Applying Straight From Undergrad

eastcoastochse · 07-28-2011, 08:23 AM

Hey everyone, I plan to apply to HLS/ HBS JD/MBA program.
I am thinking of working in the investment banking area, or corporate lawyer.
I can't make up my mind yet, and I enjoy both disciplines.

I deferred a year, so I will be in the class of 2015.

I am studying PPE, an interdisciplinary degree from Ox in the UK.

Now I heard that HBS rarely accepts anyone who just completed his or her undergraduate degree.

How can I boost my app in order to gain admission? (I am mostly interested in joint degree programs, such as Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge J.D./LL.M. Joint Degree Program .)

I had to prepare for LSAT last year as a high school student in order to prepare for my interview for Ox. LSAT, GMAT, and GRE won't be a problem: I am a very good test taker and I started prepping already. In UK, they don't use GPA, which could be a problem, but I am sure I will excel. (If anyone needs to know more, I can post stats)

My question is this: can summer internships for three straight years compensate for "work experience"? How about military service?

All the best,

eastcoastochse · 07-28-2011, 08:26 AM

Philosophy, Politics and Economics - Course outline - University of Oxford
This is PPE btw.

I hope Ox degree is recognized in the US.

BowTieFratty · 07-28-2011, 08:27 AM

I would be more concerned with having a stellar LSAT score than with the lack of GPA.. that is easily explainable and something that is common.

Schools that have joint programs are traditionally more lax about their requirements that MBA candidates have work experience.... YMMV however this has been the case for the last few years I have been reading up on the subject

eastcoastochse · 07-28-2011, 08:46 AM

Quote:

I would be more concerned with having a stellar LSAT score than with the lack of GPA.. that is easily explainable and something that is common.

Thank you! LSAT won't be a problem in my case.

Quote:

Schools that have joint programs are traditionally more lax about their requirements that MBA candidates have work experience.... YMMV however this has been the case for the last few years I have been reading up on the subject

I understand. Thank you!

BigAarst · 07-28-2011, 09:57 AM

Compared to other top business schools, HBS admits a lot of people straight from undergrad - about 150 out of each incoming class of 900, so I wouldn't worry too much about not having any work experience. HBS is the more prestigious of the two programs (and will be more difficult to get admitted to) so keep that in mind as you put together an application strategy. Note that you can apply to the joint degree program during your first year at either HLS or HBS, but there are a lot of HLS students who get rejected by HBS each year so HLS to HBS could be a risky strategy.

eastcoastochse · 07-28-2011, 09:59 AM

Thank you for your great advice!

silverturtle · 07-28-2011, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Compared to other top business schools, HBS admits a lot of people straight from undergrad - about 150 out of each incoming class of 900, so I wouldn't worry too much about not having any work experience.

Where did you get that figure?

Quote:

HBS is the more prestigious of the two programs (and will be more difficult to get admitted to)

What makes you say that HBS is more selective? They both cite acceptance rates of 11%.

IvyPBear · 07-29-2011, 07:34 AM

"HBS is the more prestigious of the two programs (and will be more difficult to get admitted to) so keep that in mind as you put together an application strategy."

BigAarst is wrong. It could just as easily be argued that HLS is more prestigious than HBS. In reality, HLS and HBS look for very different things. However, most students at HBS couldn't make it into HLS (due to low GPA and LSAT), and many students at HLS (mostly one without work experience) couldn't make it into HBS.

BigAarst · 07-29-2011, 10:05 AM

Most of my post was informed by Sandy Kreisberg. The 150 undergrad admits figure was reported by him based off a presentation Dee Leopold gave to Harvard undergrads.

This quote also comes from Sandy Kreisberg - "At HBS-HLS joint degree, as a rule, HBS is more selective (even tho it takes more kids) than HLS which is sorta a gpa/lsat factory for college seniors"

Admittedly, prestige is an opinion thing, but my opinion is that YLS and HBS are the two most prestigious professional school programs in the United States. Feel free to prop up HLS, but given the choice, HBS is where I and most everyone else would be headed.

eastcoastochse · 07-29-2011, 02:12 PM

There was one girl, something Schwartz, who carried a 4.0 GPA at Harvard.
I think she created an ad-hoc program of HBS and YLS straight out of Harvard, which is pretty impressive.

silverturtle · 07-29-2011, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Most of my post was informed by Sandy Kreisberg. The 150 undergrad admits figure was reported by him based off a presentation Dee Leopold gave to Harvard undergrads.

I cannot cite counter-evidence, but I am highly skeptical of that figure unless we are including 2+2 admits and other acceptances with deferral clauses. My impression was that "straight-from-undergrad" matriculants numbered in the single digits each year.

Quote:

There was one girl, something Schwartz, who carried a 4.0 GPA at Harvard.
I think she created an ad-hoc program of HBS and YLS straight out of Harvard, which is pretty impressive.

She received her MBA from HBS two years after graduating from Harvard College (indeed, with a 4.0 GPA) and her law degree from YLS three years after that, which does not suggest that she was able to construct a joint or concurrent degree program. But she would be one of those straight-from-undergrad HBS matriculants.

eastcoastochse · 07-29-2011, 02:42 PM

Quote:

She received her MBA from HBS two years after graduating from Harvard College (indeed, with a 4.0 GPA) and her law degree from YLS three years after that, which does not suggest that she was able to construct a joint or concurrent degree program. But she would be one of those straight-from-undergrad HBS matriculants.

Touche. I actually considered that as an ad-hoc joint program, but you are certainly correct. Her brother, Kevin Schwartz, had a 4.0, as well.

BigAarst · 07-29-2011, 02:49 PM

Silverturtle, your thinking is correct. Of those 150, most of them are 2+2 admits (but I don't know exactly how many). By lumping them together, I was underestimating how difficult it will be to get admitted to the JD/MBA program without work experience.

Violaghost · 07-30-2011, 10:41 AM

Senior Earns Perfect Grades | News | The Harvard Crimson

MSFHQsite · 07-30-2011, 11:23 AM

I would be ****ed sitting in a MBA class with an undergrad. I doubt that 150 out of 900 figure. Is there a source for it?