Harvard MBA Admissions Director Clarifies the Post-Interview Reflection Essay

In a recent posting to her blog, Dee Leopold, the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard Business School, has offered clarification as to the new post-interview reflection exercise that will be required of all students shortly after completing their interview.

She notes that the question will be, "You've just had your HBS interview. Tell us about it. How well did we get to know you?"  and that no word limit will be placed on the response. In addition, she states that her admissions team will not be strict on grammar, typos, etc, as this is an exercise in "real-world" writing, rather than essays, which can often be over-prepared.

Read more here.


I've written before on how an applicant feels a natural inclination after completing an interview to reach out to their interviewer and attempt to relive the whole thing, correct mistakes and give themselves a second chance to answer questions. This post-interview reflection is, simply, a chance to a) emphasize 1-2 key elements about yourself you feel you got across well, and b) introduce 1-2 key messages you feel you didn't have the chance to emphasize, but that are important to you.


John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com