Round three strategies deferred admission at hbs

Round Three Strategies:
Deferred Admission at HBS

http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/

Round Three Strategies: Deferred Admi

In our How to Apply to HBS guide, we wrote the following:

If you are a college senior with huge talent and potential
and the desire to one day attend HBS, you should apply
round three with the hopes of gaining "deferred
admission" for several years out (round three applicants
applying this spring for the Class of 2012 are deferred to
the Class of 2014 after gaining two years of work
experience).

MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

Suffice to say, there are a number of college seniors who
feel this way and we have been talking to many of them.

What are we telling them?

Obviously, a huge part of any consultation or client
engagement comes down to specifics particular to that
individual.

However, there are other broader things that we seem
to be covering with everyone and that seemed worthy
of sharing:


1. You are not applying for a merit award, so factor in
the appropriateness and not just the worthiness of
your pursuit.

The mistake that many college seniors make (and this is
true of medical school as well) is they incorrectly assume
they are applying for a spot in the HBS 2014 class based
purely on merit. You are NOT.

Yes, merit plays a role - a big one. There are grades, test
scores, experiences, and the like, all of which feed into
the idea of earning or deserving an admit letter.


However, another huge component of this process is
whether or not the degree is APPROPRIATE for you.

Appropriateness is critical in all MBA applications, but it is
especially relevant here, as HBS is going to ask of each
and every applicant: "Why not just apply in 2+ years like
everyone else?" So you have to spend a lot of time
thinking about WHY THIS AVENUE.

Why do you need HBS to play a role in your life right
now? Why not just wait? We have some excellent
methods for dealing with this question, but we like to hear
from the client first.


2. HBS won't spoon feed you, so you have to build
something from nothing.

Sticking with the theme above, HBS has set the
application process in such a way that forces candidates
to showcase maturity and readiness.

There are no canned questions like "why are you seeking
deferred admission?" Instead, you have to find ways
within the essay set to speak to the timing, the way the
program fits your goals, and also your ability to contribute
to the class.


There's no easy way to do this as it requires choosing the
right optional essays and then working off your strongest
themes in such a way that not only defines them, but also
uses them to propel your "Why HBS for deferred
admission" argument.

Know this though: if you review your essays and you
DON'T see a strong statement of "why this specific path"
embedded in your answers, then you are in trouble.

Likewise, if your essays feel like they are for a generic
award program, you are in big trouble.


3. Don't give a "non answer" for Essay 2 unless you
want to be convicted "guilty" of being a Millennial.

We say this to all HBS applicants, but do not duck
question #2 about making a mistake. If you are a college
senior applying for deferred admission, you are naturally
going to be young and you will bear the burden of proof
that you can act older than your years.

Furthermore, you will have to prove that you are an
exception to the rule (fair or not) that your generation
lacks social intelligence. HBS wants to see you dig deep
here.


They want you to be honest and introspective and own up
to a real mistake and then talk about real lessons
learned.

You simply can't afford to skim the surface of this
exercise. Think of it like an interview when someone
asks you what your biggest weakness is. If you say "my
biggest weakness is that I suffer from addiction to those
tasks which are urgent rather than those that are
important," you will have someone taking you seriously.

If you say "my biggest weakness is that I care too much,"
you will have someone rolling his eyes. For Essay #2,
find the tone of the first example, not the second.


4. "Shape" your accomplishments so that you
forward a thesis about who you are, not just a litany
of things you've done.

Don't simply list off three accomplishments on Essay #1.
You can get by doing it that way, but you don't form a
thesis doing that. Instead, build toward something. Work
chronologically or in any other order that allows you to
weave them together and reach a conclusion.

"First, I did this within my community, where I was
comfortable and took a chance on leading. Then, I went
to college and did this, stepping out and pushing my
abilities.


Then, confident I could lead in any environment, I led a
team to Bosnia to do X, Y, and Z."

You want all your accomplishments to highlight
leadership and highlight making an impact, but you also
want to show that they were part of the building and
defining of the essay's subject: YOU. There is plenty
more worthy of discussing, but those seems like a good
place to start.

This is the last year that HBS is considering Round 3
submission from college seniors in this way (in the future,
all college students will be folded into the HBS 2+2
process), so make it count!


Note: at AACG, we are aware that not all applicants are created
equal - including their bank accounts. If you are a college senior
interested in our services but can't afford our standard prices, we
will consider emails to mba@amerasiaconsulting.com requesting
discounted services.

Finally, make sure to download our free How to Apply to HBS
guide.

http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/

Round three strategies deferred admission at hbs

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Round three strategies deferred admission at hbs