Today is decision day for many still-hopeful Round 1 applicants to Harvard Business School (HBS). A first batch of interview invitations went out on Monday, and a second and final batch is due to go out today at noon ET.
“For those invited to interview, the sign-ups will be immediately available,” wrote HBS Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid in a post to his Direct from the Director’s Blog this morning. “And don’t worry, we have managed the interview slots so there are plenty of options available today,” he assured. Availability in hub cities—Shanghai, Tokyo, Dubai, Mumbai, São Paulo, New York City, Bay Area, CA; London, and Paris—is typically more limited, he noted, but his team always has spots on campus. “There is no advantage/difference to one location over another,” he reiterated.
To access decisions, applicants are instructed to log in to their applications and view their Status Update. The first round of interview invitations went out on Monday, and a post by Losee preceding them revealed that they constituted approximately two-thirds of the invites for the round. The remaining third are slated to go out today, along with “further consideration” or “early release” decisions.
We know from MBA LiveWire submissions on Monday that the first batch did not go out promptly at noon. The first invitation was reported at 1:09 p.m., quickly followed by others. No reason was disclosed by HBS for the delay.
According to Losee, HBS does it in two batches “to spread out the traffic on the interview sign-up pages.” Or maybe the second batch is applicants for whom the first two reads of their application resulted in a tie—thus requiring a third read and more time to render a final decision. We do not know this to be the case—pure speculation on our part.
Losee offered words of consolation to those who get the dreaded “early release” decision today. “I know this is hard news,” he wrote. “As we’ve gotten to know you, of course we wish we could move more of you forward in the process.”
Good luck to those of you still awaiting word today!
Clear Admit Resources
As you wait to learn your interview fate, we encourage you to consider all of Clear Admit’s HBS offerings:
- Harvard Business School profile on the Clear Admit website: up-to-date advice and admissions information
- MBA LiveWire: admissions updates submitted in real time by applicants to HBS
- MBA DecisionWire: school enrollment decisions in real time by admits to HBS
Photo courtesy of HBS; © Rose Lincoln
