What It Means To Be A HBS Baker Scholar

The 2018 Baker Scholars luncheon. The Baker Scholars had the largest-ever proportion of women, about 47% of the total. Courtesy Anca Haraga

A CHANCE TO MEET GEORGE BAKER’S DESCENDANT

These days, not much is said about Baker during the two years of the MBA program, Kiernan Schmitt tells P&Q. But as they leave, Baker Scholars depart with George Baker’s name forever attached to theirs, and his words in their hands. Wrapped around the copy of Baker’s biography that each receives was an embossed band emblazoned with a quote: “To conduct themselves as to gain the respect of their fellows and to keep up their standards of integrity,” Baker once said, “thereby they may gain for themselves the greatest happiness that life can bestow.”

The 2018 group of HBS Baker Scholars numbered 47 students, roughly the same size as the 2017 group (48) and the 2016 group (45) — which, of course, is simply a reflection of the size of the MBA graduating class. But in one major respect, 2018’s batch of Baker Scholars was extraordinary: It contained the most-ever women, 22, or about 47%. To put that number in perspective, nine years ago, in the Class of 2009, only 11% of the school’s Baker Scholars were female, though women accounted for 36% of that class (see Why Men Outperform Women At HBS). In fact, for the first 24 years that HBS handed out the honor, there were no women at all among the school’s graduating MBAs.

One of this year’s winning women was Anca Haraga, a London School of Economics grad who worked as a project manager for a London real estate development, construction, and property management firm before coming HBS in 2016. Haraga, like the others, learned about a week before graduation that she had been named a Baker Scholar. “The Baker Scholars and students who finished in the top 10% (graduating with distinction) were named on boards displayed around campus,” she tells Poets&Quants.

‘I NEVER THOUGHT THAT I WOULD BE ONE WHEN I STARTED MY JOURNEY AT HBS’

Haraga says she’ll remember the reception and luncheon, where she met George F. Baker’s great-grandson, George Baker IV. “There was a special award ceremony and lunch for us and our families the day before graduation. At this event, we got a chance to learn more about George Baker, the significance of this achievement, and meet George Baker IV,” she says. “We also received certificates and an engraved pendant as part of the ceremony.”

Haraga knew about the Baker Scholar award from before she started her MBA, but “I never thought that I would be one when I started my journey at HBS,” she says. “I really enjoy learning and solving problems and wanted to take in as much as possible during my time at HBS, which was my main goal. I realized I might become a Baker Scholar if I kept up the good work after the first-year grades came in, but I did not specifically tailor my second year experience to achieve this objective.” Haraga has returned to London to work in management consulting.

Courtesy Anca Haraga

HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF BAKER SCHOLARS THAN WOMEN IN MBA PROGRAM

That 47% of 2018 Baker Scholars were women is especially notable given that women made up a smaller percentage — about 42% — of the entire MBA Class of 2018. It’s a point of pride for Laura Carpenter, another of the 2018 Baker Scholars, who was a Deloitte strategy and operations consultant before embarking on her MBA journey and who plans to return to Deloitte in early 2019. Carpenter recalls that early in her first year, the head of the first-year curriculum spoke to each section and explained the process for obtaining academic honors. “Each course (finance, operations, etc.) is graded on a curve and students receive 1’s (top 15% – 20% of students), 2’s (next 70% – 75% of students), or 3’s (lowest 10% of students),” she tells P&Q by email. “To qualify as a Baker Scholar this year, a student had to receive over 69% Net Category 1 grades. (‘Net Category 1’ means that any Category 3 grades cancel out an equal number of Category 1 grades.)”

Like most MBA students at HBS (or any school), Carpenter aimed to do well in her studies. She was motivated more by a desire to get the most out of the case method “rather than a desire to get top honors,” but because grades at HBS are based on class participation and end-of-course exams, “It was easy for me to enthusiastically participate in case discussions because I found the classroom environment at HBS to be engaging and exciting.”

Carpenter, who attended Georgia Tech as an undergraduate Stamps Leadership Scholar, says she didn’t bury her nose in the books for the duration of her MBA. “I was not willing to give up other aspects of the MBA experience (social events, my startup, etc.) just to receive top grades in a class,” she says. “I wanted a well-rounded experience. I’d say I spent an average amount of time preparing for each case discussion. Most of my time outside of class was spent launching my digital media startup, Abridge News.” But, she adds, “I got a lot of support from HBS for my entrepreneurial journey, especially from the HBS Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and the Harvard Innovation Labs.”

‘I GOT TO HEAR THAT MY DAD WAS TRULY PROUD OF ME AND I FELT PROUD OF MYSELF’

What about the long-term impact of getting the honor? It’s certainly one of those proud, nice-to-have moments but may not make that big a difference to a winner over the years. “For what it’s worth, I can tell you that while it’s nice on occasion to recall that I was a Baker Scholar, that I scored enough “Category I’s” to be in the top 5%, I certainly don’t get to, nor would I ever, claim that I was smarter than my peers,” writes Steve Murch, named a Baker Scholar in 1991, on Quora. “It’s douchebaggy-enough to even mention (especially without being asked) that I attended HBS, let alone explain the Baker Scholar part to the person-who-honestly-couldn’t-care-less-what-that-is. The universe of people who really care about this beyond you is infinitesimally small.

“Sure, the graduation handshake from the Dean was firm, and the coffee-table-book was nice, and I got to hear that my dad was truly proud of me and I felt proud myself of the work that was in the rear-view mirror… but it’s honestly had zero impact on my life from either a monetary or recognition standpoint.”