Harvard MBA Deadlines 2026-2027
The Harvard MBA deadlines for the 2026-2027 admissions season are presented in the table below.
The Harvard Business School admissions committee is operating on two rounds of deadlines this year for applicants hoping to join the HBS Class of 2029.
To be considered for a round, applicants must submit their applications (including recommendations) by 12:00 PM Eastern Time on the day of each deadline. Applications received after noon on September 9th will be considered in Round 2. Those received after noon on January 5th will not be considered at all.
| Round | Application Deadline | Decision Notification |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | September 9, 2026 | December 10, 2026 |
| Round 2 | January 5, 2027 | March 25, 2027 |
Harvard’s 2025-2026 deadline for the HBS 2 + 2 program, which allows college students to secure a spot at HBS prior to gaining pre-MBA work experience, was April 22nd, 2026.
Required Materials
The 2026-2027 application will be live in the summer. A complete HBS MBA application usually comprises a complete online application form, unofficial transcripts for undergraduate and graduate coursework (official transcripts are required after acceptance), a valid GMAT or GRE score, a response to the required essays, a current resume, two recommendations, signed acceptance of HBS policies, and the $250 application fee (the fee for current college students is $100).
Candidates who attended an undergraduate institution where English was not the sole language of instruction must also submit TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE scores to demonstrate English language proficiency.
When Does HBS Issue Interview Invitations?
Harvard Business School conducts interviews by invitation only. The admissions committee notes that, if invited, applicants must interview to receive an offer of admission. The admissions team notes that MBA interviews are 30 minutes long, and are conducted by an admissions team member who is familiar with the candidate’s application.
HBS does not provide information about when they will issue interview invitations more than a few days in advance. However, we can make some guesses about when candidates might hear based on past applicants’ updates to our MBA Livewire tool.
Looking at the past two admissions seasons, Harvard tends to begin issuing Round 1 interview invitations in the first days of October, and continues throughout that month. Meanwhile, the earliest Round 2 interview invitation reports come through LiveWire in the last days of January or the first days of February, and continue into early March.
MBA Applywire
I would like to get an MBA after obtaining 3 years of work experience in engineering in 2028 to transition to investment banking, specifically the industries of Financial Institutions Group, Tech, Oil & Energy, and Real Estate with an interest in M&A banking for all of the above
I am also interested in participating in entrepreneurship projects in my MBA with an interest in real estate development, tech or other and would pursue if gain enough positive momentum.
I have Masters in Chemistry with 8.74 CGPA from India- Thapar University. Post that, I learned business from the customer backwards—starting in enterprise sales and progressively moving from executing deals to using buyer behavior, account data, competitive intelligence, and customer insights to influence growth, positioning, product, and commercial strategy. I have been advising teams in B2B, B2C companies regarding buyer behavior, customer/market insights, and strategy that influences their GTM. I now want to do an MBA at the cross section of Data Analytics and Strategy. How would you advise my profile stands out amidst the other regular candidates who are applying to these schools since I do not have Tech, or official consulting experience or big brand name of company behind me.
How would you advise I stand out and shine on my post MBA-Goal: I am equally interested in Tech Strategy/Strategy/Consulting or Entrepreneurship or Healthcare IT SAAS Strategy. I have spent my recent 4+ years in a company that had a SAAS product operating heavily in Healthcare, Pharma.
I took the GMAT in May of this year (Focus Edition) and now I'm beginning to research whether an MBA is right for me. School selections were kind of a shot in the dark. I want to end up in corporate leadership in Atlanta area long-term, still not sure if the consulting route or just a higher level corp dev/strategy role post-MBA would be more conducive to that. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Outside or work I volunteer for a local housing advocacy group, the neighborhood civic association, and a pro-bono consulting group for nonprofits.
MBA LiveWire
Applied 20th July , interview invite on 11 th August, Interview 20th August, Acceptance 21 st august