Recently in Harvard

I called HBS admissions today to try and ascertain the best path I should take in the coming years to place me at a competitive advantage as an applicant. The gentlemen I spoke to was very friendly, however, could not offer me any specific advice. He answered a few of my program specific questions, mostly about the 2+2 Program, but other than that it was a very brief call.

He did, however, let me know that the "prestige" factor of one's undergraduate school is not viewed that highly in comparison to other criteria, such as leadership (this one is greatly important). In so many words he said that it is far more important to be actively involved in leadership and community activities then it is to pursue high test scores and grades. I found that rather interesting.

Right now I am struggling with whether or not I should drop $116,500 on my undergraduate education at Columbia or less then $40,000 at UC Davis (these amounts include tuition and living expenses). Looking at the numbers it seems Davis is the smart choice.

I received an email today with a questions from someone who is in a similar situation to me. Since not much is happening academically right now (since I am just waiting on acceptance letters) I thought I'd share his email and my answers. Here is some initial background:

Rus: I've also been out of school (high school) for ten years, and I'm going to start college in the fall, with the intention of getting into Harvard Business School for my MBA.  Out of high school, I started a construction company instead of going to college.

This is a similar situation that I was in except I had taken a couple years of school before I dropped out.

Rus: Did you have any troubles getting acclimated to being in an academic environment after many years?

Harvard or Bust: Surprisingly, I didn't have as much trouble acclimating to school life as I thought I would. The first semester I went way over board in terms of studying and diligence on tests, especially considering I was in community college classes. Though it did secure me a 4.0 that semester which was very important.

Rus: I'm most concerned with math since it is more "developmental" than other subjects. Did you take any straight math classes, or are they not required?

HoB: Yes I did. I took Probability and Statistics and I was worried that since I had been out of math for so long it would pose a problem, however, math has always been a strong suit of mine as I completed third level Calculus in my previous college years so I did not have any problems with the class. If you want to pursue a MBA degree Calculus and Statistics are highly important.

Rus: I'm debating between community college, a state school, and a small liberal arts college. Did you have that decision process as well or did you just decide on community college right away?

HoB: If your plan is to go to an Ivy League school (you mentioned Columbia and Yale in your email) then I would say you would most likely need atleast a solid year of either a traditional school or community college first. You "may" not need this for Columbia's School of General Studies since I believe they focus more on your life experience then your academics, however, a summer semester or especially this coming fall will not hurt your chances.

Rus: Did you find it easy or difficult to obtain recommendations (for Columbia) from your community college?  Did you have extracurriculars?

HoB: I had a great English teacher my first semester at CC that wrote a solid rec letter for me. As for EC's, I think people like you and I who have been working successfully do not really need to worry about EC's. I assume you have hobbies? I think those are sufficient. When you are in college, however, any leadership positions you can obtain will help with possible MBA applications, but again, it's very subjective.

Rus: When applying to Columbia's School of General Studies how much importance do they put on your business history?

HoB: None really. They don't ask for specific information above and beyond any other school you'll apply to, expect to explain WHY you are a non-traditional student and WHAT you have been doing out of school. If you have been running your own construction business then I'd imagine you have plenty of "business" experience when it comes to apply to an undergraduate degree.

I hope these responses are helpful, remember I am not an admissions counselor by any stretch, these are just my opinions. Be sure to chat with admissions counselors as much as possible to ascertain your best plan of action. Thanks for writing!

So, I have seen mention of Harvard Business School's 2+2 program over the past few months, and after seeing a Twitter posting from @HarvardMBA about a Podcast discussing the program, I thought I'd do some reading about it.

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/podcasts.html

In a nutshell, the 2+2 program is for Juniors in college who want to work in the business world for two years before attending business school. You apply at the end of the Junior year and learn your acceptance at the beginning of your senior year. Once accepted you have to work in a program approved job for two years and then you are guaranteed a spot in the MBA program. Not a bad idea really, and probably my best bet.

Considering my short current academic record and somewhat limited lack of "serious" business experience I realize that I am going to face some strong competition for acceptance. My plan was to to get accepted to an Ivy League school (done) and also to figure out an AMAZING summer job between my Junior and Senior year before the applications for grad school were due. I don't see how else I could be a competitive applicant.

However, now thinking about the 2+2 program, if I attend Columbia (or even Berkeley (not that I've been accepted there though)) and manage to get top marks I think I can write affective essays and acquire a good set of recommendations that would make me a very strong candidate for the 2+2 program.

I think I have an interesting story and a strong background. Given my short amount of time to make a difference, Columbia is starting to look like the paramount choice for me...

Getting accepted to HBS is going to be tough. Very tough. Over the last few months as I've been researching my post-graduate options, it's grown more and more obvious exactly how competitive the application process for HBS is.

I choose Harvard as my number one for a few reasons. One, to be totally honest, it's an amazing brand. An over whelming brand that makes it difficult to ignore. Two, and probably most important, is the case method style of learning. Working in groups with an emphasis on class participation and dialogue fits perfectly with my learning style; which is generally more hands on. The more I read about the 'case method' the more excited I become with the opportunities at Harvard. Third, from what I've read, Harvard's program seems to be put together more for the well rounded 'General Management' business leader. Each universities MBA program seems to have a slight emphasis on what type of student they churn out, for example Stanford's focus is on Entrepreneurship, Kellogg's is on Marketing, Yale on Finance and Harvard's is General Management.

However, the more I read about past and current student's backgrounds prior to attending HBS, the more I realize I have a lot of ground to cover and make up for. My target of getting accepted to Columbia and earning a Bachelors in Economics is a good first step, but it might not be enough.

The past five years of running my own creative consulting and production company has been a great introduction to business. From filing corporate taxes, to income projections, to proposals, to just maintaining the day to day paperwork of a corporation; it has opened my eyes greatly to what goes on behind the scenes and what is possible. Yet I am concerned that it fails in comparison to applicants who have three years in the trenches of an investment bank or have been running a manufacturing plant in Asia.

All is not lost however, as I have two solid years to continue to build my business and business contacts to render me a serious candidate for admission. In the end, this entire process is only going to help me grow overall.

I stopped off in Borders Books yesterday, while waiting to see Tropic Thunder, and perused the business books section. It's filled with loads of general books on leadership, skills assessments, and management that seem to all be eerily similar to self-help books. Nothing particular really caught my eye so I moved onto the education section to check out the GMAT books to get an idea of what to expect. This is a little off topic, but The Official Guide for GMAT Review seemed to be a GREAT resource that I will definitely pickup when it comes time to start studying for that test.

On my way out of the store I literally bumped into a display table that had been setup for 'Top Business Books' and the very first one to catch my eye was, Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School. Funny I thought, a possible sign? I read the back cover and the first few paragraphs of the preface and decided it would be a good read.

When I got home from the movie I looked it up online and realized it was only just published about two weeks ago (July 31st, 2008) just before I started this blog, possible sign number two?

[Except from Ahead of the Curve] I did not go to Harvard Business School planning to write a book about the experience. In fact, after ten years as a journalist, I went there to recover from writing, to stop looking at the world around me as a source of potential stories. I wanted to learn about business in order to gain control of my own financial fate and, more important, my time. I was tired of living at the end of a cell phone, prey to an employer's demands. A master's in business administration, I hoped, would be my path to greater knowledge about the workings of the world and broader choices about the life I might lead.

I get the feeling that the book might not shed the most positive light on his experiences at Harvard, he seems to be somewhat covertly apologetic for what were are about to read. The author, Philip Delves Broughton, was actually in a similar situation to me when he entered Harvard, though he had his undergrad degree when he decided to apply, he too had spent ten years working in a non 'business' field. He also decided to attend Harvard as a way to greater understand himself and open new opportunities. Though I feel I am a bit more specific in my goals and career track; I wish to build and manage Internet/New Media/Entertainment companies. It will be an interesting read for me that I will be sure to write about when I am done. You can pick it up on Amazon here.

According to U.S. News & World Report, Harvard University is back as the Number One ranking national university for the first time in 12 years. It  beat out Princeton, Yale, and MIT to claim the top spot. Harvard also takes the number one for it's graduate business school, followed by Stanford and the Wharton School (U. Penn).

Columbia University comes in at a three way tie with Duke and University of Chicago at number eight, which is one step higher then it was last year. Columbia's graduate business school comes in at number nine.

Yahoo News lends Harvard it's success to the fact that it scaled back the size of it's classes, "Harvard reports the percentage of students in classes under 20 students rose from 69 percent to 75 percent since last year's report, while the percentage in classes bigger than 50 fell from 13 percent to 9 percent."

It's good to see these kind of results cause it reminds me of what great odds I'm up against, nothing that's insurmountable, but it is definitely humbling.

I filled out the introduction form on the Harvard MBA program website today. I'm two years out from applying, but gotta start somewhere.

So this is the first posting in a series of many on my imminent return to the world of academia.

If you are someone who never finished college and are have been thinking about going back or if you are someone who is planning on getting a Harvard MBA (or any MBA program) then this site is for you.

Over the next three years I plan to groom myself as a competitive applicant to the Harvard School of Business. This will include getting an Ivy League degree at Columbia University as well as continuing to hone my business skills not only with my own current company, but also by learning from the successful businesses and business leaders out there today.

I hope the resources and blogs I post are as useful to you as they will be to me.