Let me start out by saying I know that there is no undergrad business major or anything like that, and that a student only picks their concentration in the first semester of their sophomore year. Jesus.
But seriously, what type of opportunities are there for undergrad business-people or entrepreneurs at Harvard undergrad?
Like what are good classes, good professors, good research, etc…
Please don’t tell me to go look at their website. I’m wondering if you guys - whether it be through experience or your own personal research - can lend some insight on this topic!
Remember that you will be attending the school with some of the brightest/ most creative people. Be social and you are guaranteed to find opportunities that you would never find elsewhere.
@chiefmonger That goes for any prestigious university. Do you know of any specific opportunities with clubs, teachers, research, etc.?
I know a lot of Harvard undergrads intern at the Boston Consulting Group, and are often recruited to top firms in New York. The Harvard Investment Association (of which Eduardo Saverin of Facebook was the President) is popular with Econ and non-Econ concentrators and could give you good experience with banking, consulting, etc.
@codemachine so do you think that the business focus for undergrads is mostly finance-realted? Because I’d like to do finance when I’m done with undergrad, but I’m looking for on-campus entrepreneurship (and engineering) opportunities to help me get in, as most of my EC’s are entrepreneurship (and kinda engineering) related.
Well Harvard kids take whatever degree they have and do whatever they want. One of the many upsides of being a Harvard student is that you can do pretty much anything. Entrepreneurship is your future? Facebook, Microsoft, and countless other companies were founded on the campus itself. Finance is also a big one, though. One member of my synagogue, personally, graduated from Harvard with an AB in Econ, worked in NYC for 3 years, went to Columbia for his MBA, and works in several industries around the country. Most people work right out of Harvard College and earn degrees along the way, while adding to their career. Harvard has the connections, don’t you worry.
Let me ask this, have you already been admitted or are you applying?
@codemachine I’m a rising senior who’s applying.
I want to leverage my experience with entrepreneurship (besides internships and clubs and ish, me and my friend are doing a seed round of VC investment for this app startup we got going) to help me get in. I wanna use my Harvard supplement essay to talk about why Harvard is the right fit for me, so I’m looking for things on campus that coincide with my entrepreneurial endeavors.
SCEA?
Well I’d definitely write about the VC investment and app you have going. This could demonstrate that you could walk in there and already have some experience. And when you apply for internships, you could cite that experience as for why would be qualified to work there (i.e. if you apply to a VC firm or investment bank, it will make you stand out among your classmates). You could also probably be in touch with people at Harvard Business School, as I’m sure undergrads do research with the graduate schools while still there.
Here is a list of recruiting partners associated with Harvard Business School: http://www.hbs.edu/recruiting/data/Pages/recruiting-partners.aspx
They also have a real emphasis on entrepreneurship, if that becomes of interest. If and when you get there, I’d reach out to the business school to see what you can do as an undergrad to gain attention/internships.
@codemachine Probably SCEA. I’m lightly considering Brown because of the feel of the school, but I’m almost positive I’ll apply SCEA.
I understand that I’ll have opportunities once I get there, but I need to get in first. What do you recommend I talk about on my application in regards to entrepreneurship that will help me get accepted? (GPA and SAT are no issue, 3.97/ 2370 respectively and I have great recommendations).
The recent donation will greatly expand entrepreneurship opptys.
I mean you could try being honest and just making it known in your essays its an interest. You dont really jave to found a Fortune 500 company before 15 to get in.