If you are currently a student or in a full-time master’s degree program and want to enhance your knowledge and dimensions after it, then, Harvard Deferred MBA program is one of the best ways to do so. This is commonly known as 2+2 program. It is made up of a minimum work experience of two years which is followed by the regular HBS MBA program. If you want to apply to the Harvard Deferred MBA program, you would be required to know different aspects related to it regarding the eligibility criteria, work experience, etc. Here is all the information that you would want to know about the program, admission and application process, eligibility, etc.
About the Program
The Harvard Deferred or 2+2 program welcomes students from any background. Under this program, there are at least 2 years of full-time work experience in the public, private, or non-profit sector. The maximum work experience can be of 4 years. After the completion of this work experience, two years of studies are done under the regular HBS MBA program. The details of this program can be found out in the Harvard full-time MBA program blog post.
2+2 Cohort profile
The applicants belong to different undergraduate majors like Arts, Engineering, Social Sciences, etc. The 2+2 cohort size is generally in the range of 100-125. In 2020, there were 1577 applicants for the Harvard Deferred MBA program. They have come from around 65 undergraduate universities.
In the last admissions, 29% were from Mathematics/Physical Sciences background, 29% were from engineering, 16% were from business/commerce background. 12% of the applicants belonged to Economics and Social Sciences each. 2% were also from the Humanities background.
Eligibility
The first thing to know about applying to the Harvard Deferred MBA program is who all are eligible to apply for this program. Let us have a look at all the students who can apply here –
1) Undergraduate Degree Students – The students in the last year of their Bachelor’s degree program can apply. There is no minimum requirement for the score in the degree. The average GPA of their undergraduate students is around 3.7.
2) Joint Undergraduate / Master’s Degree Students – These candidates are eligible to apply.
3) Master’s Degree Students – Students enrolled in a Master’s degree without any full-time work experience can apply. Please note that internships and co-ops do not count in work experience. The applicants should have come to graduate school directly from the undergraduate school.
Not Eligible – Students who are pursuing their PhD degrees or are enrolled in law schools & medical schools are not eligible to apply for the Harvard Deferred MBA program. They can only apply through the regular process of admissions.
4) The GMAT / GRE score should not be earlier than 5 years. Also, it is mandatory to take the AWA section of either GMAT or GRE. In addition to this, applicants who are taking the GMAT, it is required to take the Integrated Reasoning portion of the test.
In order to make an application for this program, online versions of the GMAT / GRE are acceptable. Online GMAT test can be taken before one week prior to the deadline of submitting applications, which is the end of April every year.
The median total GMAT score of their students is 730.
5) In case an international applicant has been enrolled in a non-English speaking university and wants to apply for the Harvard Deferred MBA program, a TOEFL, IELTS or PTE score is required. This must not be earlier than 2 years.
If the university of Master’s degree has courses being taught in English but the undergraduate degree university was non-English speaking, then, it is not mandatory to submit the TOEFL, IELTS or PTE score. Even though it is not compulsory but it is still highly recommended to take the test.
Some preference in selection is given to the following things during the admissions process –
a) If the candidate has plans to work in an operating company belonging to sectors like manufacturing, retail, technology, consumer goods, etc.
b) If the candidate belongs to low socio-economic background. This means being the first generation to go to college or having a family background with low income, etc.
c) If the candidate is going to a technically challenging role.
d) If the candidate is going to pursue entrepreneurship.
6) 2 letters of recommendation are required. They should come from supervisors from an internship or part-time work experience, professors or mentors, etc. They should be such people who know the applicants well and relate to the abilities and their performance.
It should be noted that recommendations from peers are discouraged by the Admissions Board.
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Application Process
There is only one fixed deadline for applying to the Deferred MBA program. For the next round of applications, the deadline is around the end of April every year. Also, the review of applications is not done on a rolling basis. It is done on the basis of the deadline date only.
You can go to the school website to start an online application. The application fee is $100 which needs to be submitted through a credit card while applying online for the program. Active-duty military applicants do not need to submit the application fee.
Invitations to interviews are sent at the discretion of the MBA Admissions Board. No admissions are granted without an interview. After an applicant is admitted, she/he is required to pay a non-refundable deposit of $1000. This payment is for holding their place in that class.
Harvard Deferred MBA is a great option for all the current students who are quite clear in what they want to achieve professionally. By paying attention to different aspects related to the admissions in the school, one can secure her/his seat in their regular MBA class. These aspects include academic performance, GMAT/GRE score, score in TOEFL/IELTS/PTE, etc. What they are looking for is an overall good applicant who can demonstrate good leadership qualities and perform well in competitive conditions.
Contributor – Richa Mathur
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