How To Get Into Harvard Business School (2024)

Harvard Business School Program Overview

Many people are intimidated by the prestige of Harvard with its worldwide reputation, internationally known professors, and historic campus. But once students settle into the Harvard Business School (HBS) experience along with hundreds of their peers from around the world, they quickly see that the environment is more supportive than its cutthroat reputation suggests. At HBS, students help each other, whether through study groups, after class, or on weekends.

By using the case study method exclusively, HBS teaches its students how to think, analyze, and act. In your application, you need to portray exceptional communication skills to demonstrate that you can not only grasp concepts and clearly relay them but also teach others. HBS seeks people who can grow from setbacks or failures and are open to learning from others’ very different perspectives. Demonstrate your learnings in your application essay using examples from your work or extracurricular experiences.Howdid the experience help you grow?Whatdid you learn to do differently next time?

If all of this sounds intimidating, fear not: HBS students also like to have fun! Although incoming HBS classes are admittedly large (the typical class size is roughly 930 individuals), each class is divided into sections of approximately 90 students. These groups complete the core courses together, and each section has its own team of faculty members. The sections engage in friendly competition outside the classroom at the annual Section Olympics, which consist of athletic, humorous, and team-building games. Students continue to bond through such extracurricular activities as the HBS Show, the annual student-led comedy show; TGIF gatherings, which bring sections together each Friday to unwind over food and drinks; and nearly 100 clubs that offer something for everyone: how about the Coffee and Tea Club, the Golf Club, the Sailing Club, or the Outdoors Club?

HBS enjoys worldwide name recognition, and the program is global in many aspects: 37% of the latest incoming class was international; 55% of all cases published in 2021 were globally oriented; and the FIELD program, which runs throughout the first year of studies, features a “Global Immersion” course that pairs students with real companies from around the world to provide a hands-on learning experience.

If you are considering applying to HBS, let your personality and passions shine through in your application, but don’t forget about humility. HBS wants students who are confident but also understand how much they have to learn from others.

An HBS student and former Stratus client told us, “The HBS campus is small, and it’s very easy to get from one place to another. We have a beautiful gym and dining hall; a classic library and modern executive education building where we can study; beautiful outdoor spaces…”

Harvard Business School Curriculum

HBS employs a required curriculum (RC) in the first year, which concentrates heavily on the case method. One notable exception to case-method teaching at HBS isFIELD(Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development), a course that offers students the opportunity to test ideas in small-group, interactive settings. At the end of the term, student teams are sent into globalmarkets around the world, where they develop a new product or service concept for global partner organizations.

In the first year, students take all their classes with their sections, each with about 90 people. This dynamic creates an intense bonding experience among section mates, who come up with section traditions, games, and inside jokes. Sections often have parties so students can socialize with their peers outside the classroom as well. All that time together tends to make students more comfortable speaking in class, which is critical because a substantial part of one’s grade is based on class participation.

In the second, elective curriculum (EC) year, students choose from among more than 100 elective courses in ten subject areas, including 32 courses on entrepreneurial management. Students also can choose to participate in an immersion experience and/or to cross-register at other Harvard schools. HBS has several renowned resource centers to supplement classroom learning, includingHarvardInnovation Labs (i-lab), which is designed to help students grow their ventures at any stage of development. Another standout resource is theHBS Global Initiative, which employs teams in Boston and key centers around the world that are dedicated to the school’s efforts to build expertise in global business practice and innovation.

The Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurshipoffers HBS students a plethora of learning opportunities in the field, such as the New Venture Competition, which includes tracks for business ventures, social enterprise ventures, and alumni; the Rock Summer Fellows program, which offers ten- to twelve-week summer fellowships; and the Startup Bootcamp, an immersive learning experience intended for first-year students. Elective courses at the Rock Center include “Founders’ Journey,” “Entrepreneurial Failure,” “The Coming of Managerial Capitalism: The United States,” and “Managing the Future of Work.”

Harvard Business School Statistics

Class Profile (Class of 2023)

Class Size:1,010
Average Work Experience:5 years
Average Undergraduate GPA:3.69
Women:46%
US Minorities:47%
InternationalCitizenship:37%
Median GMAT:730
Total GMAT Range:590−790
Median Verbal GRE:163
Median Quantitative GRE:164

Career Placement (Industries, Class of 2021)

Financial Services: 35%
Consulting: 23%
Technology: 19%
Health Care: 6%
Manufacturing: 4%
Consumer Products: 3%
Entertainment/Media: 3%
Nonprofit/Government: 3%
Services: 3%
Retail: 1%

Geographic Placement (Class of 2021)

United States: 87%
- Northeast: 49%
- West: 22%
- Southwest: 5%
- Mid-Atlantic: 4%
- Midwest: 3%
- South: 3%
Outside the United States: 13%
- Europe: 6%
- Asia: 4%
- Canada: 1%
- Australia and Oceania: <1%
- Latin America: <1%
- Middle East and North Africa: <1%
- Sub-Saharan Africa: <1%

HBS Acceptance Rate

As is the case with all top-ranked business schools, HBS has acompetitive acceptance rate—in 2021, the school received 9,773 applications and admitted 1,222 applicants. This means that approximately12.5%of applicants received an invitation to join the program. Out of the 1,222 applicants who were admitted, 1,010 decided to enroll.

Application Requirements for HBS

Bachelor’s degree and transcripts

HBS requires all applicants to have completed afour-year bachelor’s degree(or its equivalent if the applicant graduated outside of the United States) and to provideunofficial academic transcriptswith their application. If the applicant is admitted, they are expected to provideofficial academic transcripts.

Resume

All HBS applicants must submit aresumewith their application. “While it is important for candidates to assess their own readiness to apply, the Admissions Board considers two years of work experience as the minimum needed to be a competitive candidate in the applicant pool,” the school’s website states. Applicants with fewer than two years of work experience may consider the school’s2+2 program.

Recommendations

HBS requirestworecommendation letters. In business school applications, obtaining a recommendation froma direct supervisor or a manageris usually the best option. If you do not have a current direct supervisor or manager, considerpast supervisors, colleagues, or clients, based on your work situation. Family members, friends, and professors are typically notsuitable recommenders. “We know it is not always possible to have a direct supervisor write your recommendation – we would not want you to jeopardize your current position for the application process,” the HBS website states. “Look at the questions we are asking recommenders to complete. Find people who know you well enough to answer them. This can be a former supervisor, a colleague, someone you collaborate on an activity outside of work. How well a person knows you should take priority over level of seniority or HBS alumni status.”

Test scores

HBS acceptsthe GMAT and the GREto fulfill the test score requirement. All applicants must provide a test score, although the school does not have a stipulated minimum score. For the Class of 2024, the median GMAT score was 730, and the complete range was 540–790. The average GRE Verbal score and the average GRE Quantitative score were both 163. International applicants are also required to provide aTOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or Duolingoscore.

Anything else?

Aninterviewand one essayare also required of HBS applicants. Interviews are conducted on aninvitation-only basisby admissions committee members whohave reviewed the applicationbeforehand. During the pandemic, HBS interviews have largely been conducted virtually. These are some of the questions that are commonly asked during HBS interviews:

Let’s talk about your company. What do they do?
What does average day look like?
What’s the next big trend in your industry?
What would you do differently if you were CEO?
What have you learned from your current manager?

Extracurriculars at Harvard Business School

HBS students are very social and find many opportunities to gather outside the classroom. It’s definitely a “work hard, play hard” atmosphere. Most student activities are organized by clubs or the student government. There are nearly 100 clubs on campus, so odds are your interests are represented, and clubs are a great way to get to know students outside of your section. HBS clubs also host numerous annual conferences that draw people from around the world, including theHBS Health Care Conferenceand theHBS Social Enterprise Conference. Some noteworthy clubs includetheArmed Forces Alumni Association,General Management & Operations Club,Partners’ Club,Tech Club,Wine & Cuisine Society,andWomen’s Student Association.

The aforementionedHBS Health Care Conferencewelcomes industry professionals, experts, and students on campus once a year for roundtable discussions, “lunch and learn” events, and networking opportunities. The 2022 conference was themed “The New Where for Care: Health at Home” and welcomed such keynote speakers as the president and CEO of Humana. The event featured such panel discussions as “Consumer Health at Home,” “Chronic Condition Management at Home,” and “Hospital at Home: The Clinician’s Perspective.”

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Notable Professors and Classes at HBS

Rawi E. Abdelal

Rawi E. Abdelal is a world-renowned expert in the fields of international political economy, emerging markets, and globalization. In addition to serving as the Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management, he is the Emma Bloomberg Co-Chair of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, which aims to provide mayors and other city officials with better leadership skills.

During the 2022–2023 academic year, Professor Abdelal is teaching the course “Business, Government, and the International Economy,” and in past years, he has taught such courses as “Wisdom from Uncertainty: Life as a Work in Progress.”

Amy C. Edmondson

Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at HBS and the author of such books asThe Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth(Wiley, 2018). Professor Edmondson has been ranked as one of the most influential management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50 several times and as the number one thinker in 2021.

At HBS, Professor Edmondson teaches courses on such topics as organizational behavior, organizational learning, and leading change in the technology and operations management department.

Michael E. Porter

Dr. Michael E. Porter teaches economic theory and strategy concepts at HBS, and he founded the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, which is based on his work, in 2000. Indeed, Dr. Porter’s HBS profile describes him as “the most cited scholar today in economics and business.”

In addition to teaching, Dr. Porter has written nearly 20 books and more than 130 articles. He has received numerous awards for his work both at HBS and on a national level. In 2000, he received the highest Harvard faculty honor when he was named the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor.

Changing the World: Life Choices of Influential Leaders

This course, like many other electives at HBS, aims to equip students with the leadership skills required to make informed decisions. The course syllabus notes that the question at the core of this class is at the heart of HBS’s mission: “How is it that some individuals manage to have such an outsized impact on the world?”

Students examine case-length biographies of well-known leaders each week and search for patterns in their behavior. The course takes place during the last semester of the MBA program so “the search for patterns in choices among these prominent historical figures will challenge graduating students to think through the choices that they may want to make (or not make) in their own lives and careers,” the syllabus notes.

2032: 5 Technologies that Will Reshape the World in the Next Decade

This seminar course focuses on helping students become the best entrepreneurial leaders they can be in the next decade. The course examines five recently developed technologies, including blockchain-based technologies, AI and deep learning algorithms, and gene editing, to prepare students for the decisions they will face in their careers in the context of two trends with disruptive potential: demographic shifts and climate change.

Professor Shikhar Ghosh, who teaches the course, received the Apgar Award for innovation in teaching for it. Professor Ghosh has founded and served as the CEO or chairman of eight technology-based companies.

The Moral Leader

This course is a seminar-style elective that offers a new perspective on leadership by replacing case studies with literature. The literature used in the course ranges from Shakespeare and Greek plays to contemporary fiction, and the course examines each work in three parts: accountability, character, and pragmatism.

As noted in the syllabus, a former student who took this course describes its aim as to “[show] how people develop the skills, courage, and perseverance to use power, money, and influence in constructive ways.”

How to Answer Harvard Business School’s 2023-2024 Essay Prompts

HBS asks an open-ended question that can be hard to decipher, but really, the admissions committee is just looking to learn more about who you are and what drives you. Like last year, this is the sole essay prompt for HBS:

As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program? (900-word limit)

HBS FAQ

What is HBS best known for?

HBS is one of the highest ranked business schools within the United States and the world, and the Harvard name carries high recognition globally. HBS uses its case method–based curriculum to advance its goal of helping students gain “deep general management and leadership skills,” as the school’s website states. The HBS MBA program is a highly international and hands-on experience, from which graduates walk away with a strong sense of how to make practical and holistically informed decisions as leaders.

How much does tuition cost?

Estimated tuition for the HBS full-time MBA program is$111,542 for single studentsfor the 2022–2023 academic year. This includes program charges for three semesters, room and board, health insurance, and such additional fees as the student health fee, living expenses, and the course and program materials fee.

How difficult is it to get accepted into HBS?

HBS is known globally for its strengths in general management and developing thoughtful leaders, but do not let a school’s reputation steer you elsewhere if it doesn’t seem like a perfect match right away! HBS’s prestige may in fact seem intimidating to some, but many prospective applicants visit the HBS campus and are surprised by how approachable the students and faculty are.