Who Gets Rejected By Harvard Business School? Meet Some Disappointed Applicants.

“… One thing’s for sure: He had plenty of disappointed company when Harvard Business School turned down people on Oct. 1 (see These Extraordinary MBA Applicants Were Just Rejected By Harvard for more profiles of dinged applicants with analysis on why they failed to make the cut). Last year, Harvard dinged more than 8,100 of its 9,228 applicants to put together an incoming class of 938 MBA students this fall. That means 88% of an already self-selecting pool of applicants to HBS gets rejected.” …

https://www.forbes.com/sites/poetsandquants/2019/10/10/who-gets-rejected-by-harvard-business-school-meet-some-of-last-weeks-disappointed-applicants/#4298b5093772

a 3.3 GPA ain’t gonna cut it for HBS. Surprised quants used that example for their poster boy, bcos absent world-class project leadership, or a URM+female hook, a 3.3 is auto-reject.

I do not agree that a 3.3 GPA from a top 5 undergrad business program is an automatic ding from HBS. This applicant had a well above average GMAT score, three promotions in 6 years at a mid-market PE firm & stellar recommendations.

A possible weakness which can be deadly for HBS admission is an applicant’s failure to clearly express one’s reason for pursuing an MBA degree. Especially so for one already in PE & doing exceptionally well.

My point is that the 3.3 GPA was not an automatic denial for this outstanding applicant. There had to be an additional weakness or concern.

P.S. This applicant had 6 years of post undergraduate work experience with three promotions at a mid-market PE firm by age 26; I wonder whether the tone of this applicant’s application writings (statement of purpose) was inappropriate. He had stellar recs from both a former partner & from the current managing partner at the PE firm. I suspect, therefore, that he had a very healthy ego when writing his application. Maybe akin to the difference between confidence & arrogance ?

…is bottom half of class. Not gonna cut it for HBS or SBS, or…

@bluebayou: I think that we have different understandings regarding elite MBA program admissions. GPA is not as significant for MBA admissions as it is for law school admissions. Nor is one’s class rank considered as a factor in MBA admissions to the best of my knowledge unless one is applying with no or minimal work experience.

Graduate business schools & law schools offer very different environments. This is reflected in their respective priorities for admission. One values experience & accomplishments while the other places high value on one’s intellect & demonstrated academic performance.

Harvard Business School’s average GPA is 3.7, but this was calculated for only about 72% of the most recent entering class. Although I do not know, I speculate that the average GPA for HBS is lower then the posted 3.7 GPA.

MBA programs are about one’s prior work experience & prior success at work, and the ability to work in a collaborative environment & manner.

In an earlier post above, you expressed surprise that Poets & Quants used an applicant with just a 3.3 undergraduate GPA as their “poster boy” example. You also wrote that a “3.3 GPA is an automatic reject” without either “world-class project leadership or a URM + female hook”. You are wrong. I’ll trust the world’s leading experts on MBA admissions–Poets & Quants–on this candidate’s qualifications for admission to HBS.

I have used P&Q’s website for many years & read several hundred profiles of admitted & rejected MBA applicants to the M-7 programs. Based on the profiles of admitted & rejected applicants to HBS & to other M-7 schools, P&Q’s “poster boy” appears to be a well qualified applicant to any M-7 MBA program.