The following Stanford MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was accepted.
I interviewed with an alumna at a local coffee shop. I had emailed her my résumé, as requested by Stanford GSB and she brought a printed copy which she had clearly reviewed ahead of time. She began with the why triad (Why MBA? Why now? Why Stanford?), then shifted gears to behavioral questions drawn from a printed list. From what I recall, the questions were as follows:
– Tell me about your career path.
– Tell me about a time you felt blocked from achieving a goal and how you reacted.
– Tell me about a leadership challenge you’ve faced.
– Tell me about a time you pushed back against authority.
After each response, my interviewer continued to probe into how I felt and what I said and did. She went into much greater depth than my previous b-school interviewers had. Still, the tone remained amiable throughout, and I really enjoyed the chance to reflect on why I act the way I do. She left about 15 minutes for questions at the end (which I used to ask about her favorite experiences at the Stanford GSB and her career choices post-MBA), and we wrapped up at exactly the one hour mark.
My advice: (1) Don’t over-prepare or over-package — these folks are wise and can sense dis-ingenuousness from a mile away. (2) Do spend a reasonable amount of time researching GSB’s unique offerings — this helped me begin and end the interview on a strong note. (3) Have fun! Think of the interview as a preview of the amazing conversations you’ll have with future GSB classmates.
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