Not sure if you’ve heard of a little place called Harvard, but it happens to be one of the top universities in the world. As a matter of fact, the name Harvard is basically synonymous with “success” and “prestige”. Harvard’s business school alone boasts 33 separate buildings. The annual tuition is $61,225 and the average GMAT score for accepted applicants is 730. So what will you gain at such a price tag? Admitted students are part of a 90-student cohort that serves as an intellectual and social circle. In this circle, students will go through courses together in their first year. Harvard coined a case method curriculum in order to bring real-life problems to the classroom and further develops real-world leadership by having a designated group leader for every assigned project. Once out of the classroom, students get to spend one week working with over 140 companies around the world. Harvard also gives students an opportunity to launch a company over 8 weeks with $3000 in seed money. Harvard bridges the gap between real-life and classroom studies, giving students not only hands-on experience, but the leadership tools necessary to succeed in the business world. As far as admissions goes, HBS has been pioneering that front as well, from being the first to accept the GRE to shortening the recommendations to only two questions. Also, Harvard now only asks for one very personal admissions essay, which demands a lot of introspection on the part of the applicant. So where does the Harvard reputation come from? From investing in their students as much as their students invested to get accepted.