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Interviews

Keep up with our most recent interview reports, and build your skills with our interview tips.
Published: December 1, 2021
CMU Tepper Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
I interviewed in mid-October. It was conversational and she was easy to talk to and put me at ease. She started off letting me know this was to get to know my professional background better and that it was a blind interview, she only had my resume. The questions were similar to what I had prepared for using this site so I wasn’t surprised, no curveballs. Questions were as such: Tell me about current position Why MBA (I went ahead and answered ‘why now?’ as well though she didn’t specifically ask) Goals Plan B Time I Read more
Published: November 22, 2021
Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
The interview was conducted thru Zoom with a second-year student. The student seemed to have a set of questions to ask and then proceeded to follow up depending on my response. 1) Can you go introduce yourself? 2) Why an mba? 2) Why booth? What specifically does Booth offer you that you are looking for? 3) What are your short-term and long-term goals? Do you have a backup plan? 4) Who is a leader you admire and why? 5) What leadership type do you have? What are you doing to actively improve your leadership? Read more
Published: November 19, 2021
CMU Tepper Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
Interview with Jackson Otto. She was really friendly and very engaged throughout the discussion. We started with a casual talk about her experience in the city I am living in. She also emphasized that it is a blind interview, that she has only read my resume, not my essay. Questions in the interview: – Walk me through your resume. – What’s your short-term goal after MBA? – TMAT you helped your team or your company. – TMAT you encountered a challenge. What was it and how did you get past that? – How do Read more
Published: November 19, 2021
Northwestern Kellogg Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumni / Zoom
The interview takes place thru Zoom. The alumni was a graduate who had a similar background and career aspirations as myself. It seems that they will find someone who matches your background or goals. The interview was resume based and on Zoom. 1) Can you please tell me about yourself? 2) What are the day to day operations of your job? 3) Why a full-time MBA instead of an Executive MBA? 4) What interests you in getting an MBA? 5) What if you don’t reach your goals? What is your plan b? 6) What do Read more
Published: November 18, 2021
CBS Interview Questions & Report: Early Decision / Alumni / Virtual
Pretty standard small talk & intros for first 5 minutes. Talk me through your resume. Why do you want an MBA and why from Columbia? What are your short-term and long-term career goals? What is your backup plan if those goals don’t work out? How do you think you’ll contribute to the culture at Columbia? What are some challenges and obstacles you foresee while you are getting your MBA? Overall very low key and relaxed interview that felt very “fit” focused. I feel like we clicked on personal level. No curveball questions. Read more
Published: November 17, 2021
CBS Interview Questions & Report: Early Decision / Alumnus / Zoom
Interviewed 11/5. Interview was blind, although I had sent over my resume ahead of time. Questions: – Tell me about yourself / walk me through your resume. – Why an MBA – which flowed naturally into Why Columbia. – What does your team structure look like at work? – What are top leadership qualities you value / strive to emulate? – What activities are you involved in outside of work? – What would you like to tell me that we haven’t covered? – What questions do you have for me? The interview flowed Read more
Published: November 17, 2021
Northwestern Kellogg Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Zoom Call
It was an alumnus interview that was resume based. He clearly worked through some of the pre-populated questions that Kellogg provided. Examples include: “Walk me through your resume,” “Why Kellogg,” and “What impact will you have on the Kellogg community.” I was surprised that he took the entire interview from his car on his drive home from the office. The interview confirmed that Kellogg is a very social school and that there are a variety of career paths coming out of the program. Read more
Published: November 13, 2021
Duke Fuqua Interview Questions & Report: Early Action / Second-Year Student / Skype
The interview started on a very good note where the second-year student introduced himself and set the tone and format for the interview. it was going to be a conversational interview where he would want me to walk him through my CV, answer his specific questions about my understanding of the Duke Fuqua MBA, answer his questions on leadership and teamwork, ask any questions that I had. The questions that were asked were (After I walked him through my CV and clarified why MBA): 1. What resonated with me about Duke Fuqua? 2. What do I think is Read more
Published: November 13, 2021
Berkeley Haas Interview Report: Round 1 / Pre-Recorded / Kira
Did the pre-recorded interview since there were no slots available for the live one. Here were the questions: 1) DEI Experience 2) Why MBA/Haas? 3) A risk you took? 4) When did you get a team to work together? 5) Anything else? Best of luck! Read more
Published: November 13, 2021
NYU Stern Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
I applied to Stern in Round 1 on 9/1 and interviewed on 10/21. My interview was exactly 30 minutes. It was not difficult and the admissions member was very nice. He started with the Pick 6 and asked about a specific picture and I talked about that for a few minutes. He then jumped into it and asked me the following: 1. What do you do at work? I answered and he asked me to elaborate. 2. What do you hope to get out of an MBA? Specific classes, skills etc. 3. What is your leadership Read more
Published: November 12, 2021
Duke Fuqua Interview Questions & Report: Round 1/ Alum / Zoom
The interview was a virtual Zoom meeting. I had an interview with an alum from the program. The interview was based on my resume and it was a list of questions then a casual conversation. 1) Can you please go over your resume with us? 2) Why MBA? 3) What do you hope to get from an MBA? 4) How do you think Duke will help you with your career? 5) What is your backup plan if your plans do not come to fruition? 5) What other schools are you applying to? 6) Tell Read more
Published: November 9, 2021
Northwestern Kellogg Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
Kellogg / October 14 / Round 1 Interview / Zoom Casual interview done by an Adcom. Resume based. 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. Proudest accomplishment? 3. Time you worked on a diverse team? 4. Stepping up to a leadership role? 5. Weakness? 6. Why MBA? Why Now? Why Kellogg? Interview seemed to follow the same format as other reviews. Nothing was surprising or difficult. Interviewer was nice and conversational. Read more
Published: November 9, 2021
Duke Fuqua Interview Questions & Report: Early Action / Second-Year Student / Zoom
A very casual conversation with the interviewer. The following questions were asked: 1. Why MBA? 2. Why Fuqua? 3. Biggest accomplishment? 4. Failure? 5. Experience working in a diverse team? 6. Tough feedback given to a junior? Why did you give it, and how did you react to it? 7. There was one more question, which I cannot remember right now. The interview lasted for 30 mins, and then we chatted for almost 20 minutes. Overall, the interview had no surprises except the last question. I liked the entire conversation, but strangely waitlisted Read more
Published: November 7, 2021
UVA Darden Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
Questions were based on whatever I told them. Started with the usual: (1) Tell me about yourself, where you grew up, what you did in college and what you do now? (2) Why MBA? Why Darden? (3) How did your experience living in various places and countries shape your perspectives? And what would it mean for you to be a part of a global community? (4) How do you manage your time during a hectic schedule? Very friendly interviewer and even told me at the start of the interview that they get course credit for doing these interviews, so this Read more
Published: November 3, 2021
Duke Fuqua Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
I had my interview during the open period, with a 2nd-year student. She was very friendly and welcoming, and we had a great back-and-forth that felt natural and conversational. She had a copy of my resume. 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. What are your ST and LT goals? 3. Why are you pursuing an MBA, and why Duke? 4. What kind of person are you in a team? 5. What’s your biggest strength and weakness? Can you name a time when you exemplified that strength? 6. Who’s a leader that you look up Read more
Published: November 3, 2021
UVA Darden Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
It was a pretty relaxed interview! It was with an adcom member, and she set the general expectation that I’d be doing most of the talking as I walked her through my profile and reasons for doing an MBA. It was also blind, and she had not seen my resume at all. Here’s what was asked: 1. Tell me about yourself. (This went on for quite long, I wanna say 15-20 minutes, and I covered my background to current role/ECs with some follow-ups in between) 2. Why are you pursuing an MBA, and why is now the right time? Read more
Published: November 3, 2021
UVA Darden Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
The blind-interview lasted 30 minutes, was very fair and conversational. The student asked me the regular questions: (10-12 minutes) 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. Why MBA, why now, why Darden? We moved after to discuss behavioral situations: (10 minutes) 1. Tell me a time when you showed leadership. 2. Describe to me your biggest accomplishment. 3. Tell me a time when you faced diversity. What did you learn from that? Lastly, I ended up asking her 3 questions. This is it basically. I prepared for much more difficult questions, but it Read more
Published: November 3, 2021
CBS Interview Questions & Report: Early Decision / Alum / Virtual
Pretty conversational Alum was senior – Class of 2008 Standard questions resume based. Tell me about yourself. Few questions on career achievements. Few on Extra curriculars. Why MBA? Why Columbia? Why now? It was very 2 way. Lots of opportunity to ask about the interviewer’s Bschool experience. Read more
Published: November 2, 2021
UCLA Anderson Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
Resume-based interview with a 2nd. Pretty standard questions: Tell me about yourself. Why MBA? Why now? Why Anderson? Why are you a good fit for Anderson? Long-term goals? Plan B for short-term goals? Tell me about a time you used your strengths to help a team reach a goal. The interviewer was really friendly and did a really good job of making it feel like a conversation. I think it speaks well to the type of students Anderson accepts. Read more
Published: November 1, 2021
Episode 196—Wharton Team-Based Discussion (TBD) Tips
In this special edition of the podcast, your hosts Alex Brown and Graham Richmond break down Wharton’s group interview – known as the Team Based Discussion (TBD) – and offer a wealth of tips and background to help applicants ace it. Alex and Graham, who both formerly worked in admissions at Wharton, set out to tell you everything you need to know to be successful in your Wharton TBD. They’ll discuss: The history of the TBD Why Wharton uses it How to prepare for it How to perform in it What this year’s Read more
Published: October 28, 2021
Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
I benefitted a lot from reading reports myself, so figured I’d pay it forward! Overall, my interview was very friendly and engaging. I was super pleased with how it went – although obviously that’s just from my side of the table and the interview is really just one component of the application. Interview was resume-based and with a second-year MBA student. After some quick small talk and an introduction by my interviewer, here’s how the questions generally flowed: – Please tell me a bit more about your current role (I work in university commercialization, so not a common field Read more
Published: October 28, 2021
UVA Darden Interview Questions & Report: Round 3 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
I was interviewed by a 2nd-year student. (1) Tell me about yourself: 10-15 mins monologue. (2) There were counter-question in that monologue – For example, what was the most difficult part in that particular experience? (3) Any example of a conflict with Boss and how it was managed? (4) Why now going for an MBA is a good time? (5) Why Darden? (6) What would you find most difficult for you in a learning team? (7) Anything that you wished I had asked? We went into detail in some of the answers. Read more
Published: October 27, 2021
Wharton’s Team-Based Discussion Prompt 2021-2022
The prompt for the Wharton School’s Team-Based Discussion (TBD) for the 2021-2022 MBA admissions season is below. The exercise focuses on Wharton Interactive, a new initiative in online, game-based learning. The prompt is: “A few weeks ago Wharton announced the official launch of Wharton Interactive, a venture dedicated to transforming teaching through interactive games and simulations. Wharton Interactive has a unique team of interactive fiction writers, pedagogy experts, game designers, and programmers. This venture is the first major effort by any university to create a scalable and fully automated platform built on simulations, interactivity, Read more
Published: October 27, 2021
Vanderbilt Owen Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Virtual
Conversational interview that started with where I was at the time, segued into short conversation before he explained the format and started with questions. 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. Why MBA and why now? 3. Why Owen? 4. What do you do outside of work? 5. What other schools did you apply to? 6. What would get involved in at Owen outside of the classroom? 7. Tell me about a time that you worked on something that had a negative result. How did you respond? 8. How would your superiors at Read more
Published: October 26, 2021
UCLA Anderson Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
Normal questions asked: resume walkthrough, tell me about your goals, plan b, why mba, how did you handle a conflict at work, etc. Not feeling good about this interview. I think I did ok, but felt a complete lack of connection to the interviewer. Tried to ask them multiple questions while I was speaking, but didn’t get much back from them. They seemed bored/lukewarm (although polite) for most of the time. This is odd for me as I’m usually pretty good at connecting with people and am easy to talk to. Read more

MBA Applywire

6
December 23, 2024 12:19am ET
Applying: Cornell / Johnson, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, UCLA Anderson, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Construction & RE (2nd Gen Entrepreneur)
Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Asset Management, inc. HF, Family Business Companies: Citibank , Credit Suisse , Morgan Stanley
GRE: 326
GPA: 3.80
Years of Work Experience: 5
2
December 22, 2024 5:00pm ET
Applying: Columbia, Duke / Fuqua
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Finance
Post-MBA Target Industry: Other
GMAT: 730
GPA: 3.4
Years of Work Experience: 5
13
December 22, 2024 2:49pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM
Pre-MBA Career: Cloud Engineer
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Private Equity, Pharmaceutical, Consumer Goods, Entrepreneurship Companies: Bain , BCG , Amazon , Apple , Google , Bain Capital , Blackstone , Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Group , Johnson & Johnson , Nike
GRE: 324
GPA: 3.42
Years of Work Experience: 3
Location: Virginia
Post MBA Location: anywhere
Notes:

I graduated with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Psychology. At work I'm involved in many Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives. I regularly volunteer and speak to high school school students on STEAM careers(art included) and hold resume review workshops/interactive labs. I have also spoken at many summits continuing to empower others to adopt new technologies. I would love to get an MBA to continue my passion for mentoring/professional development and democratizing technology! I've always been interested in learning how marketing, finance and other departments interact and operate within an organization and I want to develop crucial skills that make me well rounded enough to be an impactful leader and entrepreneur post-MBA.
6
December 22, 2024 6:32am ET
Applying: Cornell / Johnson, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, UNC Kenan-Flagler, UVA / Darden, Vanderbilt / Owen
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Construction & RE (2nd Gen Entrepreneur)
Post-MBA Target Industry: Technology, Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Asset Management, inc. HF, Commercial Banking, Family Business Companies: Citibank , Deutsche Bank , Morgan Stanley , Accell Partners , Andressen Horowitz , First Round Capital , Sequoia Capital , Bain Capital , Blackstone , Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Group , Blackrock , Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan Asset Management , State Street , Citibank , Morgan Stanley
GRE: 326
GPA: 3.80
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: India
5
December 21, 2024 12:13pm ET
Applying: Dartmouth / Tuck, Northwestern / Kellogg, UPenn / Wharton, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Military/Corporate Logistics
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey
GRE: 302
GPA: 3.63
Years of Work Experience: 9
Notes:

Submitting for R2, but retaking GRE after application deadline. Military Vet with Corporate experience.
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MBA LiveWire

December 22, 2024 9:40pm ET
Applied to Berkeley / Haas
Round: Round 2
Received via portal
GPA: 3.85
GRE: 339
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Brooklyn, New York
December 22, 2024 1:36pm ET
Accepted to UT Austin / McCombs
Round: Round 1
Received via email on December 16, 2024
GRE: 319
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: United Kingdom
Note:

$20k merit scholarship offer.
December 22, 2024 12:04pm ET
Accepted to Stanford GSB
Round: Round 1
Received via phone
GPA: 3.7
GMAT: 750
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Technology
Application Location: Asia
December 22, 2024 4:59am ET
Accepted to UPenn / Wharton
Round: Round 1
Received via portal
GMAT: 730
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Southeast Asia
Note:

Elated and did not expect it!
December 21, 2024 8:37am ET
Accepted to Duke / Fuqua
Round: Round 1
Received via phone on December 11, 2024
GMAT: 675
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
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