The following Harvard Business School / HBS interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them!
Format
Round 2 international applicant, attended on-campus interview in March 2017. I was interviewed by 2 ad com members (both associate directors). One knew my application inside out (she was leading the interview and asking questions), another one only saw my CV (he was observing and NOT taking any notes). The interview took exactly 30 minutes. However, before we started formal part, we spent about 5 minutes talking about my journey to Boston and why I decided to take interview on campus and not in my hub city. It helped to set up a very conversational atmosphere for the rest of the interview. After the interview one of the interviewers walked with me to the reception room and we had a little chat about one of my extracurricular activities that he also did in the past.
Questions
The entire interview was focused on why and how I was making some important decisions in my life. I was expecting more questions about my industry, why I decided to do MBA, what I want to do after MBA etc. But I didn’t get any questions like that. It was all about my academic and professional experiences and some choices that I made. Below are some questions that I was asked (very much a complete list).
- Tell me more about your home city. Why did your parents decide to go and live there? What is the main business in there?
- Why did you select that particular university for your Undergrad and why that major? How does it link to your childhood experience and interests?
- What options did you consider after Undergrad? Why did you decide to do Masters? Why didn’t you continue academic study after Masters? Why not PhD?
- What would you advice to the first-year student? What would you do differently about your Undergrad?
- Tell us more about this particular scholarship that you received? Why were you better than other candidates?
- How would your fiance describe you in 3 words? And your best friend in 2 words?
- Working on this particular project, who and why recognised your contribution? Was it just your manager or your peers too?
- Would you recommend others to work in your company? Why?
- How would you introduce your industry to your classmates at HBS?
- Last question: what else do you want us to know about you?
Results
After the interview, I had mixed feelings. I felt it was not a disaster but it wasn’t particularly great either. In terms of accept/decline, I expected 30/70. But eventually, I was admitted! Following admission announcement on the website, I had a call from my interviewer who wanted to congratulate me in person. She asked whether I was accepted to any other schools (I said yes) and offered her and HBS support with any questions I have. She mentioned that exact amount of HBS scholarship will be confirmed in 3-4 weeks.
Overall, it was a challenging but rewarding journey that allowed me not only to get into one of the best business schools but also to learn more about myself.
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