Just had my interview last week, and it was a very pleasant experience. The interviewer had clearly read my application and even quoted a line from one of my essays.
I was extremely nervous going into it because I have a background in humanities (art history), scored very low on the GMAT (610), and have only 3 years of work experience (Oxford average is 6 years). However, the interview was relaxed and friendly, all the staff at Saïd were generous and kind, and it felt very positive afterwards. A few years ago I started a relatively successful social enterprise in Oxford and we mostly talked about this.
The first thing he said was “Welllllll, this is a very interesting application…”
Questions:
– Please walk me through the structure of your business. How did you come up with it, and how do you make decisions within the business?
– Are there criteria for what makes a co-operative business work successfully?
– Go back in time and tell me what brought you to this stage
– Why are you interested in bicycles? (My business works primarily with bikes)
– Your GMAT score is pretty low, how would you cope in class and what are your feelings about actually doing the course?
– What would you do afterwards, and what if you can’t stay in the UK to continue your business?
– What would you do differently if you could start your business again?
– Is there a difference between failure in the US and the UK?
The interview was in person and very relaxed, more like a conversation. At the end I asked a few questions:
– What are some examples of summer projects/internships that non-finance students have done?
– What is it like to be a woman on campus and what is Saïd doing about recruiting more women?
About me: Humanities/Art History background, 26y, female, 610 GMAT, USA but live in the UK
Status: Admitted
