nature of business today," Losee said.
Rock your application — and then get lucky
Christine Telyan, an HBS graduate and the CEO and cofounder of UENI, a tech company in London, neatly summed up the view of many of her fellow alumni: While there are several necessary conditions for admission to HBS — strong undergraduate grades, nearly perfect GMAT scores, and interesting or competitive work experience — none on its own is sufficient.
"You need to have that fire of ambition in your gut that propels you to do things a bit out of reach," Telyan said. "You have to want to work on things that test the boundaries of business or society."
Telyan also pointed out the elephant in the room: In addition to doing everything right, you have to be extremely lucky.
"Countless capable, accomplished, ambitious applicants do not make the cut," she said. "Your profile needs to add just the right balance to the class of 900 students, which depends as much on the other 899 as it does on you.
"As with most successes in life, luck weighs heavily on why anyone is admitted to Harvard Business School, which should keep us all very grounded and humble."
This article was originally published on Business Insider August 2019.
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