You’ve watched the videos and you’ve read the stats. You know that getting into Harvard Business School (HBS) requires top-tier grades, test scores, and career experience. But let’s be honest—so do thousands of other applicants. These things are just the table stakes.
The truth is, HBS admits only about 10% of its applicants, yet its former admissions director once said she could admit at least 50% more people without “watering down the quality.” So, what does this tell us? Hundreds of highly qualified, exceptional people apply and don’t get in. The difference between those who get an acceptance letter and those who don’t often comes down to one thing: standing out.
So, how do you stand apart from a hypercompetitive group of applicants and secure your spot? Let’s explore the different types of successful HBS applicants and the strategies you can use to build an application that gets noticed.
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The Three Types of HBS Admits
HBS applicants who get in typically fall into one of three categories. Understanding which group you belong to is the first step toward crafting a winning application.
1. The Spectacular Applicant
This is the applicant who makes others feel “unattainable.” Think of the professional athlete, the aide to a president, or the founder of a high-profile startup. This group is small, and their distinct experiences often speak for themselves. They are the true unicorns, and they tend to end up at HBS and the Stanford GSB. If this is you, congratulations—leverage your unique story.
2. The Distinct, But Attainable, Applicant
This group has excelled in an inherently distinct professional profile. They’re not CEOs or pro athletes, but their career path is uncommon for an MBA applicant. For example, a high-performing school administrator, an early employee at a quickly growing startup, or someone who worked on economic policy for a foreign government.
These are not impossible roles to achieve, but they provide a natural way to stand out. While every top MBA program has interesting students, HBS attracts a higher number of these unique profiles.
3. The Incrementally Better Applicant
This is the biggest group of admits at HBS, and it’s likely where you fall. These applicants have done incrementally better than their peers in all aspects of their lives—professional, academic, and personal. If you’re a private equity associate, a consultant, or an engineer, you’re in a well-represented group. To succeed, you must find every possible advantage.
Here’s what that looks like:
- Academics: Have an above-average GPA or GMAT/GRE score (or both!).
- Professional Life: You earned a faster promotion, received a top-tier performance review, or took the initiative to own a project or a new initiative at your firm.
- Community Life: You started a new resource group at work or led a successful community project.
The key difference for this group is a spirit of initiation. It’s not enough to just be good at your job; you must show how your impact was clearly felt. HBS and Stanford get people who don’t just do their work well, but who also show clear, tangible impact.
Executing Your Application
Once you understand which group you’re in, the real work begins. Your goal is to accentuate your strengths and have others do the same for you. Here’s a quick look at how each part of your application plays a crucial role.
Recommendations
Your recommenders are your advocates. They can provide specific, quantifiable anecdotes that prove you are “better” than other applicants. These letters are critical for validating your accomplishments and demonstrating your impact.
Resume
Your resume should tell a complete story—the story of your initiation. Beyond your professional experience, include sections for academic achievements and community leadership. Every bullet point should be a mini-story that adds to the overall picture of who you are.
Essays
The HBS essays are your chance to broaden the admissions committee’s understanding of you beyond what’s on your resume. The best essays keep the reader learning, revealing new and interesting experiences. This isn’t about being a flashy writer; it’s about having strong core experiences and a deep understanding of your own motivations, growth, and change.
Short Answers
Don’t take shortcuts here. Use the short answer sections to provide new information and round out the picture of who you are. Don’t simply paste bullet points from your resume.
The Final Word
For the incrementally better applicant, success hinges on exceptional execution. It’s about taking advantage of every single opportunity to showcase your impact and your spirit of initiation. You must subtly impress without bragging, allowing your resume, essays, recommendations, and short answers to work together to tell a cohesive story.
This is just a high-level overview. For a much deeper dive into the HBS application process, especially the essays, be sure to check out our OnTrack course. Our two in-depth modules on HBS cover everything from the curriculum and alumni network to a detailed, section-by-section guide on executing your application.
Ready to start your journey?
