Over the course of the last few weeks, many of our readers have emailed or posted discussion board questions about the HBS interview process. Here is a brief run-down of the process at Harvard:
Ground Rules
1) Harvard offers interviews by invitation only
2) All applicants admitted to the school have been interviewed
3) Interviews are application-based (your interviewer has read your application)
4) Interviews are typically conducted by a member of the adcom
By the Numbers
Number of applicants to HBS last season: 6,552
Number of applicants offered interviews: 1500 (approx.)
Number of interviewed applicants admitted: 1,048
Number of admitted students who matriculated: 914
Percentages
Percentage of HBS applicants offered an interview: 23%
Percentage of interviewed applicants offered admission: 69%
Percentage of admitted applicants who matriculate (yield): 89%
As you can see, the key with HBS is to make the interview cut, since they accept a very high percentage of applicants they interview. In contrast, a school like Wharton uses the interview in a very different way – interviewing 45-50% of applicants but admitting only 30-40% of those applicants interviewed.
Stay tuned for more MBA interviewing tips as the admissions season progresses…
