As others have noted, you will probably only get asked 1-2 main questions, and then spend the whole interview getting probed on those. So it’s important to prepare high-yield examples in advance, preferably from work – especially since you can’t use any of the topics in your essay. My interviewer primed me on the interview style beforehand, and told me because of the nature of the interview, it was perfectly fine to pause and think about it before providing my example. I did this prior to both questions to collect my thoughts, and he didn’t seem to mind.
Specific questions included:
- I was about how my educational and work experiences tied together.
- I was asked about a time I tried something new in my organization that had not been done before.
- I was asked about a disagreement I had with someone and how I resolved it.
- I was asked how MIT ranks for me compared to all the other schools I was applying to.
- I was asked about a personal goal I had outside of work.
Finally, I wanted to mention that the BEI is definitely nothing to fear! I was actually far more comfortable and confident talking about my work experiences than going through a standard pre-MBA interview, where everything hinges on the quality and clear articulation of your “why-MBA” narrative.
For BEI, you just need to be prepared to get interrupted, probed, etc. For instance, a couple of times I’d get asked, “Wait a sec, what did you mean by that?” or “How did you know that your xyz reactions were received in this way?” As long as you know what the interview is like beforehand, it feels perfectly friendly.
