How do I prepare a strong Harvard MBA application?

As the birthplace of the MBA degree, Harvard Business School ranks among the most prestigious educational institutions and is a regular feature within yearly business school rankings.

The Boston-based business school is famed for its world class academic experience. Students in the two-year, full-time MBA program gain access to some of the world’s premier academic experts. The school’s pioneering case method encourages them to collaborate as they solve problems together in small, cross-cultural groups.

Graduates from the program each year go on to high-flying careers in competitive industries: the three most popular sectors among the most recent graduating class were consulting, private equity, and technology. The average base salary across the cohort was $184,500.

As a historic business school with links to many of the most prestigious employers across various industries, applying to the Harvard MBA is a competitive affair. There were 9,409 applications to join the Class of 2026, with just 943 securing enrollment.

So, how can you give yourself the best chance of successfully navigating the Harvard MBA application process and landing a place? 

Harvard Business School MBA application questions:

Before diving into specific application advice, it's worth exploring the questions that all Harvard Business School MBA applicants must answer when submitting their applications.

Incoming HBS MBA applicants must respond to the following prompts:

⇨ Career Goals Short Answer: Briefly, tell us more about your career aspirations. (up to 500 characters)

⇨ Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your choices have influenced your career path and aspirations. (up to 300 words)

⇨ Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped how you invest in others and how you lead? (up to 250 words)

⇨ Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth (up to 250 words)

Harvard MBA application: What you should know

To find out how applicants can have the best chance of successfully applying to the Harvard MBA, we spoke with David White, admissions consultant and founding partner at Menlo Coaching, who has supported applicants to Harvard and other top business schools since 2012. 

What skills or attributes does Harvard Business School look for in MBA students?

Historically, HBS told applicants that it was looking for:

• Habit of Leadership
• Analytical Aptitude and Appetite
• Engaged Community Citizenship

Soon after the 2023 appointment of Rupal Ghadia as the new managing director, MBA Admissions, HBS introduced new admissions criteria:

• Business-Minded
• Leadership-Focused
• Growth-Oriented.

Although this may look like a dramatic change, it is not. By presenting the admissions criteria in a more friendly and inclusive manner, HBS hopes to attract applicants who may have self-selected out of applying because they feared they did not meet the earlier admissions criteria.

But HBS still values applicants who consistently held leadership positions, built the analytical abilities to succeed in HBS case discussions and post-MBA careers, and demonstrated that they care about others (often through extracurricular activities).

What are your tips for acing Harvard’s MBA application questions?

A full discussion of how to write great HBS essays is beyond the scope of any short comment, but applicants can bear in mind a few tips:

1. Don’t repeat what has already been covered in your resume, application form, and letters of recommendation. The older HBS essay prompt gave this advice bluntly by asking the applicant “What more would you like us to know?” Although you may mention professional stories or achievements in order to explain the reasons behind your actions and achievements, it is a mistake to use the essay to repeat your resume in prose form.
2. Bear in mind the nature of the HBS program and case method. When writing the Growth-Oriented essay about a time that you “demonstrated curiosity,” would it be more relatable to the HBS experience to tell about a time that you learned something from active engagement with others, or a story where you pursued solitary academic research?

What are the most important things to remember when applying to Harvard?

HBS is a highly selective institution and no one should treat it as a “safety school,” even if they have top-notch qualifications.

In a typical year, HBS attracts nearly 10,000 applicants. Although some applicants are distinctly weaker than others and can be quickly declined, subtracting those weaker applicants still leaves around 4,000 outstanding applicants, vs only around 950 seats in the incoming class.

These 4,000 applicants are highly motivated to win admission to HBS and invest a huge amount of time in creating their best possible applications, often with the support of admissions consultants.

This implies that around 3,000 excellent applicants─plus 6,000 weaker ones─will be declined at HBS every year. Being declined at HBS does not mean that you made a mistake in your application, or that you are not qualified, but only that there are a limited number of seats available each year and HBS faces difficult decisions when evaluating their strongest applicants.

What are the biggest mistakes HBS MBA applicants can make? 

Applicants hurt their chances of admission when they rely on dated stereotypes about the HBS program, such as believing that it is only for future CEOs of large traditional companies but not for entrepreneurs. HBS has invested 10s of millions of dollars in resources such as the Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and the two MS/MBA programs precisely to support entrepreneurs and students pursuing careers in STEM fields.

Although HBS does not ask a traditional essay question about “How will the HBS MBA help you to achieve your career goals?,” this topic may be touched on in your Business-Minded essay or in your HBS interview. It would be a terrible mistake to show that you see HBS through the lens of dated stereotypes rather than appreciating the full range of HBS resources.

How important are test scores when applying to the Harvard MBA?

Yes, test scores are important at HBS.

The academic faculty at HBS are an important stakeholder in the admissions process and want to recruit students who can succeed in the courses and even pursue independent research projects. GMAT or GRE scores are one indicator proving students’ readiness for a rigorous academic program.

Second, HBS cares about its standing in the US News MBA ranking, in which the median GMAT or GRE scores for admitted students are an important factor. Although there may be a temptation to think that “HBS is confident that it’s the #1 MBA program, and they don’t need to play ranking games,” the proof that HBS cares about test scores and the US News ranking can be seen in the fact that its historical GMAT scores averaged eight to 10 points higher than schools such as Wharton, Columbia, MIT Sloan, Kellogg and Booth.

How should Harvard MBA applicants choose which round to apply in?

Both application rounds are valid choices, but as discussed here, the optimal time to apply depends on your background and how many applicants with similar backgrounds will be applying to HBS.

In cohorts with a large number of well-qualified applicants, HBS will see a huge number of excellent applications already in Round 1. If you apply in Round 2, you face the risk that HBS already admitted so many students with similar backgrounds that they can no longer admit you without disturbing the class balance across regions, industries, functions, and genders.

If you can achieve your best test scores and prepare your best applications in Round 1, you should apply then.

If you need more time to prepare, you can then apply in Round 2, or consider postponing to Round 1 in the following year if you are in a highly competitive cohort.

HBS has no reason to hold a large number of seats open for Round 2 applicants by declining amazing applicants in Round 1. There are always tail risks─think about the impact that COVID had on application volume─and HBS would prefer to reliably lock up a full class of excellent students than to decline great applicants in Round 1 on the hopes that applicants who are “1% stronger” than those declined applicants will arrive in Round 2.

What’s one thing about applying to Harvard that people may not know?

When you are invited to interview at HBS, you can visit campus and attend a full day of programming, including a class visit, and even attend a reception with HBS alumni in your city to get to know the program better. HBS wants its preferred applicants to get to know the program well and is confident that the more they learn about it, the more they will want to attend.