Round 1 applicants to Harvard Business School (HBS) got to breathe a sigh of relief when they hit that “submit” button in early September, but one stress quickly morphed into another as they began the anxious wait for an interview invitation. But according to a recent post from HBS Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Chad Losee on his ‘Direct from the Director’ blog, that wait will come to an end the week after next.
Interview invitations will go out on two dates: Monday, October 2nd, and Thursday, October 5th, Losee wrote. As for what the different dates might mean, he shared the following:
“We do it in two batches to spread out the traffic on the interview sign-up pages. On October 2, you may receive a message inviting you to interview, or you will hear nothing. On October 5, you will hear one of three things from us: 1) invitation to interview 2) “release” or 3) “further consideration.” By “releasing” those of you who we cannot move forward in the process, rather than waiting until December to let you know—we hope to give you time to explore other potential options. For group 3), we would like to “further consider” your applications in Round 2, and more details will be shared directly about next steps.”
Interviews will be conducted between mid-October and mid-November and can be scheduled in numerous global locations, on campus, or via Skype. “Where you interview does NOT affect your likelihood to be accepted,” Losee underscored.
Don’t forget: MBA LiveWire, where MBA applicants report admissions decisions in real time, will be your go-to resource on October 2nd and 5th, revealing interview invitations as soon as they roll in. Share your news, learn the news of others, or just commiserate together as you wait.
For those who want to gear up and prepare ahead of time, the Clear Admit HBS Interview Guide offers vital, up-to-date interview preparation intel, including questions historically asked by the interviewers, strategic advice on approaching the post-interview email exercise, and more. And then there’s the Interview Archive, filled with thousands of first-person accounts from applicants who have interviewed at HBS in the past.
As always, we wish the best of luck to all HBS applicants!
Clear Admit Resources
As you wait to learn your interview fate, we encourage you to consider all of Clear Admit’s HBS offerings:
- Harvard School of Business Profile on the Clear Admit website: up-to-date advice and admissions information
- Clear Admit Harvard School Snapshot: overview of key curricular details and application information
- Clear Admit Harvard School Guide: in-depth program and campus information and side-by-side school comparisons; everything you need to know for a successful application!
- MBA LiveWire: admissions updates submitted in real time by applicants to HBS
- MBA DecisionWire: school enrollment decisions in real time by admits to HBS
