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Published: December 14, 2020
Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 1/ Pre-Recorded Questions / Off-Campus
I received my interview invite a little late in the process. As a result, the only interview option available to me was the pre-recorded Skype format – the Adcom pre-selects 5 questions that are loaded on to their audio-visual virtual platform (I think it was called Kira). There is no interviewer on the other side and you have to just record your answers. There is a time limit for each answer and the entire interview gets over in 10 minutes. The question stems were long, but I have summarised below what they were asking: 1- Tell us instances of Read more
Published: December 14, 2020
HBS Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
The interview was very conversional. We broke the ice talking about what I like to do in my home country and started a rapid fire round of questions. Overall, my interviewer tried to make me comfortable but there was little eye contact. 1/ What do you enjoy doing? 2/ What is the current trend in your industry? 3/ What do you think is the biggest problem to solve? 3/ Any story about a situation where it did not turn into your favor? What have you learned? 4/ How do you manage your team? Follow on what Read more
Published: December 13, 2020
UVA Darden Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
The Darden interview is blind, meaning the interviewer has not even seen your resume. Because of this, the focus is largely on how you want to tell your story. The interview was roughly broken into the following sections: 1) We had a few minutes of small talk in the beginning, and then the interviewer let me know that I could tell my story starting wherever I wanted to and to go up to now and suggested this would take ~10 minutes. Following my story, my interviewer had a few follow up questions on extracurricular activities and what I do in Read more
Published: December 13, 2020
Stanford GSB Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Zoom
Interview tracked with prior interview reports on ClearAdmit – pretty predictable questions with some deeper follow ups to each. My interviewer had a similar professional background as me and the conversation was very casual and friendly. We did probably 40 minutes of Q&A and 15 minutes of me asking her questions about her time at GSB 1. Time when I stepped out of my formal role to make an impact. 2. Cont’d: How did my managers feel about me taking the time to lead a certain initiative at work? 3. Cont’d: In my initiative, who was involved? Did Read more
Published: December 13, 2020
HBS Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
My interview was surprisingly much more conversational than I had expected. The 30 minutes completely flew by! Questions below: 1. What was it like going from [small town in Midwestern state] to [large, Californian state school] for college? 2. What surprised you the most about your college experience? 3. Favorite class in college? 4. Talked about an initiative I led at work and what part was my favorite. 5. Discussed my views on trends in the mutual fund industry, as well as my thoughts on the ETF space. 6. Discussed example of ethical conflict at Read more
Published: December 13, 2020
Wharton MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Skype
Team Based Discussion: Received interview invite on October 28th along with the discussion prompt (not allowed to disclose details of the prompt). I scheduled my team discussion for mid-November. I studied the prompt and prepared a few ideas and my 1 minute pitch before the interview. I was able to join the Skype link for the team based discussion about 10 minutes early. Casually chatted with the other participants as they joined over the next few minutes. 2 adcoms joined the call promptly at the scheduled start time and gave us instructions (nothing new from what was described in the Read more
Published: December 12, 2020
Stanford GSB MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Zoom
Virtual Zoom interview with alum. 1 hour interview: 45 minutes of questions and 15 minutes of Q&A to finish up. Mostly behavioral questions, tell me about a time when: you went above and beyond something you are proud of you took initiative didn’t achieve what you wanted changed the team’s mind Why MBA/Why Stanford? Read more
Published: December 12, 2020
Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
I was contacted via email with a notification that I had been selected to receive an interview. I had to register online, and several days later was emailed with the student that I matched with. The student and I coordinated our schedules. This was a resume-based interview. It was pretty conversational, and there wasn’t anything out of the blue, with fairly standard interview questions. Interview was scheduled for an hour. The questions that I got were: 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. Some conversational questions about my current job and what I do. 3. How did you Read more
Published: December 12, 2020
Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
I interviewed in early November for Booth’s two-year full time MBA program. A second-year student interviewed me via Zoom. The interview was only 30 minutes in length in part because my interviewer had eight interviews scheduled for the day. Interview questions included (in no particular order). 1) Why product management? 2) What resources at Booth will help you achieve your post-MBA PM goal? 3) Why Booth? 4) Provide examples of clubs that you’d be interested in. 5) Any questions for me? I received an offer with no scholarship. The interview was a pleasant experience but Read more
Published: December 12, 2020
Chicago Booth Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alumni / Zoom
Tell me about yourself. Why MBA / Why Booth? What will you do at business school? What is a challenge you’ve faced? How did you motivate a team that was struggling? Questions for me? Read more
Published: December 12, 2020
Wharton MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
TBD with introductions for 35 min followed by 1-1 for 10 min Why MBA? Why Wharton? Questions for interviewer? Read more
Published: December 11, 2020
Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Skype
Booth did a great job matching me with a 2nd-year student who had exactly the same industry work experience: IB and entrepreneurship. The interviewer was very friendly and explained that he would not look at the camera all the time (taking notes or looking at my face). I had the following questions: 1. Present yourself briefly. 2. What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses? 3. Why did you want to start a company? What did you learn? 4. Have you ever worked with an underperforming team? 5. Do you think that a MBA is Read more
Published: December 11, 2020
Wharton MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
I logged into Zoom about 10 minutes before the interview and had some free time to chat with the five other students in my TBD group. I wore a suit and tie. One guy wore a button up with blazer. The women wore business formal. One guy was in his Navy working uniform. We got to know each other a bit, and then two second-year students introduced themselves and had us introduce ourselves in a designated order. They then read the prompt for the TBD, and we got busy. Each person gave his or her one-minute pitch, and then it Read more
Published: December 10, 2020
Fridays from the Frontline: Balancing My Extracurricular Commitments
B-school life is busy, so how do students manage their schedules? McCallen Moser, Daytime MBA, Class of 2020 at Duke Fuqua shares how she balanced her extracurricular activities. Read more
Published: December 8, 2020
Competition for Admission to Top MBA Programs Intensifies Amid COVID Pandemic
As if 2020 hasn’t been difficult enough, there may be some more bad news for applicants to leading business schools: Round 1 outcome data from Clear Admit’s LiveWire tool suggests that MBA applicants may be in for a tough 2020-2021 admissions season. Amid rumblings of higher application volume, we conducted a quick year-over-year analysis, looking at the percentage of total LiveWire updates represented by Rejection and Interview Invitation statuses. The rate of interview invitations and rejections at the top-16 US MBA programs suggests that schools may be handing out fewer invites – and that rejections may Read more
Published: December 7, 2020
Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Skype
Interview atmosphere was formal with 2Y student interviewing in a formal suit at a dining table. You could tell that she put thought into how to present professionally, which is greatly appreciated. The interview was resume based. Questions: 1. Tell me about yourself. 2a and b. Why an MBA? Why Booth? 3. Talk about a time you had to handle a lot of different personalities. 4. Talk about a time you had failed. 5. Talk about a time you had to handle various timelines at the same time. 6. Do you have any questions Read more
Published: December 7, 2020
Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Zoom
Alum interview, only had access to resume. Thought interview went well: interviewer probed a bit following up on questions such as “Why Booth, explain your career goals.” Definitely wanted to emphasize Booth’s choice friendly atmosphere and how students bond together. Was accepted R1 Read more
Published: December 6, 2020
Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Zoom
The interview started off with a couple of questions about my leadership experiences at work and college. I was then asked to elaborate on my work experience and that went on for a while with the alumni showing keen interest. This followed up with a couple of behavioral questions. Since my Post-MBA goal was finance, the alumnus interviewing me asked very specific questions on how Booth will aid my experience. Towards the end, the alumnus described his experience at Booth and talked about his present role. All in all, I felt the interview went pretty normal, as in there was Read more
Published: December 4, 2020
Duke Fuqua Interview Questions & Report: Early Action / Second-Year Student / Zoom
The interviewer was very very friendly. The interviewer was a second-year student and had a list of questions / topics to cover for the interview. It gradually progressed from my introduction to my time at college, examples of my leadership skills, work experience and a lot of behavioral questions. The interviewer was trying to gauge my passion for Fuqua and why it stands out for me. Overall, the interview was pretty standard and there weren’t any questions that stumped me or were intentionally tricky. Read more
Published: December 4, 2020
Duke Fuqua Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Zoom
I conducted my interview with an alum via Zoom. Both of us were located in Japan, so coordinating a time was easy. My interviewer told me in advance that I should dress casually, so I wore a button-up, no blazer. He did the same. The questions were a mixture of resume based and what-if scenarios. He referred directly to my resume on just two occasions when I mentioned specific roles I held. Some of the questions I was asked include the following: 1. Explain your job role to me as though I’m a six-year-old. 2. Tell me about a Read more
Published: December 3, 2020
Fridays from the Frontline: Global Experience Module in Brazil
One of the most exciting experiences of going back to school can also be going abroad. In this Fridays from the Frontline, Emory Goizueta MBA student, Racquel Waite, walks us through navigating the pandemic and still ensuring a once in a lifetime international experience. Read more
Published: December 2, 2020
Northwestern Kellogg Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / First-Year Student / Online
Was expecting an interview with an AdCom member, as I only received a formal Kellogg portal interview invite. Was very pleasantly surprised to match with a first-year student who had a very similar pre-MBA background and career goals. Student seemed a bit green to interviewing. I would get asked a 2-part question, and they would move onto a new question before I had answered both portions of the first. Questions were standard: 1. Walk me through your MBA resume. 2. Why an MBA? Why now? 3. Why Kellogg? 4. Strengths/Weaknesses. 5. Anything else to ask? Read more
Published: December 1, 2020
Duke Fuqua Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
Very team focused: behavioral questions on working with teammates, what qualities constitute good leaders, how will I embody Team Fuqua. Very formal, mainly a Q&A format. Takeaway: Fuqua really does care about team environment, would recommend applicants brush up on stories that showcase those skills (collaboration, humility, communicative leadership, etc.). Read more
Published: December 1, 2020
Northwestern Kellogg Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Zoom
Really casual interview, shared same pre-MBA background. 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. Why MBA? 3. Why now? 4. Why Kellogg? 5. Tell me about a time when you had conflict in a team. What did you do? 6. What’s your greatest professional achievement? 7. Tell me about a time when you motivated your team. 8. Anything to ask me? Was very friendly, gave prompt feedback after each of my answers – helped me to focus towards the next question. Felt he had the Kellogg spirit! Read more
Published: November 30, 2020
Duke Fuqua Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Skype
I signed up during Fuqua’s open interview period and received an email connecting me with an alumni to set up a virtual interview. We scheduled a 1 hour Google Hangouts call. The alumni had a similar background to myself, so I’m assuming the admissions committee paired us up on purpose. The interview started with small talk, “where are you located,” “are you working from home,” etc. Then the interviewer gave some background information about herself (what she did before and after Fuqua). Then she went through a list of questions. The ones I remember are: Tell me about yourself. Read more

MBA Livewire

November 15, 2024 4:36pm ET
Accepted to NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via phone November 15, 2024
GPA: 3.5
GMAT: 760
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: United States
November 15, 2024 3:55pm ET
Interview Invite to UVA / Darden
Round: Round 1
Received via email on October 27, 2024
GPA: 3.01
GRE: 319
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Other
Application Location: New York City
November 15, 2024 3:38pm ET
Accepted to Toronto / Rotman
Round: Round 1
Received via email November 15, 2024
GPA: 3.6
GRE: 331
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Marketing
Application Location: Nigeria
November 15, 2024 2:27pm ET
Rejected at Columbia
Round: Round 1
Received via portal November 15, 2024
GPA: 7.6/10
GMAT: 695
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Non Profit / Social Impact
Application Location: India
Note:

Did anyone else also receive the following in their decision letter?

Thank you for your application to Columbia Business School. Unfortunately, the Admissions Committee is unable to offer you a place in the August-entering MBA Class of 2027.

Please know that we did not reach this decision easily as we were impressed by your professional accomplishments, academic success, and personal attributes. Indeed, your profile and stated career goals may be a good fit for our January-entering MBA program (J-Term).

The J-Term, which has the same core curriculum and elective offerings as the August-entry MBA, allows students who do not need a summer internship to achieve their career goals to earn their degree in only 16 months. It’s ideal for students who wish to remain in the same industry after graduation or pursue entrepreneurial interests.

Although there is no guarantee of admission, we encourage you to learn more about the J-Term. If interested, contact us at [email protected] and we will connect you with an admissions officer.
November 15, 2024 2:20pm ET
Waitlisted at Columbia
Round: Round 1
Received via email November 15, 2024
GPA: 8.5/10
GRE: 317
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: México
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