I was invited to interview with Haas in January 2010, around 3 weeks before the R1 deadline. After being contacted by the school I chose my location (Austin, TX) and was paired with an alumni in the area.
The Haas alumni from the very beginning was very friendly and engaged (more so than other MBA interviews I have had so far) and asked me what questions I might have about the program so he could research them beforehand. He then followed up with some information about several companies started by Haas alumni that I might be interested in.
We agreed to meet at a breakfast joint in Austin. The alumni was on time and very friendly/informal. While he took notes and did ask me some structured questions, the interview was fairly relaxed and no more intense than a typical job interview. There were no ‘trick’ questions and I tried to incorporate most of the factors I knew he would ask me about into my review of my resume and past experience.
His direct questions included:
- Why MBA/Haas?
- Tell me about challenges you’ve faced in previous positions and how you resolved them?
- When have you had to deal with a difficult inter-personal relationship at the office and how did you deal with it?
- What are your goals post-MBA?
I had already visited Haas and thus could speak about the campus and class visit, which seemed beneficial. I think the interview would have been less effective if I had not demonstrated that interest.
Overall the interview lasted 45 minutes but we sat and talked for nearly 1.5 hours total. The alumni also followed up with me after, passing on some additional contacts and information.
