Harvard Business School has officially launched a new program called “2+2″, which aims at recruiting college juniors for future spots in the class at HBS. The basic concept is that college juniors can apply to HBS and, if admitted, be offered deferred admission to the MBA program pending the completion of two years of approved post-collegiate work experience.
HBS will be targeting “high-achieving college juniors studying in the fields of science, engineering, healthcare, government and public service, among other disciplines.” The school has also signed on several ‘sponsoring employers’ who have agreed to offer positions to accepted students for the work experience component of the 2+2 program. Employers include Google, McKinsey and Teach for America, among others. Harvard ultimately expects that students from this program will comprise 5-10% of the class at HBS.
The introduction of the 2+2 program further underlines the ‘arms race’ that is presently being waged as leading business schools battle for top talent and seek to be first in line when attracting students. On some levels it echoes the efforts of Tuck’s Business Bridge Program and Wharton’s submatriculation offering. The fact that 2+2 only requires two years of work experience is also consistent with the message that many leading programs have been sending about seeking out younger applicants. Finally, the program’s focus on attracting college students who may be somewhat non-traditional, is another sign that b-schools are looking to plant the seed of management education before talented graduates head off into other disciplines (law, medicine, etc).
For the official press release from Harvard, click here.
For the school’s 2+2 home page, click here.
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