Aspiring investment bankers, consultants and financiers usually have to wait until their second or third round of interviews before a recruiter wines and dines them.

But this week about 100 students got a jumpstart on fall recruiting at the Harvard Student Agencies (HSA) Business Leaders Conference, where four of Harvard's most prestigious corporate recruiters mixed education with self-promotion--and picked up the tab for dinner.

The students got a free dinner, and the sponsors got first-crack at some of the most sought-after graduates in the nation.

But College officials gave a mixed blessing to the program and many students say they weren't taking the bait.

Trading on a Name

For the last week, the 100 students took four hours of classes a day from Harvard Business School professors and business leaders, at no personal expense.

Students dined at the Faculty Club, where theyschmoozed with recruiters. The College providedhousing.

The cost of the conference was picked up byfour $10,000 sponsors: Fidelity Investments,Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company and Trilogy.

In return for their sponsorship, the companiessent a speaker and legions of recruiters to thedinners, got full-page ads in the conferenceprogram and can request the participantsi resumes.

The program was born last fall, when currentHSA Vice President Jon Sakoda approached theCollege about hosting an early program to bringHarvard students together with businesspeople inan educational setting. To make it work, Sakodaneeded the College to provide early housing.

Initially, the Dean of Student's Office wasreluctant.

"It took me several pitches to get them in linewith the program," Sakoda says.

He says Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III andCoordinator of Student Activities Susan T. Cookeexpressed concern about students partying in theHouses, conflicts with the Office of CareerServices and the selectivity of the program.

Eventually, however, the College agreed.

Getting the companies on board was much easier.

"In that these students have interest inbusiness, [this] is a great start for Trilogy,"says Trilogy recruiter Kathryn Knowles. "These arethe kinds of students we look for."