Insider Tips For The HBS Interview

This year, HBS enrolled its smallest MBA class in decades with just 732 students, roughly 200 fewer than a typical MBA class.

There are various reasons for the decrease in class size, with an application slump being the biggest. However, one thing has not changed: the notoriously rigorous admission standards. P&Q estimated that the acceptance rate at HBS this year was just 13%.

Getting into HBS is no easy feat. However, there are elements of your application that can make a huge difference. Acing the interview process is one of them.

Karla Cohen is an expert coach at Fortuna Admissions and former Associate Director of Doctoral Programs at HBS and MBA interview board member for the HBS MBA program. She recently broke down how applicants can ace the HBS interview offering some insider advice into the process. ‘

KNOW YOUR STORY

The interview process is an opportunity for applicants to tell their story to admissions officers.

Cohen recommends that applicants use their resume as a starting point. However, she notes that this isn’t simply a time to list out your work experience but rather an opportunity to explain a clear rationale for certain decisions.

“Your ability to articulate your thinking behind each of those decisions is essential, along with your ambitions and motivations beyond the MBA,” Cohen writes.

CONNECT YOUR AMBITIONS TO HBS

HBS wants to hear your story, but they also want to know why you want to attend their b-school.

“You’ll need to be convincing and logical, not only about why an MBA, but why now, and how an HBS degree will serve as a catalyst for your own post-MBA success,” Cohen writes. “Many times candidates focus on leadership, and while that’s part of what HBS is known for, don’t forget that at its core HBS is a general management program, not a leadership school.”

BE AUTHENTIC

Authenticity is key when it comes to the interview. Cohen’s line of advice? Don’t try to be someone you’re not.

“The better prepared you are to articulate how you made certain decisions and choices, and what you were actually thinking, the more persuasive and believable you will be,” she writes. “Be yourself – it’s your unique rational, thought process and perspectives that distinguish you from others of an identical or similar profile.”

Sources: Fortuna Admissions, P&Q