As the COVID-19 pandemic decimates the economy, pushing the American unemployment rate into the 20%+ range, we predicted that the yield rates as business school would skyrocket. With Harvard Business School’s announcement to candidates on the waitlist today, we see that is exactly the case.

In general, business school admissions rates are counter-cyclical: when the economy is good and attractive employment options are plentiful, many potential applicants would rather keep climbing up the ladder at work than forgoing earnings to go to business school for two years. Conversely, when the economy is bad, many applicants on the fence see the benefit of getting out of the job market (where their wages may stagnate anyway) and bolster their resume with a name-brand MBA.

As the saying goes: “any port in a storm.” And what a storm we are in.

Why Is This Surprising?

Today Eileen Chang, the HBS Admissions officer overseeing the waitlist announced that at this point, incoming HBS class is full (see letter below). Normally HBS always accepts candidates off the waitlist in early summer as admitted students change their plans, choosing to stay at work, switch jobs, matriculate at another school, or serve out military deployments. This year, that didn’t happen. Instead, anyone who could get into HBS put down their deposit to attend.

Many were caught off guard as the blogosphere opined that many students would not want to matriculate if there was the potential that business school would be held online (at least at the beginning) or that many international students would have a hard time securing visas in the present environment. Those things certainly diminish the value of business school, but in short the smart money is betting that things are going to get far worse in the economy to make those sacrifices worth it on balance.

“The Class of 2022 is currently at capacity.”

It’s Eileen Chang with a process update before we head into Memorial Day Weekend here in the U.S.

Many of you submitted updates to your application earlier this month, which were helpful in giving us a more complete picture of where you are right now in your professional and extracurricular activities. For those who did not submit an update, we assume that the information we have for you continues to remain current. Thank you all for your continued interest in HBS.

We first want to share with you that the Class of 2022 is currently at capacity. At this time, we are not able to make any additional admissions offers. However, incoming first year students have until June 1 to let us know if they will be taking the deferral option mentioned in my last update, which may open up spots in the Class of 2022 at that time.

If there is movement in the class in early June, I will send another update at that time and provide more information. We are aware that a number of you have other options to consider and that waiting for a decision from HBS is not feasible given the timing outlined above. If you wish to remove yourself from the waitlist to pursue another option, we certainly understand. Simply send me an email and I can remove you.

We are grateful for your patience with our process and will be in touch in early June with more information.

Sincerely,
Eileen

What’s Next?

Normally, the story would end here and everyone on the waitlist would be released.

But this year, all is not lost. Harvard Business School has given admitted students until June 1st to elect to defer their offer of admission to a later year, something it almost never does. While students can express a preference to return in one or two years, the challenge is that they may not get the option they desire. Business School students are notoriously risk averse students may now have a choice if they defer one or two years

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