Harvard Business School’s 2+2 deferred MBA admission program is one of the most selective in the world. Last year, 1,528 candidates applied through the program which defers one’s admit for a minus of two years while they gain working experience after earning an undergraduate degree. Only 118 applicants, or 7.7%, were admitted. That’s nearly half the 14.4% admit rate for Harvard’s mainstream MBA program candidates.
But we think John can surmount the odds and at the very least be among the estimated 400 2+2 candidates who get an admissions interview. How come?
First off, he’s currently a senior at Western University in Canada pursuing a dual-degree in software engineering and business. In his engineering coursework, he has a 3.97 GPA, while in business, John boasts an equally impressive 3.86. He’s been on the Dean’s Honor List five different times. And while he has yet to sit for the GMAT exam, he’s scored a 760 on several practice tests.
But that’s. not all. He also has racked up a series of impressive internships during his time at Western. He’s interned as a strategy and operations staffer for the L.A. Clippers basketball team, a strategy and development intern at D.E. Shaw Group which he will join as an associate in New York after graduating in May. He also has done internships at The Boston Consulting Group, Data SEA Consulting, and the Royal Bank of Canada. What’s more, John is co-president of the Ivey Case Competition Club and co-president of the university’s artificial intelligence society.
No less important, John shows much professional poise, is highly articulate and immensely likable.
In this episode of Friday’s With Sandy, HBSGuru.com Founder Sandy Kreisberg and Poets&Quants Editor-in-Chief John A. Byrne not only asses his chances for Harvard’s 2+2 program and the deferred admissions program at Stanford Graduate School of Businsss; they also take him through a mock interview, with Sandy grilling John on many of his answers.
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