Harvard Business School (HBS) is inviting upperclassmen from women's schools to its campus in an effort to up their population of female students.
According to the Huffington Post, the PEEK program will invite juniors, seniors and recent graduates to spend time on campus in June. For $500, the students will get an up-close look at HBS' MBA program, including sit-ins on classes as well as meetings with alumnae and students.
"This program is aimed at women at women-only colleges who may not have thought of a business school career," Deirdre C. Leopold, the managing director of HBS admissions and financial aid, told the Harvard Crimson. "[Participants will] literally take a peek at what happens in an MBA program."
HBS began admitting female students about 50 years ago and women now make up about 41 percent of the class of 2016. Though that may appear to be positive progress, the HP noted no major business school in the U.S. has broached a 50-percent-female graduating class.
While HBS is actively recruiting women from women's colleges, the fee they are charging for prospective students to get their "peek" is drawing some criticism.
"The fact that HBS, a school with the largest endowment of any in the world, would charge women for the privilege of coming to campus rubbed a lot of people the wrong way," John A. Byrne, a former editor at BusinessWeek, told the HP.
HBS made previous efforts to curb gender bias at the school, but PEEK stands on its own, Leopold told the Crimson. Speaking with the HP about the price, she said it does not even cover the full cost and the HBS would be offering financial aid and fellowships for attendees who need.
