I went to an HBS Admissions Event last night hoping that it would help me decide whether to apply. Aside from the question of whether they would admit me, I’m apprehensive about the total use of the case method (no lecture at all!) and my potential classmates. This is the world’s top business school which presumably attracts the best and the brightest. Are all of these people going to be lone wolf cutthroat jerkwads? I guess out of 900 classmates, there’s bound to be a handful.
The HBS administrator made the case method less intimidating, although it would probably still take about a week or so for me to get comfortable speaking up in front of my section-mates. After I get comfortable, I don’t shut up. HBS doesn’t seem to sell the school as much as the other schools, but maybe its because they don’t need to. The recent alum were personable and doing really cool things. What turned me off a bit were some other potential applicants. Of course, the majority seemed pretty normal, definitely high achievers, but still normal people. However, there were a handful sitting around me and all I could think was, “What tools.” They reminded me of Alex P. Keaton.
While I’m still on the fence with HBS, I may add Boston University to my R2 apps as a backup. We’ll see how R1 goes.
Geetu said,
August 29, 2007 @ 2:07 pm
Wokay!
I got my updates.. HBS wasnt for me anyways.
but this would hv been fun to watch.
Wow.. love the way your applications are completing themselves!
hehe.. Help me!
All the best.
Clear Admit: MBA Admissions Consultants Blog » Fridays from the Frontline said,
August 30, 2007 @ 11:16 pm
[...] to the Middle East for six months. Meanwhile, mbabound08 shared some candid thoughts about an HBS information session she attended, while Bschool Diva revisited her list of target [...]
gfox said,
September 7, 2007 @ 11:41 am
I just came across your blog today (via clearadmit); I’m also applying R1 to HBS, Wharton, and Columbia and am getting into the thick of things.
I went to the HBS event for Silicon Valley last week (I’m guessing you went to the SF one) and felt compelled to leave a comment after reading your post because I had a similar takeaway about the people there. I’d say there was about 100 prospective applicants and a couple of them were more outspoken folks that shocked me with some of the things they said; these guys definitely fit into the stereotype I had of an HBS student, which initially made me hesitant to apply.
That being said, I’ve met some quality HBS students/alumni that break the stereotype. I’ve directly addressed my hang-ups with them and they all told me the same thing–HBS has such a large student body that you’re going to get all types of people, some you like and others… Like you said, out of a class of 900 there’s bound to be some jerkwads. It seems to me that the adcom makes it a point to pull a diverse group from the applicant pool; in a sense, the case method probably wouldn’t be as effective if you didn’t have people that you didn’t like in the mix. Throwing a couple of tools in there adds to the diversity and in the end makes me a better manager, right?
I just wanted to share my thoughts with someone going through the same mental justifications. I think the key thing is that you’re able to identify the jerkwads from the rest; like they say, if you can’t spot the jerk in the room, then you’re probably the jerk. Good luck with the application process! I’ve subscribed to your blog and look forward to riding the b-school roller coaster with you.