HBS Class of 2019 Profile Reveals Subtle Shifts, New GRE Details
The official Harvard Business School (HBS) Class of 2019 profile is now out—capturing in numbers and pie charts the real live students who started class for the first time yesterday. Not a lot has shifted since HBS released its preliminary class profile earlier this summer, although the Class of 2019 now includes 928 students, suggesting that 13 of those the school was expecting to enroll when it originally reported the class size at 941 made other plans. There are 942 students in the Class of 2018, by comparison.
The percentage of minority students also slipped slightly, from 26 percent reported in the preliminary profile to 25 percent in the actual class (last year’s actual percentage was 26 percent). Female students comprise 42 percent of the class, as earlier reported, again down one percentage point from last year.
In terms of median GMAT, 730 is still HBS’s reported score. That’s the same as last year—and as predicted earlier in the summer. The score range reported included a low of 580 and a high of 790, with the middle 80 percent of the class falling between 700 and 770. Last year, the middle 80 percent was a shade lower, coming in between 690 and 760.
HBS Joins Wharton, Yale in Posting GRE Scores
New in the actual profile posted today are stats on GRE scores, marking the first time HBS has published such data. Chad Losee, the Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, also made a point of sharing this information in a recent blog post, revealing that 12 percent of the class submitted GRE scores and the remaining 88 percent submitted GMAT scores.
“The GRE and GMAT are different tests … and we are truly indifferent about which one you submit,” Losee writes. “Really. We are familiar with each test. Choose the one that allows you to best show your strengths, then move on to the other parts of the application.”
According to the recently posted profile, median GRE scores for both verbal and quantitative at HBS were 164. The score range for verbal was 147 to 170, and the range for quantitative was 151 to 170. HBS did not provide information about the average writing score.
The Wharton School, too, shared GRE data for the first time this year, although specific details about what percentage of the class opted for one test over the other were not made available. Wharton reported average scores, not median scores: 163 verbal, 162 quantitative, and a 4.7 average writing score. The Yale School of Management (SOM) also included GRE test scores in its Class of 2019 profile (median verbal, 166; median quantitative, 164; middle 80 percent verbal, 157 to 170; middle 80 percent quantitative, 160 to 169.)
If three makes a trend—then a trend we have of leading schools emphatically underscoring that they are indeed test agnostic by including GRE scores within their official class profiles.
“We Know You’re Much More Than a Test Score”
In his post, Losee also took pains to underscore that much more than scores go into determining who joins the HBS class each year.
“We know you are much more than a test score,” he writes. “The whole application and interview process are designed to help us get to know you. We’re trying to imagine what you would contribute in the HBS classroom and community. As I’ve written before, our learning model depends on a wide range of talent and perspectives in each class—and we know that not all that talent is measurable in a test.”
Obviously unchanged from the preliminary profile were the total number of applications HBS received this year—10,351—a 6 percent uptick over last year. The profiles posted today and earlier this summer both cited an 11 percent admission rate—which would indicate that 1,138 students made the cut—and a 91 percent yield.
This story has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
An Online MBA Or Full-Time MBA: What Should You Pursue?
Applying for and pursuing an MBA degree can be an overwhelming process—one that begins long before your first day of classes. Even if you’ve narrowed down a metro and business school, most schools offer a number of diverse MBA options, offering students the chance to choose the MBA program that fits best into their life.
Most business schools acknowledge that their students have busy professional lives outside of school, and provide options such as part-time or Online MBAs to ensure that they needn’t put their careers on hold while they pursue their degree. Still, with online degree programs a somewhat new offering in education, many prospective students wonder if they might miss something by not pursuing the traditional MBA in the classroom.
Choosing to pursue an MBA online or in a classroom setting may come down to many factors, from cost to career path to individual learning style. Nevertheless, figuring out which one is just right for you is not always a straightforward task. Here, we compare the various benefits of each program to help you decide which style is right for you:
An Online MBA Or Full-Time MBA: What Should You Pursue?
The Full-Time MBA
While there are many benefits to the online MBA—discussed below—many students still choose to earn a traditional full-time MBA in the classroom. There may be a number of reasons why a student would choose this option, most which deal with their particular learning style. For one, pursuing an online MBA takes a great deal of self-motivation and discipline, especially without the structure of a classroom to keep students on course when it comes to deadlines and effort. If a student knows that they struggle with time management and self-discipline, a traditional MBA may be the better choice for them as the classroom setting provides an inherent structure to the program that an online MBA often lacks.
Online classes also typically require a high level of class participation, to ensure that students at home don’t lose focus and stay engaged. Prospective students who are less likely to be engaged in a classroom may find it even more difficult to keep up in a setting where they are more distanced from their classmates or faculty. A traditional MBA may be better for students who need the direct and immediate response that a classroom setting can provide.
Finally, while employer perception of online MBAs has been changing in recent years, there are still many critics of online degrees, and in the past data has shown graduates of online degrees may not increase their salaries as significantly post-MBA as full-time students. Though this has changed in recent years, many students still have concerns about online education and its perception by employers. A recent LearningHouse study found that 27 percent of online students voiced concerns about employer’s perceptions of online study. The same number named their biggest concern as issues of motivation and attentiveness. If you think concerns such as these might interfere with an effective learning process, opting for a full-time traditional degree may allay any anxiety about the online approach.
The Online MBA
If the common concerns of perception and motivation aren’t on your mind, you may want to consider the many benefits of earning an online MBA—chief among them is the flexibility that goes along with an online program. Students pursuing online degrees don’t need to put their careers on hold as they pursue an advanced education, and maintaining a career and school simultaneously demonstrates a level of commitment that can be very appealing to prospective employers. And while the cost of some online degrees are often similar to their in-classroom counterpart, the addition of two years of lost salary with a full-time degree can make the total cost far greater than a degree online. Another benefit is the fact that many online MBA programs do not require students to take the GMAT or GRE, which can save a tremendous amount of time, money, and anxiety for those who struggle with test-taking.
While some issues of perception may remain, a U.S. News & World Report study showed roughly 71.4 percent of academic leaders saw online learning as comparable or even superior to traditional classes when it comes to the skills and knowledge students obtain. The other thirty percent should pay attention to the numbers coming out from many programs throughout the country. At the Southeast Missouri State University, for example, the AACSB accredited online MBA produces job acceptance rates of 98 percent for students within just one year of graduation.
The Online MBA is designed to be flexible on all levels, even the amount of overall time it will take to complete the degree. While full-time MBA programs traditionally take two years to complete, many Online MBAs can be completed in as little as 16-months. Students with a busier schedule may choose to extend the amount of time they need to complete the degree.
Which One is Right for You?
Deciding which type of degree is best for you is a personal decision that involves a multitude of intersecting factors. Regardless of which path you choose, employers need for MBAs doesn’t look like it’s decreasing any time soon—in 2016 roughly 88 percent of corporate recruiters said they planned to hire MBA grads, an increase of 8 percent from the prior year. The need for well-educated business leaders is always increasing, and choosing the best way to effectively and affordably earn your degree is not just a benefit for the student, but for the business community at large.
No GMAT/GRE Required at These Houston MBA Programs
There’s a lot of work that goes into your MBA application. Not only do you have to write individual essays for each school and tailor your resume, but you also have to get letters of recommendation and perform well in an interview. And for those bad test-takers, there’s one other element that can leave you in a cold sweat—the GMAT/GRE.
Let’s be brutally honest. Prepping for the GMAT/GRE is stressful and tiring. Who has time to spend hours each week reading a textbook and taking practice exams? For many, it’s a nightmarish process that makes the prospect of getting an MBA a lot less attractive. Even worse, some of the top schools expect GMAT scores above 715 according to U.S. News. But there is good news.
Not every school requires the GMAT or GRE. In fact, six schools in Houston, Texas offer MBA program admission without the test. So, if the idea of testing makes you want to hide in a corner and never come out again, consider applying to one of these schools instead. Continue reading…
Los Angeles MBA Programs without GMAT/GRE Requirements
Applying for an MBA program is an involved process. You have to fill out the application, write essays, ace an interview, develop a “killer” resume, and ask for stellar letters of recommendation. It’s a more involved process than any job application or interview and how well you do can affect your life and job prospects for years to come. Worse yet, most programs also require the GMAT or GRE, increasing your workload and stress exponentially. Continue reading…
Boston MBA Programs without GMAT and GRE Requirements
Let’s be honest: Nobody likes taking tests. And knowing that one test could have a significant impact on your education can make you feel like you’re in a pressure cooker. The GRE and GMAT are just two examples of tests that can leave talented, intelligent students waking up sweating. Continue reading…
San Diego MBA Programs that Waive the GMAT and GRE Requirement
When prospective business school students plot out their path to an MBA, there’s often one obstacle that looms large in the distance, causing stomach knots to fasten and throats to dry: the standardized admissions test.
