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Published: December 3, 2019
UC Berkeley Haas MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alum / Off-Campus
Type: blind interview (interviewer only sees resume) List of required interview questions: 1. Walk me through your resume 2. Why an MBA? 3. Why Haas? How will Haas help you achieve your short/long-term goals? 4. Tell me about a time when you were on a team where others didn’t agree with you at the start of a project, but by the end you had changed their minds…or something along those lines (can’t remember the exact phrasing) 5. Diversity question…something along the lines of “How have you actively promoted diversity in the workplace?” (question asked Read more
Published: December 3, 2019
Michigan / Ross MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alum / Off-Campus
The interview was conducted at a local Starbucks by an alum who had read my resume briefly. He started with tell me about yourself and I walked through all of my resume experience – after that there wasn’t much questioning related directly to the resume. He also took notes via computer which was unusual for an interview, but was able to type while still looking at me. Not a huge factor, but just something very different than I’d experienced. Other questions included – 1. Why an MBA? 2. Why now? (really pried on these first two) 3. Read more
Published: December 3, 2019
Kellogg / Northwestern MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alum / Off-Campus
The interview was pretty straightforward and casual – we met at a coffee shop on a Sunday and she was an alum of the 1Y program, as that’s what I applied to. She had marked up my resume and had some forms to fill out from Kellogg. Questions included – 1. Why Kellogg? 2. Why an MBA? 3. Why now? 4. Pretty pointed questions about each of my jobs as listed on my resume and extreme detail on some bullets or stories I told (I’m assuming this was personal interest as they had a supply chain tilt Read more
Published: December 3, 2019
Wharton MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / On-Campus
Got to the admissions office early to socialize with other applicants. I was lucky enough that two applicants with whom I was talking to ended up in my team, so I had had time to get to know their names and personalities beforehand (we were all wearing name tags regardless). During the TBD, there were two people with the same main idea so we went with that. Not sure how we would’ve decided on an idea otherwise. Be prepared to answer some basic questions that may come up if your idea is chosen, it can be your time to shine Read more
Published: December 3, 2019
Wharton MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Students / On-Campus
The interview was fairly quick and went as explained online. I showed up about half an hour before the scheduled time and interacted with the other students who had also arrived in the admissions office. When the time came, we were called into a room as a group of 6 for the Team-Based Discussion which followed the pre-posted prompt. It lasted for thirty minutes with one student in each corner of a small conference room while the team had its discussion around the main table. Then, one of the students pulled each of us aside for a ten minute discussion Read more
Published: December 3, 2019
Stanford GSB MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alum / Off-Campus
Interview was blind and conducted with an alumnus off campus. Stanford admissions was very flexible with scheduling; when I received my invite to interview, I was required to submit my current location and given a 10-14 day interview window. However, due to military training I had to put multiple locations by date. The admissions director linked me up with an alumnus (State President for Fortune 500 Company) that happened to be in my training location, but said not to worry too much about the 10 day window and that Stanford Admissions could also arrange a different alumnus or even a Read more
Published: December 3, 2019
UT Austin / McCombs MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alum / Off-Campus
This interview took place in central London with an alumnus who is working in an internet/new media company in a senior program manager role, she also let me know that this is the 3rd organization she is working for since passing out of McCombs. Before setting up an alumni interview, the interviewee is supposed to look up the possible interviewers in her location from the alumni interviewer register, which would be made available to the candidate once she scores an interview invite. Unfortunately, I found out that there are only 2 interviewers available for UK, and only one of Read more
Published: December 3, 2019
Episode 69: Digging Deeper into Stanford GSB’s 2019 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report
Diversity and inclusion may seem like immeasurable, abstract goals, but Stanford GSB has taken a concrete approach to increasing diversity, ensuring equitable access, and creating a sense of belonging at the school.  To assess their progress and enhance plans for the future, they’ve compiled their first ever Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) report. In this podcast episode, you’ll hear directly from Sarah A. Soule, the Senior Associate Dean in charge of DEI, and Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, the Lead Strategist for DEI, as they walk us through the report.  They will discuss DEI Read more
Published: December 3, 2019
MBA News You Need: Northwestern Kellogg Offers New STEM Major, Dartmouth Tuck Gives Resume Advice, UCLA Anderson Talks Career Pathing, and More from MIT Sloan and Vanderbilt Owen
Each week we collect MBA news from around the world to give you a quick overview of the latest trending topics from leading business schools. In your MBA News You Need digest for the week of December 9th, Northwestern Kellogg announces its new STEM-designated Management Science major, the Dartmouth Tuck admissions and career team offer resume advice, UCLA Anderson unpacks career pathing during the MBA application, MIT Sloan highlights their five top business articles for 2019, and Vanderbilt Owen redesigns their Dean's Scholarship. Read more
Published: December 2, 2019
Columbia Business School MBA Interview Questions & Report: Early Decision / Alum / Off-Campus
I met the alumni interviewer at a local Starbucks on a weeknight evening. He was running pretty late so we ended up meeting 15-30 minutes after the planned start time. I’d reached out to him earlier over email to introduce myself and schedule the interview, and he told me we’d have a conversation around 3 questions (listed at the end) so I knew exactly what to prepare. He only had my resume to go off of, and though we started off more formally (talked about my resume and my career goals) and talked more to the questions he asked, it Read more
Published: December 2, 2019
Northwestern / Kellogg MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Skype
I received an interview invitation fairly late (late October), and due to unavailable alumni in my area (I am from Central America, for reference) I was offered a Skype interview. The invitation e-mail stated that interview would be conducted by an admission’s member who had not previously reviewed my application, so I was surprised when I was greeted by a second-year student. The interview was fairly standard and no surprise questions were asked, except for one, later marked with **. It was evident to me that I was paired up with the student based on interests, given that he seemed Read more
Published: December 2, 2019
Real Humans of Yale School of Management’s MBA Class of 2021
We continue to meet new MBA candidates in our series, Real Humans: MBA Students.  This week, we get to know a group of new students who have chosen to pursue their business management education in New Haven, Connecticut, at the Yale School of Management.  For Yale SOM, their mission is to educate leaders in business and society, and strategically position graduates to maximize their academic and professional development. Yale’s faculty collaborate to advance knowledge through a number of centers and area specific initiatives. Research centers include Center for Customer Insights, International Center Read more
Published: December 2, 2019
HEC Paris MBA Interview Questions & Report: Rolling Admissions / Alum / Skype
HEC Paris normally arranges for 2 interviews with members of its alumni. Normally, at least one of them is kept f2f. However, in my case, both of them were to be taken via Skype. One of the interviewers was a project manager in an insurance company in Zurich, Switzerland and the other interviewer was, again, a project manager in an Agri business. Since both of them were in skype, I decided to put them on the same day to compartmentalize HEC and prepare exclusively for HEC interviews that week. The format of the interviews are such: 1) A Presentation Read more
Published: December 2, 2019
MIT Sloan MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / On-Campus
Pretty standard interview with an admissions officer, I had prepared for a ton of edge questions but I got 3 questions that were probably the easiest to prepare for / top of the list for most people: – Walk me through your resume / background – Tell me about a time where you made an impact on your organization – Tell me about a time where you had to deal with a colleague who was challenging / hard to deal with – Why MBA/Why Sloan Relatively relaxed environment, although I didn’t feel like I made as much Read more
Published: December 2, 2019
Duke / Fuqua MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Skype
The interview was very informal and conversational, there were no questions that you would consider out of the ordinary or difficult and the interviewer was very friendly. I started the conversation saying hi and asking him about how the weather was in Durham, just to break the ice. He then told me about himself, his background, goals, why he chose Fuqua and his experience with recruiting. His goals/industry was different from mine. He then reiterated the fact that it was a blind interview and that he only had access to my resume. The questions that he asked were: 1. Tell Read more
Published: December 1, 2019
Real Humans of Stanford GSB’s MSx Class of 2020
The Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) is the cream of the crop of elite business school programs worldwide and is considered go-to institution for building “an entrepreneurial mindset, a spirit of innovation, and effective personal leadership skills.” While you may have already seen our Real Humans of the Stanford GSB MBA Class of 2021, we also wanted to introduce you to members of their MSx program, a full-time, one-year degree tailored to experienced mid-career professionals seeking an accelerated MBA. As MSx candidates come to Stanford GSB mid-career, Read more
Published: December 1, 2019
Yale SOM MBA Interview Questions & Report / Round 1 / Second-year student / on-campus
Interviewed on-campus on Friday and attended the whole day activity including a campus tour and a faculty presentation. The interviewer was a second-year student, very friendly and explained the process at the beginning of the interview. The latter lasted 30 min with the last 5 min for questions and answers. The questions were the following: 1. Present yourself briefly. 2. What brings you here and why MBA now? 3. Tell me about a time you had to manage a team and how did you react? 4. Is there anything you wish you could have Read more
Published: December 1, 2019
Episode 68: Wire Taps—Entrepreneur with Low GPA, Gaps in Work Experience, Switching to Healthcare/Biotech
We head into the final month of 2019 with a keen new episode of the podcast series, Wire Taps. Clear Admit’s admissions experts, Graham Richmond and Alex Brown, are back to offer applicants advice on how to approach MBA admissions.  Each week, they pull profiles from MBA ApplyWire and elaborate on strategies these b-school hopefuls should use.  This week, the duo reviews an entry from an entrepreneur with a low GPA. They also advise a new mother eager to get back into a decision-making role and another Read more
Published: November 28, 2019
Fridays from the Frontline: Max Olivares on Embracing Diversity at Anderson
Creating equitable spaces that address a range of experiences is not only essential to a great education, but it’s how students, particularly MBA students, prepare to navigate business in an increasingly globalized world. UCLA Anderson’s recent Embracing Diversity Conference was a two-day forum featuring an “elevated conversation about intersecting identities” among current students, alumni, corporate partners. The goal was to showcase what a “learning environment informed by academic, professional, geographic and cultural student diversity” is like. Current Anderson student Max Olivares MBA ’21 took to the UCLA Anderson Read more
Published: November 27, 2019
MBA Interview Advice Directly from Dartmouth Tuck
If you’re interested in applying to the Dartmouth Tuck MBA program, you need to highlight four critical characteristics throughout your application and interview: Smart, Accomplished, Aware, and Nice. In a recent Tuck Admissions Insight blog post, the admissions team offered concrete advice on how applicants can provide a complete picture of themselves during their admissions interview. Read more
Published: November 26, 2019
Episode 25 Replay: 8 Tips You Need to Succeed in Round 2
The wave of Round 2 deadlines may look like it's on the horizon, but, based on what goes into applying to business school, those deadlines are closer than they appear.  Whether you’re just kicking off your MBA applications or have some experience knowledge from Round 1, this podcast episode will help you succeed in Round 2. Read more
Published: November 26, 2019
Fuqua / Duke MBA Interview Questions & Report / Round 1 / Second-year student / On-campus
This was an applicant-initiated interview scheduled during Fuqua’s open interview period in late-September. The interview was conducted in Fuqua’s designated interview areas by a second-year student who also led tour groups throughout the day. The interview was also blind (only had access to my resume). Overall, the interview was very conversational, and I truly got the sense that my interviewer was trying to understand me as a person. There really weren’t any curve-balls or IB/consulting questions, so nothing was too surprising. The questions were fairly standard and mostly stuck to a script (which I assume is often the case in Read more
Published: November 26, 2019
Fuqua / Duke MBA Interview Questions & Report / Round 1 / Second Year Student / Skype
Started on Skype with some quick banter because my interviewer and I had a similar background. (Really wasn’t expecting this but it definitely put me more at ease.) Overall, the interview was very informal and felt like a conversation. Biggest Takeaway: Without a doubt, the interviewers are trained to find out how likely you are to pick Fuqua. As the interview neared the end, I realized that the “Why Fuqua?” question had follow ups throughout the 30 minutes. For instance, my post-MBA goals really lined up with a manufacturing firm that recruits at Fuqua. But additional questions like how I Read more
Published: November 26, 2019
Chicago Booth Offers 5 Tips on the MBA Admissions Interview
MBA interview season is in full swing at Chicago Booth.  Even if you’ve attended your fair share of information sessions, you might still have questions about the interview process. To help you understand what’s expected during the interview and what can you do to ensure it goes off without a hitch, a current Chicago Booth MBA student, Kate Nimmo, shared a five-point list to help you put your best foot forward.  Read on for a wrap up of her key Chicago Booth MBA interview tips. Read more
Published: November 25, 2019
Columbia Business School Interview Questions & Report: Early Decision / Alumnus / Off-Campus
Interview was very casual. He introduced himself and then asked me to introduce myself. He had gone through my resume in advance and asked some particular questions about my schooling. Below is an overview of some questions he asked. 1. What is the most difficult experience you have been through? 2. What will you do if you don’t get a visa to work in the US? 3. Tell me more about your interests outside of work? 4. Why do you not want to go back to your family business after the MBA? (personal question) 5. Read more

MBA Applywire

5
January 14, 2025 12:01am ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Northwestern / Kellogg, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Private Equity tax consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey
GMAT: 675
GPA: 3.95
Years of Work Experience: 9
Location: Bangalore, India
Post MBA Location: East Coast
Notes:

I have primarily worked with venture funds and startups covering a range of tax advisory projects from M&A, due diligence, venture fund setup etc. I want to go beyond tax and step into strategy consulting roles, with a focus on fund strategy and portfolio acceleration in private equity.

Extracurricular : Involved with Rotaract for 2.5 years, taken part in multiple corporate responsibility initiatives at the firm , volunteer in pet rescue initiatives for the community
4
January 13, 2025 11:26pm ET
Applying: Columbia, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, UPenn / Wharton
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting at MBB; will continue with consulting post-MBA as I am considering firm sponsorship
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Venture Capital Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey , Andressen Horowitz , Sequoia Capital , Other
GRE: 335
GPA: 3.94
Years of Work Experience: 2
Location: India
Post MBA Location: NY, Chicago, Boston
Notes:

- South Asian (Non-Indian), Male, 25 year old

- Bachelor in Finance and Economics (1st in Class) Graduated May 2023

- Activities:
Debating (Coached National Debate Team to its best performance in the World Championship, 3x Asian Top 10 debater, won/competed in finals of Oxford Intervarsity, UCL Intervarsity, Durham-Oxford-Cambridge Open, and many more prestigious competitions, Mentored 100+ debaters across 15 countries and advised Debate Organizations in Australia and China).
Non Profit (Founding member of a student org; Conducted 5 city-wide projects on Food Security, Clothing for the poor in Winter, and Improving sanitation in slums that received national coverage)

- More on Work: My focus is on Growth Tech (Startups and fast scaling businesses) and Public Sector practice area. I have led the writing of a report we co-published with a client (my name is on the acknowledgement section). The client and Partners loved my work and have now staffed me in writing another report for the same client. Evals are highly positive and have endorsements from 2 Senior Partners in the org (who are happy to write my recc)

- What I am doing outside of work now: I had a merit scholarship offer from LBS for its MiM program upon graduation. I have been helping folks from my country get into top tier early career master's programs pro-bono (Most people here cannot afford Western Admissions consultants as the charges are exorbitant for us given the country is an LDC). Since joining work, I have continued to work as a selector for National Debate Team and I take pro-bono sessions for disadvantaged schools. I have also taken sessions at local consulting firms to teach them what I have learned from my MBB experience (I am the first from my country to make it to an MBB after a local undergrad; MBBs do not have offices in my country)

- Future Plan: Continue at MBB and specialize in Venture Capital/ Startups. I have a very good network with VCs and founders in my home country. I would love to raise a fund to help the startup ecosystem of my country in the future or work in the capacity of mentoring founders.

- Target: Full-rides to top schools such as HBS, Wharton, CBS, Sloan. Looking for tips to develop my profile for 2027 Fall entry. I believe that I have what it takes to make it to an M7 but would love to take the 2 years to solidify my profile so that I can be in the mix for a good scholarship

Interests: Martial Arts, Reading (I have read books from Wharton Professors such as Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth, and Katy Milkman) Weightlifting, Marathon Running (I am aware this is super cliche haha)

Side-note: My GRE split is 166 Q (84%ile), 169 V (99%ile), and 5.5 AWA (98%ile). I can improve my Quant to 169-170 but I doubt the extra effort needed now will make a material difference. Would love to have your thoughts
6
January 13, 2025 2:37pm ET
Applying: Harvard Business School, INSEAD, London Business School, MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting - Government
Post-MBA Target Industry: Technology, Undecided Companies: Google , Microsoft
GRE: 338
GPA: 3.66
Years of Work Experience: 4
Location: US
Post MBA Location: Undecided
Notes:

Background in design. Graduate degree in design from Harvard. Transitioned public sector consulting and planning work.
3
January 13, 2025 6:32am ET
Applying: Columbia, NYU Stern, U. Chicago Booth
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking, Private Equity
GRE: 323
GPA: 3.0
Years of Work Experience: 7
Location: Uzbekistan
Post MBA Location: NYC
2
January 12, 2025 11:33pm ET
Applying: Dartmouth / Tuck, UVA / Darden
Pre-MBA Career: Construction and real estate
Post-MBA Target Industry: Other
GMAT: 665
GPA: 7/10
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: India
Post MBA Location: India
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MBA LiveWire

January 14, 2025 11:44pm ET
Applied to Harvard Business School
Round: Round 2
Received via portal
GPA: High 2:1 (UK)
GMAT: 695
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Technology
Application Location: Korea
January 14, 2025 11:13pm ET
Applied to Harvard Business School
Round: Round 2
Received via portal
GPA: 3.78
GRE: 333
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: California
January 14, 2025 10:14pm ET
Interview Invite to Vanderbilt / Owen
Round: Round 2
Received via email on December 31, 2024
GPA: 3.24
GRE: 320
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
January 14, 2025 10:13pm ET
Interview Invite to UNC Kenan-Flagler
Round: Round 2
Received via email on January 01, 2025
GPA: 3.24
GRE: 320
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
January 14, 2025 6:17pm ET
Applied to Stanford GSB
Round: Round 2
Received via portal
GPA: 3.74
GMAT: 635
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Entrepreneurship
Application Location: East Africa
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