Applying for a Harvard MBA? Here are the Basics

This page covers everything you need to know about how to get into the Harvard Business School MBA Program.

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School (HBS) is widely considered to be the #1 global business school. Its high admissions standards, excellent job placement into top firms in PE, VC, management consulting, technology, healthcare and other sectors, incredible roster of alumni in powerful positions, and outstanding teaching quality are a few of the reasons that HBS is the leading business school. Not to mention the endowment ($3,800,000,000 and growing), which helps to fund a continuous stream of improvements to the program.

It is therefore no surprise that it is incredibly difficult to win admission to HBS. Having “good” work experience, GMAT scores and application materials is unlikely to result in admission to HBS, who has their pick of many outstanding applicants. In fact, the opposite is true — many incredible applicants will be rejected from HBS each year even though they are fully qualified to attend the program.

Even with the impressive resources of the HBS program, one of our favorite HBS students explained the limitations of the program when she said that “HBS is not a magic pill,” by which she meant that career outcomes are still constrained by your skills and experiences, and the effort you put into the process. Even at HBS, which can do a huge amount to boost your career, alumni career coaches warn students that they should not expect to land a top VC or PE job without relevant prior experience.

This profile lays out the basic facts about HBS and the resources you’ll need to further research the program.

For fast facts on getting into the Harvard MBA program see, Your Chances at Harvard: Acceptance Rate & Other Factors.

Harvard Business School MBA Class Profile

Class Size938
Acceptance Rate14%
GMAT Median740
GPA Average3.73
Average AgeDoes not disclose
Avg. Years Work Experience4.9
Diversity Women45%
Diversity Intl.39%
Pre-MBA IndustriesConsulting: 17%
Venture Capital / Private Equity: 17%
Technology: 13%
Consumer Products / Retail / E-Commerce: 10%
Financial Services: 10%
Manufacturing / Industrial / Energy: 9%
Health Care / Biotech: 7%
Military: 6%
Nonprofit / Government / Education: 6%
Media / Entertainment / Travel: 3%
Services: 2%
Undergraduate MajorsEngineering: 25%
Business/Commerce: 22%
Economics: 21%
Math/Physical Sciences: 17%
Arts/Humanities: 4%

The data above is from 2023 and represents the HBS MBA class of 2025.
See the full report here: HBS MBA Class Profile

Student Experiences

Harvard Business School MBA Employment Report & Careers

Salary Median$205,000.00
Offers Upon GraduationDoes not disclose
Offers At 3 Mos.86%
Post-MBA IndustriesConsulting: 25%
Private Equity: 17%
Technology: 16%
Investment Management / Hedge Fund: 6%
Venture Capital: 6%
Manufacturing: 6%
Nonprofit / Government: 5%
Health Care: 5%
Consumer Products: 4%
Investment Banking: 3%
Other Financial Services: 3%
Services: 2%
Entertainment / Media: 1%
Retail: 1%
Post-MBA LocationsUnited States: 89%
Mid-Atlantic: 3%
Midwest: 4%
Northeast: 54%
South: 5%
Southwest: 7%
West: 16%
Non U.S.: 11%
Post-MBA Companies

HBS Hiring Organizations List

Career Development Resources

HBS Career Resources

The data above is from 2023 and represents the career statistics for the HBS MBA class of 2023.
See the full report here: Harvard Business School MBA 2023-2024 Employment Report

Early Birds Toolkit

Learn 3 Steps You Should Take NOW to Improve Your Profile for R1 2024

In MBA admissions, starting early can significantly boost your chances. 

But there are no shortcuts, and while R1 2024 deadlines might seem far off, building your profile takes time.

Our Early Birds Toolkit has everything you need to get started right now—leave your name and email, and we’ll send you three actionable steps to elevate your profile, plus time-saving tools for faster progress.

Harvard Business School MBA Academic Programs 

MBA Curriculum

The HBS MBA Curriculum is separated into four semesters: fall and spring of year one, and fall and spring of year two. The HBS Required Curriculum spans over the first two terms and includes foundational courses that all HBS MBA students take, as well as enrollment in the FIELD Global Immersion course. There is also the chance to explore other classes through the Elective Curriculum. Harvard MBA offers 120 courses in various subject areas. Students can choose up to five electives per semester, and can take any combination of classes.

See the full offering of courses: HBS MBA Course Catalog

Majors

Although HBS does not offer distinctive majors, during the second-year, students choose their electives from ten different subject areas: 

  • Accounting and Management
  • Business, Government & the International Economy 
  • Entrepreneurial Management 
  • Finance
  • General Management
  • Marketing
  • Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Strategy
  • Technology & Operations Management

Experiential Learning Programs

The Field Method is the (required) hands-on learning program which complements HBS’s infamous in-class Case Method. 

Research Centers

HBS has established a strong network of several cities around the world, connected by ten Global Research Centers, allowing professionals from business, government and academia to analyze business challenges. 

The Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, led by Professors Tom Eisenmann and Shikhar Ghosh, helps students approach and achieve their startup goals. 

MBA International Study Programs

All first-year (“RC”) students will go through leadership training in FIELD Foundations, and then at the end of the spring term, go on a FIELD Global Immersion to develop a new product or service for a global partner company.  Many second-year students choose to follow this up with an Immersive Field Course (IFC) which gives them a chance to apply theory learned from the HBS curriculum to real-life problems in companies around the world. “Over the last nine years, MBA students have participated in 41 IFC courses and traveled to 15 countries.”

Video Resources on HBS Academics

Harvard Business School MBA Application

Harvard now offers an application checklist in the form of an HBS MBA Application Guide. Prospective applicants can request to download the guide and begin preparing their HBS admissions journey.

Essays

Here are the prompts for the most recent HBS application cycle:

  • As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program? (900 words)

Video Resources on HBS Admissions

Harvard Business School MBA Admissions Interviews

The HBS interview is a 30-minute session with an admissions committee member (and maybe an observer, too) in which you will be asked a large number of questions related to the content of your application materials, which the interviewer will have reviewed thoroughly before conducting the interview. Stylistically, it is fast-moving and you should expect to be interrupted with a large number of clarifying questions that redirect you onto different topics.

Some of the most common questions will ask you about:

  • Key choices in your career, like your undergraduate institution, your major there, and your post-college employers
  • Your firm and its strategy (including the competition it faces)
  • Current events in your industry
  • The culture of the different institutions you’ve been affiliated with
  • Your strengths and weaknesses
  • Your extracurricular activities

The nature of the interview is that you cannot expect to prepare in advance for every question. Given the case method and the demands it places on students, HBS wants to see that you are capable to speak extemporaneously, and to explain things in simple ways that could be understood by classmates from different backgrounds.

Although HBS interviewers do ask curveball questions, the vast majority of interviews do NOT focus on random questions such as “Why is a manhole cover round?” or “How many piano tuners are there in NYC?”

Even though one of our applicants was asked “How does the Home Depot ship porcelain toilets without breaking them?”, your time preparing for the HBS interview is better spent preparing to answer questions related to your education, professional career, future goals and extracurricular activities, and just preparing to have a smooth conversation with an intelligent stranger about a wide variety of topics.

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What Makes Harvard Business School Unique?

The HBS Case Method: The entire HBS curriculum is case-based and you can expect to read 500+ cases during your time as an HBS student.  Not only will you get to discuss the cases with your classmates, you can expect some of the protagonists in the cases–often CEOs of major companies–to be present in the classroom to discuss their own experiences.

The Section Experience: Sections of just over 90 people will go through the Required Curriculum together as a group in the first year.

Rock Center for Entrepreneurship: There is a multitude of programs and resources at HBS for students interested in entrepreneurship, and the Arthur Rock Center helps individuals take advantage of all the school has to offer, including leveraging the curriculum for future business ownership.

Joint Degree Programs: Harvard offers joint programs, connecting five of the University’s graduate schools. The joint degrees offered are:

Ready to Apply?

An MBA consultant can provide detailed guidance on navigating Harvard Business School’s MBA program and its requirements.

*All data retrieved from the Harvard Business School MBA Program webpages, unless otherwise stated.