Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School isn't just a b-school; it's an institution. With 880 students in each incoming class, the b-school is massive. There are around ten buildings all interconnected by an underground tunnel system. I saw the case method in action at a 'Management of Technology' class - the company under investigation was Red Hat. I also attended an information session being conducted by a 2nd-year student who had formerly been a pilot and established leader in the Army.


The facilities at HBS are top-notch. The library is obviously very old, but has been decked out with heaps of PCs with flat-screen monitors and high-speed internet access. There's an impressive sports and recreation centre thats dedicated to the business school, which even includes an indoor running track. There's also dormitory and apartment accomodation within the b-school grounds (around 50% of the b-school students live on campus).


In terms of the academic curriculum - it's about 95% case based. Harvard in the home of the case method. In fact, most professors at other top b-schools prefer to publish their cases through Harvard. In the first year, you become part of a cohort of 80 students, and do all your classes with that group. The second year is all electives, and there are about 70 to choose from, plus you can takes classes from other schools within Harvard or from Sloan @ MIT.


Although it's a very big school, I think I'd really get a lot of value out of an MBA at HBS. The name is very well known, which would make a difference back in Australia (and throughout the rest of the world), the quality of education is impeccable, and the facilities are very impressive.


One final feature that makes a difference - all students (regardless of citizenship) can get a loan from Citibank to cover the full cost of the program. With all other schools that I've come across, you enough need to finance the first year yourself, or get a loan with a US citizen acting as a co-signer.


Bit of a diatribe, but suffice to say, I've now added Harvard to my short list.