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Published: January 24, 2021
UVA Darden Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Adcom / Zoom
Darden / Mid-January 2021 interview. The interview was pretty straightforward since I was expecting the Darden structure. I wasn’t sure if the interview would be with a second-year student or adcom until the interview. It was conversational and I did the majority of talking. I was told to share my story for ~10 minutes focusing on childhood to today, then was advised to focus on why Darden for the 2nd half of the 20 mins. The adcom asked a few questions after – I was a little thrown off since they were similar to questions on the application, and while Read more
Published: January 24, 2021
Episode 145: Wire Taps—With Five Acceptances, Where Should I Go?
Tune into a new podcast episode of Wire Taps in which our resident experts offer advice to two MBA applicants and a candidate choosing among five acceptances and two other potential options. See which profiles from MBA ApplyWire and MBA DecisionWire they discuss below, then tune in. The first applicant is interested in breaking into private equity:Another applicant needs to bump up their GMAT score: Finally, the third profiled candidate needs help choosing among five acceptances and two other potential options for consumer goods: Happy listening! Clear Admit MBA Admissions Read more
Published: January 23, 2021
NYU Stern Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Adcom / Zoom
Very friendly conversation. 30 minutes long. The questions of my interview were: 1. Walk me through your resume 2. Short-term / long-term goals 3. How will Stern help you achieve you goals 4. Tell me about a time you had to work in teams (I answered one where I was more in a leadership capacity and she asked for another example where I was in a junior capacity). Comments: She asked a lot about who I talked to: people from Stern and people from the clubs that you want to go into and people from Read more
Published: January 21, 2021
Fridays from the Frontline: The Support of the Stern Community During Covid-19
It takes a community to get through a pandemic, and that’s just what Rizwana Iqbal, Stern MBA ’21, found at the NYU Stern School of Business. Read her story from startups to Stern and through recruiting with the help of her b-school community. The Support of the Stern Community During Covid-19 Rizwana Iqbal, NYU Stern Full-time MBA, Class of 2021 From Startups to Stern I began my journey with economics as an undergraduate at Delhi University and as a post-graduate at the London School of Economics. After graduation, I started off Read more
Published: January 19, 2021
Yale SOM Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
Was a typical zoom interview. You enter the call at your scheduled time. Blind interview by a second-year student. Seems randomly chosen, regardless of your background. 1. Took a good 3-4 minutes chit-chatting; talking about football games, travelling 2. Run through the resume, but focus on the work experience 3. Had follow-up questions about my work experience. (Do you manage a team? How many?) 4. What would you change about your organization? 5. What kind of friction do you have with your manager? How to overcome them? 6. Why leave the job you enjoy? Read more
Published: January 19, 2021
Real Humans of Rice Business MBA Class of 2022
The Rice Business MBA at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business is known for flexibility–students can tailor their specializations to their intended career paths. While the Rice MBA provides a well-rounded general management education (the first year is dominated by core courses), the fields of real estate, entrepreneurship and energy stand out at the Houston-based program. In this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students, some new members of the MBA Class of 2022 shed light on how these strengths factored into their decisions to attend Rice Business. Many also cite the Read more
Published: January 18, 2021
Moving from Academia to Industry: PhDs Getting MBAs at HEC Paris
Sponsored Content In 2012, Jean-Marc Peyrat left his role in science and technology development at Siemens to team up with a colleague and start a company. This was no idle pursuit: Peyrat holds two separate master’s degrees in engineering and biomedical engineering, as well as a PhD in computer science. The venture lasted just a few months, but this brief foray into entrepreneurship whet Peyrat’s appetite for more. Peyrat hit the books again in 2016 when he started the MBA program at HEC Paris. Today, he is the co-founder and CEO of Read more
Published: January 18, 2021
Real Humans of Indiana Kelley’s MBA Class of 2022
In this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students, we head to Bloomington, Indiana, to meet some new MBA candidates at the Indiana Kelley School of Business. The 92 members of the Kelley MBA Class of 2022 have an average age of 29 and an average of 5.5 years of work experience. Women comprise 35% of the class and 23% are international students. Twenty-nine percent identify as minorities. During their undergraduate years, the group averaged a 3.32 GPA. Thirty-seven percent had earned undergraduate degrees in business administration. Thirty percent majored in social sciences Read more
Published: January 17, 2021
Dartmouth Tuck Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
Felt pretty informal. My guess is that these interviews are largely assessing fit, since fit is a huge deal for Tuck and the 2nd-year students conduct them. I got the sense that this was more about “can I imagine you sitting next to me in class” than “will you crack under the pressure of IB recruiting.” 1. Tell me about yourself/walk me through your resume. 2. What are your short-term and long-term goals? 3. Why MBA and why Tuck? 4. Tell about a time you received feedback; how did you handle it? 5. Reverse: tell about Read more
Published: January 17, 2021
Episode 144: Wire Taps—CBS, Chicago Booth or Kellogg for Real Estate?
Join Alex Brown and Graham Richmond for another advice-filled podcast episode of Wire Taps. They share MBA admissions insights with a few atypical applicants and weigh in on school choice for real estate. See which profiles from MBA ApplyWire and MBA DecisionWire they discuss below, then tune in. A Navy SEAL inquired about the impact of his background: An architect also wondered how schools view atypical candidates: Finally, the third profiled candidate needs help choosing between CBS, Booth or Kellogg for real estate: Happy listening! Clear Admit MBA Admissions Read more
Published: January 14, 2021
Fridays from the Frontline: Heard on the Street (HOTS) – Bringing the HBS Community Through Harmony
Music can bring people together and that’s just what the a capella group at Harvard Business School aims to do. Justin Kim, HBS MBA ’21, shares the story of Heard on the Street and building community through harmony in this week’s Fridays from the Frontline. Heard on the Street (HOTS) – Bringing the HBS Community Through Harmony By Justin Kim, HBS MBA ’21 Heard on the Street (HOTS) is the one and only a cappella group at HBS. During this period of disconnection due to COVID-19, we have embraced music’s power to Read more
Published: January 13, 2021
Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Pre-Recorded Video Interview
I was waitlisted without an interview. Just finished the pre-recorded video interview that is required after accepting the waitlist. The pre-recorded format gives me a lot of stress as the timing was strictly defined, and I don’t know what kind of questions was going to be asked. I’m sharing my questions here, and hope this will help other candidates in similar situations. There are 5 questions. Each has 45 seconds to prepare and 3 minutes to answer. 1. A diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) experience 2. What do you want to get out of business school and how can Read more
Published: January 13, 2021
NYU Stern Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
I was surprised how conversational the interview was. She clearly had just read my application and thus it felt very natural to speak about my goals and plan. She absolutely had a few questions she wanted directly answered, but there was a flow to the conversation vs. Q&A, Q&A, Q&A, which I greatly appreciated. Read more
Published: January 13, 2021
Yale SOM Video Essay: Round 2 / Video Essay Component / Online
After signing in, I got the opportunity to test my computer and prepare two sample questions. For the real questions, there would be a video of an Admission Officer saying the prompt and the text below it. After the video ended, a timer would start with time to prepare the answer. Then, the recording would start. The questions were as follows: 1. Why an MBA and why now? (20 seconds to prepare, 60 to present) 2. Talk about a difficult situation you have experienced at work. Explain with details. (30 seconds to prepare, 90 to present) 3. Some Read more
Published: January 13, 2021
Stanford GSB Employment Report: MBA Class of 2020, Achievement Through Creativity
The Stanford Graduate School of Business 2020 MBA employment report shows few signs of economic disruption or pandemic uncertainty. This year’s graduates reported record salary numbers and fostered the highest level of entrepreneurship since 2013. GSB’s communities of students, alumni, and faculty worked to ensure the success of the Class of 2020 by focusing on their goals and being creative in reaching them. The timing of offers and acceptances was slightly off from last year: 91 percent of students received a job offer within three months after graduation, and in Read more
Published: January 13, 2021
CBS MBA Interview Questions & Report: Rolling Admissions / Alumni / Zoom
Interview lasted shorter than expected – I shared a copy of my resume prior to our meeting, but it seemed like he never read my resume. Right off the back he started with a comment saying, he interviewed 3 applicants during this admissions cycle and they have all been admitted so that was a nice ice-breaker to get me to feel comfortable. He explained that when Columbia asks him to fill out the interview report/commentary, they mainly ask for 2 questions: (1) Does the applicant have clear career goals post-MBA and are they realistic and attainable? (2) Will Read more
Published: January 12, 2021
Berkeley Haas Expands MBA Deferred Admissions Program
The UC Berkeley Haas School of Business has expanded its Accelerated Access deferred admissions program to all undergraduate seniors and final-year graduate students. First limited to UC Berkeley students, the pilot’s success led the school to open the program to outside applicants this MBA admissions season.  The program allows undergraduate seniors and final-year master’s students to apply to the full-time MBA program. Acceptance is conditional, and the applicants can enroll after a flexible two- to five-year deferment period. Students use this time to gain Read more
Published: January 12, 2021
Real Humans of UCI Merage’s MBA Class of 2022
The University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business is located in the center of Southern California’s Tech Coast. This edition of Real Humans: MBA Students introduces new members of their MBA Class of 2022. Half of the MBA class at UCI Merage are women. A third of the student body is comprised of international students. Merage MBAs have an average age of 29 and earned an average of five years of work experience before matriculating. During their undergraduate years, they averaged a GPA of 3.43. Thirty percent had earned degrees Read more
Published: January 11, 2021
MBA Admissions Tips & Advice from HEC Paris MBA Director & Star Applicant
Sponsored Content  Two women very familiar with what it takes to be successful in MBA admissions, particularly at HEC Paris, offer advice on each stage of the admissions process at the leading program. The HEC Paris MBA Director of Marketing, Sara Vanos, and a star MBA applicant, Kendra Bills, share their experiences in this special feature. Sara Vanos (left) & Kendra Bills (right) Sara Vanos joined HEC Paris in 2014, following her roles in MBA recruiting at Toronto Rotman. Sara currently serves as the Director of Marketing, Recruitment and Sales across the MBA programs at Read more
Published: January 11, 2021
Real Humans of IESE’s MBA Class of 2022
In this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students, we head to the bustling and dynamic city of Barcelona, Spain, to meet some of the newest members of the MBA Class of 2022 at IESE Business School. Around 350 students comprise the latest class at IESE. Eighty-five percent are international students and 30 percent are women. Thirty percent come from Europe and another 25% from Asia. Twenty percent each had lived in Latin America or North America. The final five percent came from other regions of the world. IESE MBA students average an Read more
Published: January 10, 2021
MIT Sloan Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
Interview was super fast, 20 minutes Interviewer showed up about 5 minutes after scheduled time (it was the first time slot on a Monday) and seemed to be in a hurry. I never saw anyone introduce themselves so fast. It seemed I had hit the 2x speed button. But I tried to keep calm. First thing interviewer explained how interview was gonna be. -Tell me about your new job (changed during application) -Tell me about your data visualization (started to overlap with question 1, bc it was about my new job) -Tell me about a recent accomplishment at Read more
Published: January 10, 2021
HBS MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
Interview went very smoothly, the interviewer set a welcoming and warm atmosphere which made me feel much more comfortable. I also loved that almost all questions were straightforward about specific things from my application, so I basically knew how to answer them. Questions/talking points -Specific thing about my essay, family background and how it relates to my background and goals -Why did I go to my first job at a Big 4 and how it related to my goals -How did I handle the fact that my college education hadn’t provided me with the basics to work with audit, valuation Read more
Published: January 10, 2021
CBS MBA Interview & Report: Extended Round / Adcom / Skype
My interview was with an admissions director via a CBS platform where you could do a video chat. The interview was relaxed, the interviewer was nice and towards the end the interview felt more like a conversation. 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. Why MBA and why CBS? 3. Is there anything else apart from #1 that you want me to know? 4. What is your dream company and why? 5. Tell me what you would do the on the last week at work before you retire. 6. There is a chance that the learning Read more
Published: January 10, 2021
LBS MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Zoom
My interview for LBS was with an alum, and was conducted over Zoom. There are 3 main components of the interview – 1) Fit questions asked by the interviewer 2) The 10-minute case 3) Questions for the interviewer I am wary to put a time limit to it, as I have heard wildly different accounts (1.5 – 3 hours). My interview lasted approx. 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was a very informal discussion on topics that ranged from recent US politics, the state of the UK economy, common national roots etc. Expect there to be a structure, Read more
Published: January 10, 2021
Episode 143: Wire Taps—Northwestern Kellogg or NYU Stern for Social Impact?
As applicants and candidates alike weigh their b-school strategies, Alex Brown and Graham Richmond share related MBA admissions advice in our new podcast episode of Wire Taps. See which profiles from MBA ApplyWire and MBA DecisionWire they discuss below, then tune in. One military applicant already submitted some apps but hasn’t yet found success: Another MBA hopeful needed some advice about timing: Finally, the third profiled candidate needs help choosing between Northwestern Kellogg and NYU Stern for social impact: Happy listening! Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast Episode 143: Wire Read more

MBA Applywire

6
November 28, 2024 8:12am ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology
GMAT: 645
GPA: 84%
Years of Work Experience: 3
Location: Brazil
5
November 27, 2024 5:44pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Duke / Fuqua, MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton
Pre-MBA Career: Corporate Communication Specialist
Post-MBA Target Industry: Other
GPA: 3.9
Years of Work Experience: 6
Location: Indonesia
4
November 27, 2024 12:00pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, London Business School, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Eingeneer
Post-MBA Target Industry: Other
GMAT: 675
GPA: 3,5
Years of Work Experience: 4.8
Location: Chile
4
November 27, 2024 9:07am ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Finance Manager
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Accenture , AT Kearney , Bain , BCG , Deloitte , Ernst & Young , McKinsey , PWC
GMAT: 690
GPA: 3.79
Years of Work Experience: 2
7
November 27, 2024 9:07am ET
Applying: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, Notre Dame / Mendoza, UNC Kenan-Flagler, UVA / Darden, Vanderbilt / Owen
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Banking
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Commercial Banking Companies: Accenture , AT Kearney , Bain , PWC , Bank of America
GRE: 306
GPA: 3.64
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: Africa
Notes:

Recently wrote the GRE. It's not a super score but I will probably apply with it anyway. I am still considering retaking the test, as the next time I can take it is around the Round 2 deadline.

My educational background is in social sciences, so wasn't very quant-heavy. Looking at taking an additional quant course to back up my GRE score as the exam fee is about 10x the minimum wage in my country. Any suggestion is welcomed.
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MBA LiveWire

November 28, 2024 4:55pm ET
Applied to Emory / Goizueta
Round: Round 2
Received via email
GPA: 3.19
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Nigeria
November 28, 2024 1:14pm ET
Interview Invite to Berkeley / Haas
Round: Round 1
Received via email on October 27, 2024
GPA: 84%
GMAT: 645
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Technology
Application Location: Brazil
November 28, 2024 10:17am ET
Interview Invite to Indiana / Kelley
Round: Round 1
Received via email on October 16, 2024
GPA: 83%
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Nigeria
November 28, 2024 10:15am ET
Interview Invite to Emory / Goizueta
Round: Round 1
Received via email on November 07, 2024
GPA: 83%
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Nigeria
November 28, 2024 9:53am ET
Interview Invite to INSEAD
Round: Round 2
Received via email on November 26, 2024
GMAT: 655
Program Type: One Year Program
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: France
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