When Columbia invited me to interview they asked me to choose an alumnus interviewer in my area through their online system. I googled the names and chose a guy that I thought I would connect with the most.
The interview was conducted in his office. Tone was friendly and casual, though maybe slightly too casual as you’ll see by some of the qns that came up.
He started the interview by saying that his goal was to help me get in, not to stand in my way (sweet!).
The interviewer was typing my answers into some electronic form on his laptop, which made it hard to make eye contact and also made the interview a little impersonal.
He started off by asking me if I had any qns for him, which seemed like an odd way to open an interview, but I went with my prepped list of qns. Then he proceeded w/ the following qns:
- What are 5 adjectives that describe your interpersonal skills and communication style?
- Short term/long term goals (when I told him my long term goal was to start a company he asked why I wanted to own a company)
- Give me an example of teamwork (i gave him my well prepared example and he asked how long i had practiced my answer. i asked why he was asking that…did i seem rehearsed? he said a bit, but that wasn’t a bad thing…PHEW dodged that bullet).
- Why MBA? Why now?
- Why Columbia (When he saw I had gone to Harvard undergrad, he asked why I would take a step down to go to Columbia…which was kind of an awkward qn but I answered that it’s not only about ranking/prestige, also about the relevance of the program to your specific goals).
- When did I encounter an ethical dilemma and how did I respond (when I told him about an example I had from my current job in the fashion industry, he asked how i reconciled my ethical nature with my choice of employer, since my company had received negative press for using discriminatory slogans on their clothing. I answered that while I didn’t agree with all of my company’s strategies, I was working there for the experience and did not regret the decision. He asked me if I would work for a company that sells cigarettes. I said no, bc cigarettes have been proven to kill people and clothes have not…:)
- What others schools am I applying to
- Are there any red flags you think the adcom will find in your candidacy?
- What makes you unique?
Then he asked me what I thought of a particular designer (since I work in fashion).
Result: A week later I received my acceptance :).
My only advice is that since the Columbia interview is with an alumnus, the format can vary widely and you never know what to expect. There really isn’t a way to prepare, other than knowing the answers to the standard qns and having some knowledge of your interviewers background. Get your interview out of the way asap so you can find out your result!
