The Final Test

During the execution of the three course modules, I was on a weekly basis tested with open book quizzes. The questions where relatively easy and related to the current topic of study. All good with that…

Once all courses had been completed access to another part of the HBX platform was given. Here the same questions from the quizzes was combined and presented in a format that was suppose to simulate the final test. This section was really good to review to content before going to the test center.

Then the final assignment – the closed book test – executed at a Person Test Center. I was given a period of three weeks that I had to complete this three hour test. Although every student will have to schedule the test with Person by them selves, selecting any location and time that best fit them. That gives a great deal of freedom. But sad to say, Person do not uphold their end of it. Several test centers choose not to administrate the test, some even close down completely during the test period. Several of the HBX students (including myself) had to travel far, adding much extra time and cost to the course budget.

Never the less once at the test center the three hour 3×45 questions goes faster than you expect. All of the sudden time is up and all questions have been answered. The a long wait starts to receive the grade a few weeks later.

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HBX Blog writes about the program, the courses, and the live sessions.

The Start

Three weeks have already passed since the program start. It has been really hectic. All three courses are running in parallel and there is a deadline to complete one or two of courses modules every Wednesday.

My analysis before applying for this program, and all material published by HBS, indicated that it would be a matter of 10-15 hours of study every week. That is a sever underestimation. Even if the time needed to complete each module differs, so far the time to only step through the material for each of them have been just below 10 hours. Add to that the time needed to repeat and do some exercise with the material you easily spend closer to 20 hours every week.

As I am managing a full time assignment as a consultant the hours I spend with the course tend to be late evenings and some nights. But it is all worth it. The platform is very engaging with good quality on video, sound, and text. Exercises are meaning full. Even the structure the courses are delivered are forcing the students to do all work and not skip parts they might think they know.

Three weeks in and I am still enjoying the learning process.

What is HBX?

In short HBX is an online program delivered by Harvard Business School. The program has a pre-MBA curriculum over a 10 week period consisting of three courses: Financial Accounting, Economics for Managers, and Business Analytics. All three courses are given by prominent professors of HBS.

The purpose of the program is to prepare students to the 2-year MBA program, and have now been opened up for global participation. Fortune have written a very good article covering the program in more detail.

http://fortune.com/2015/02/10/harvard-business-school-expects-3000-online-students-this-summer/

Response

A few days ago I finally received a response from HBS on my application to HBX CORe. The response was a bit cryptic at first. The mail only contained one line, “Your admissions decision for CORe is now available online”, and I had to log in to actually get the answer that I have been waiting for.

It was a nervous wait when I click the link and loged in to my HBX account. Then I could read the words… I was accepted! I was so excited (still am) that I read it over and over again. It was just a matter of complementing the application with some additional personal details, and then pay the program fee.

Now I am waiting for the 15th of April when the program is planned to start.

HBX Application

The application for the HBX CORe program is fairly straight forward. The applicant starts by creating a private user account. You are asked about your background and why you apply for the program. Two open ended questions are also stated where a well formulated and thought of response with a few hundred words are expected. The whole process does not take more than an hour where upon an standard mail is sent:

Thank you for submitting your application for CORe!

You will receive a decision in about 4 weeks. You will receive an e-mail to notify you when your decision is available to view.

Then the long wait and constant updating the inbox start…

 

Decisions

The new year had just begun and in normal settings I was reviewing my past and current actions, an activity I perform with myself every 6 months or so. It involves considering where I am in my career and where I want to be.

During university I had a focus on strategy and finance with a heavy addition of math and computer science. Most of the courses were theoretical and the purpose seemed to have been more to prepare the students for a continual academic path than a professional career. I missed the connection on how the course work should be used in a real life scenario.

With a large number of theories in my mind I headed straight out of school to a position as a system analyst that later developed into a project manager position. I found myself engaged in assignments where I had to work with my core skills such as communication and leadership as well as different technical skills.

Looking at the past years that I have spent as a professional consultant I now had reached a point where I felt a boost was needed to continue to excel. My choice then fell on business school. A review of several schools was done, and in the end one of them stood out from the rest – Harvard Business School with their case methodology. At the same time that I collected information about HBS, they presented a new 10 week online program of business course work called HBX CORe. I considered it for a few days and then decided to apply…