But some say they are concerned about the larger implications of the change in student demographics.

Kreisberg says that the change in targeted applicants comes at a time when HBS is undergoing what some call an “academization”—turning away from a management school into a technical school.

He says that having more students come directly from college might hurt HBS in the long-run, as it pushes the academization process further.

“If 20-30 percent of the class were new grads, it would be a sad trend towards more unreality over there,” Kreisberg says. “Their vaunted case method is devolving away from a Socratic dialog among experienced young adults towards problem sets for whiz kids.”

Indeed, some at HBS concur with Kreisberg regarding the dangers of academization.

“Too many of our cases are turning into glorified problem sets,” says Chair of the MBA Program W. Carl Kester in Galvin’s Harvard Magazine article. “They have a methodological line of attack and a single, preferred, right answer. They are exercises in applied analysis.”

He points out that “action-skills” of diagnosis, decision-making and implementation, now all receive less attention in the school’s MBA curriculum.

Regardless, HBS marches on with the initiative.

As part of this plan, the HBS Admissions group visited over 30 college campuses this fall to help undo the misconception that business school is not an option for recent graduates.

HBS receives “just under 10,000” applications a year and takes roughly 1 out of 10 students, according to Dewey. While only 100-200 of those applications are submitted by students on the cusp of graduating from college, the one-tenth acceptance rate applies equally well to that group, Dewey adds.

Admitted, But Accepted?

Although changing admissions policies and procedures is one hallmark of the early career initiative, the integration of early-career students into the HBS community is also part of the equation.

Badaracco says that teaching HBS classes to a mixed audience—with students right out college and students with heavy job experience—is “harder in one way, and easier in another.”

“It makes it harder because we rely heavily on students’ discussions and insights,” he says. “We want students to have some real-world experience—and it’s just not an even playing field.”

Despite Badaracco’s reservations, however, students who have matriculated at HBS straight out of college seem to be content with their choice.