Harvard reception in SFO

I went to the Harvard reception right after work. I have to say that it was very informative. The presentation given by one of the adcom members (a Harvard MBA as well) talked about (among other things): case study method, Harvard MBA being a transformational experience, essays, and financial aid and loan forgiveness programs.

More observations:
· Huge turnout, I would venture to say that there were at least 250 people in the auditorium. This speaks volumes of the Harvard brand. In comparison, Kellogg drew about 75 people for its information session and Wharton probably 150.
· One thing struck me is that Harvard professors concentrate mainly on teaching and not research (they even grade every paper themselves rather than relying on TAs). That struck me as a bit strange…. isn’t a new management principle, or thought leadership, based on research? I mean, writing cases is really cool, but at some point, some amount of theoretical state-of-the-art needs to be developed.
· The panelists were 4 recent MBA grads (1 VC firm, 1 Hewlett Packard, 1 education venture fund, and 1 at Clorox). They were smart, articulate and funny. I think they handled the barrage of questions really well. Oh, and one more thing, the questions from the audience were first-class as well.
· They reminded us that Competition is really tough…2 of them got into Harvard in the second try.
· Case study method, cold calling, study groups, workouts at Shaq, 40-acre campus, dedicated faculty, loan forgiveness program, and Baker scholarships, and oh “Awesome parties” are the highlights that I take away from Harvard session. Intimidating, yet quite alluring for my decision to apply there!

I ran into Riter there as well... looks like she is making good progress on her apps. I didnt stick around for long, because I had a long day, and tomorrow I need to go to Stanford for the information session. So I called it a night...