Who got into HBS, Stanford, and Wharton in Round 1?
Last week, Harvard and Stanford released Round 1 MBA admissions decisions. Who got in? And what can those of you applying in Round 2 or even gearing up for Round 1 in fall 2024 learn from the success of others?
MBA applications went down in the last cycle: Who’s benefiting?
First let’s level set here for a moment. In the previous MBA admissions cycle, the 2022-2023 one, applications, especially from US candidates went down. As the news continue to spread, MBA hopefuls are asking, “Is it easier to get into a top MBA program this year?” When MBA applications are down, do the doors to the most selective MBA programs open a bit wider, especially for US candidates?
The answer is “not exactly”. Even in times when applications are down, the top schools will never lower their standards. So I wouldn't call the 2023-2024 admissions cycle "easier". All you need to do is browse forums such as Clear Admit to see plenty of MBA candidates with formidable statistics and backgrounds who get rejected.
And now there are indications that MBA applications may have gone up in Round 1 - recently when speaking with prospective students and welcoming the new admits, Booth and Kellogg mentioned significant increases in applications.
It’s too early to tell if this was just a Round 1 phenomenon, driven perhaps by the changes to the exams, which are known to sometimes “pull demand” forward as test takers flock to take the exam they have familiarity with.
Still, the current business school admissions landscape may present an opportunity. It may be the kind of MBA admissions environment where strong candidates will have stronger odds at higher ranked schools.
You still need to be both competitive and compelling - and build a strong application. That will never change, even if MBA applications are down. But your chances do become stronger when the competition is a bit less fierce.
So who got admitted to HBS and the GSB?
The GSB receives roughly 14 applications for each seat in the class. HBS receives around 9 for each spot. A very large percentage of these candidates are perfectly qualified for admission.
What differentiated those who got in? As always, one thing remains true of the most selective MBA programs in the world.
There are no random winners in MBA admissions
Every single person I know who got admitted had a strong proof of their ability to succeed academically. Each of them was on a different leadership journey but they had been intentional and thoughtful about their actions. They knew their values and how they had driven the choices they made along the way.
They didn’t simply “shoot their shot”. They shot their best one.
“Every grand strategy has to eventually devolve to lowly action,” Peter Drucker purportedly said.
The MBA candidates who got admitted last week were the ones who didn’t waste time daydreaming of how they will be the lucky ones selected by the AdCom. They didn’t bother asking strangers in anonymous forums to assess their odds. They relied on traction – incremental progress every week – to increase their odds.
Forging vs Scrambling in the MBA Admissions Process
As always, it was the people who forged their way to the Round 1 MBA application deadline who faced the most success. The unsuccessful ones were those who scrambled were scattered in their efforts. They also more often had to delay their applications until Round 2.
The Round 1 MBA admits did three things especially well:
1) They started preparing for the GMAT or GRE early and had plenty of runway for retakes if needed. From the pool of successful admits I worked with, all were done taking the test at least a couple of months before the deadline. That didn’t always mean they got a score that was above the median of their target programs. But they had done their best and in the weeks before the deadlines, they focused on their MBA application materials.
2) Many of them started working with me many months in advance. This meant we had ample time to identify ways for them to bolster their leadership track record even further. It also meant we had a beautiful runway to explore and shape their MBA stories. If you are curious to know how early the work can start, I’m already commencing work with Round 1 candidates for Fall 2024.
3) They had a vision of what kind of person they would be ten years from now. They were able to communicate that vision and how they would show up on campus - now and as alums. This point is absolutely critical and often overlooked by MBA candidates. Because in the end, this is what you’re selling to the school. Not simply who you are now. Who you are going to be as an MBA student, an alum, a carrier of the brand for years to come.
This vision is also what carries my candidates through when the going gets tough. As one of them put it in an email to me after hitting “submit”: “I feel great about what I submitted, and most importantly, I've actually started to crystallize my thoughts with respect to my next 10-year goal. I am so appreciative of your exceptional and thoughtful guidance.”
But don’t mistake this vision for a pipe dream. For the successful admits, it was grounded in their track record - that “habit of leadership” HBS looks for in MBA candidates.
What did these admits write about in their MBA essays for Stanford and Harvard Business School?
No two HBS or GSB essays are ever alike.
The candidates I worked with embraced the difficulty and the messiness of the quest to find the most important parts of their backgrounds and the unifying thread that connected them into powerful MBA stories.
They knew this was not going to be a “paint by numbers” job.
The strongest MBA stories only come after asking hard questions and accepting the inevitability of running into a few dead ends along the way. As one of my candidates quipped last Tuesday, after getting the happy news from HBS, “I can’t say the process wasn’t painful at times. But being guided by an expert made a big difference”
It resulted in them putting together applications they were proud of and ones they felt confident about. Applications that, last Tuesday, resulted in “The answer is YES!” emails from HBS.
They did NOT portray perfection. They did not rely on platitudes. They didn’t anxiously plaster “leadership” and “impact” labels all over the descriptions of their actions for fear the MBA AdCom might miss recognizing them otherwise. They let their actions speak for themselves.
One Consistent Thing All Successful MBA Candidates Do
There’s an unfailing thread I see through the MBA application journeys of the most successful candidates. They surround themselves with support. They have mentors, peers, managers. They join organizations like Forte or MLT. They tap their alumni network from undergrad. They engage with their target schools. The speak with students and alums.
And yes, often they also choose to work with an MBA admissions consultant. Not because they are insecure or can’t manage the application process on their own but because they recognize the power and unique value of having a true expert who can guide them through.
It’s not about finding any shortcuts as much as it is about knowing the longcuts – the places of the MBA application process where you should be dedicating really significant efforts.
It’s also about the ability to tackle the myriad decisions that are required as you navigate the MBA admissions process – from choosing the right recommenders to selecting the right vignettes that paint an unforgettable MBA story.
The power to make a decision and stop second guessing it and instead move on to execution can have a tremendous impact on a candidate’s ability to navigate the MBA application process successfully and present themselves with confidence in their MBA application materials.
The Most Difficult Fact of MBA Admissions
With all this talk about what it takes to be a successful HBS or GSB admit, I’d be very remiss if I allowed this article to imply there is some sequence of actions or combination of attributes that guarantee admission to Harvard or Stanford. There isn’t.
You can be a truly amazing candidate – competitive and compelling – and you might still not get admitted. There will always be more outstanding candidates than there are seats available at the very top MBA programs.
If that happened to you, you are probably asking yourself, “Where did I go wrong?” And the answer very often is, “You didn’t.”
A “deny”, especially when it comes from one of the most selective MBA programs in the world, is not a verdict on your worth. It’s also not an indication that you fell significantly short in any way.
As a former Dean of MBA Admissions, I can tell you one thing with complete confidence. In many, many cases, it’s not like the MBA AdComs reviewed your application and issued a hard “no”. Quite possibly, they found many things about you truly admirable. But there were many, many other applicants who were extremely strong too. The MBA admissions process is influenced by complex factors outside of your candidacy—the overall applicant pool, the timing of your application, and sometimes luck.
If this happened to you, my heart goes out to you. But a “deny” doesn’t have to be the end of the road. You can adjust your application strategy and target schools for Round 2. You should also know that schools welcome reapplicants—you don’t get penalized for being a reapplicant and you can get admitted the second time around.