Hogwarts to Harvard ... A hopeful journey

It is a nice evening here in Gurgaon.

When I couldn't sleep, I went out for a walk and called up a friend to catch up on what everyone from our class has been doing.

Frankly, after that 5 minute conversation,

I either wanted to go back in time to do exactly what my fellow CBSites had done – Study my ass off for the CAT / GMAT and get into a world class school and with 2 years of hard work, see it pay off by getting a job, earning 4 times the salary I’m currently making

OR 

Wait for another 3-5 years, as I planned, pick up work-ex along the way and apply to my dream school, HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL


So this is a journey I want to take.


From HOGWARTS, a school I read about in a book 5 years ago to HARVARD, a school I want to see myself in, 5 years down the line.

Like people say, it’s the journey, not the destination that is important.

But they never specify how frustrating it is to be on this journey, this path, where you see your fellow travellers on a similar road, taking different routes and reaching their goals so much quicker while you wonder, if your so called ‘journey’ is gonna be worth it or if you would be able to reach your goal at all.

So … HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL or referred to as H.B.S. !!

Ranked as the best B-School worldwide by various publications, part of the M3 (Other two being Stanford Graduate School of Business & Wharton School of Business) and the oldest of the Ivy League schools, HBS welcomes around 900 students every year into their MBA program.

900 is a huge number for such a prestigious school (Stanford takes in only about 250 and Wharton around 500) but so is the number of applicants. The chance of getting into this school is real slim. Only 12 out of every 100 applicants make it every year.

But as far as the supply & demand goes, all 900 of these students manage to find job offers of an average $100,000 a year.

So what does it take to get into HBS ??

They specify that each file a.k.a. each student application is unique and doesn't have to obtain a minimum score in every metric as the application as a whole is what makes or breaks a decision.

Although, it is recommended that you have:

• An average GMAT/GRE Score of 730 
• Around 2-5 years of work-ex 
• 110+ in TOEFL / 8 Bands+ in IELTS (Academic) 
• Some social work experience (It is important that every student gives something back to the society) 
• An Undergrad CGPA of around 3.5 (On a scale of 4) 

Along with other standard academic requirements off course.

What do they teach you in there that in 2 years, you start minting one-tenth of a million dollars annually ??

• Surrounded by professors who are the best in their fields worldwide and other 1,799 brilliant minds sure helps you bring on your A-Game 

• The people you connect with, the faculty – both permanent and visiting, the placement cell, the cultural diversity you experience being with students from every corner of the world and the friends you make in those 2 years coupled with the vast alumni network 

Frankly, no one ever knows if they are the ‘perfect FIT’ for the school so its all in the hands of ‘Their Holiness, The Admissions Committee’. 

A few examples of the accepted students are:

• An orphaned girl who moonlighted as her school janitor
• An IITian with a one year Master’s degree in some field 
• A BA (Honors) - Political Science graduate who worked with WHO to organize food camps for the underprivileged in Uganda 
• A BBA undergrad student from Stanford 

So whoever reads this (actually reaches the end of this post without getting bored) and has some advice for me, please let me know.

On the other hand, anyone who needs help on this topic, you can count on some help from my side. After researching on this for 2 years and counting, I might be of some help at the least :)