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Published: March 18, 2009
Berkeley / Haas MBA Interview Report: Round 2 / Off-campus / Alumni
Round 1 Waitlist without Interview, Round 2 / Off-campus / Alumni (Originally Shared at RaghuForMBA I got a waitlist-without-an-interview decision in R1 from Haas and I was asked to schedule an interview. At that time, there was no interviewer available in India. Not wanting to take a telephonic interview, I took the next possible option. I scheduled my interview in Singapore for 21st February 2009. My interviewer worked at McKinsey, Singapore and he was from Indonesia. He was Hass MBA Class of 2005 and had extensive experience working in the US and in SouthEastAsia. I walked into
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Published: March 17, 2009
NYU / Stern MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / On-Campus / Alum / Accepted
Interview Date: Saturday, February 21 2009 Location: NYU Admissions Office Interviewed by: Alum Interview Length: 30 minutes Status: Accepted, Round 2 The interviewer greeted me with a firm handshake, quickly detailed his background (HR at Goldman Sachs, graduated from Stern 3 years ago), mentioned that he had taken the time to look at my file, and promptly began the interview: So, why are you here? – This question threw me a bit off, as it was definitely not how I expected the interview would begin. What do you think the qualities of a good leader are? – Described how a
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Published: March 17, 2009
NYU / Stern MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / On-Campus / Adcom
Applied to the JD-MBA at the end of January, invited to interview at the end of February. Interviewer was a very nice ad-com who had clearly read my application, but did not ask about the JD aspect of my application (although I discussed it in many of the answers). She had my resume in front of her during the interview. Tell me about doing [a specific extracurricular interest from undergrad]? Why’d you do it? Why MBA/Stern specifically? Where would I find you on the Stern campus? Tell me about a workplace conflict How would the people who know you best
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Published: March 17, 2009
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off-Campus / Alumni
I interviewed with a Stanford alumni. The interviewer was very friendly and he was eager to share his positive GSB experience. The interview lasted approximately 1 hour (10 min intro/icebreaker, 40 min questions/conversations, 10 min Q&A). Tell me a bit about yourself. Why MBA? Why now? Tell me about a leadership / team experience. Difficult situation / how you dealt with it/ what was the result? Tell me about a time when others have pointed out a weakness of yours. Overall, he was very interested in the processes and reasoning behind my stories and decisions. We have several lengthy discussions
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Published: March 17, 2009
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off-Campus
We met at a coffee shop and he offered to buy me a drink. It seemed natural to accept and I got a regular coffee. The interview ended up going about 50 minutes. Tell me about your background (where from / school / walk me through your resume) Why an MBA? What would you do if you didn’t get into any MBA programs? How would you decide between schools if you got into multiple MBA programs? What will you bring that is unique to the program? What extracurricular activity are you most proud of? What is your favorite place you
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Published: March 16, 2009
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off-campus
Interview was very laid back and conversational. It took place at a coffee shop. Attire was formal. How/When did you decide to apply to an MBA? Why MBA? Why Stanford? How will you contribute to Stanford? Short/long term goals? Tell me about a time you knew you were an effective leader and how did you know? Tell me about a time things didn’t go according to plan and you failed? What did you learn from the time when you failed? Tell me about a time you had to stand your ground and how did you do it? Favorite non-work related
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Published: March 15, 2009
Harvard MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / On-Campus / Adcom
I had my interview with an admissions officer on-campus. She was very friendly and took a minute to explain what I should expect, that the interview is not a make or break thing in the admissions process. We then quickly dived into the interview. She started with a very broad question about my high school experience. How was it? Tell me how it happened? (one of my essays was about my high school experience). Then she started asking me questions about my first job out of college: What were you thinking when you went into X? Next several questions were
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Published: March 15, 2009
Cornell / Johnson MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Telephone / Adcom
Originally shared by Choc Heaven I had my Johnson (Cornell) interview last night, which lasted for 40 minutes. It was on the phone with an ad-com representative, and was a blind interview. The questions were pretty routine: Why MBA, why now, what are your post-MBA plans? Discussion on your career to date, what roles you have had, skills learned etc. Example of a time when you had a conflict in team and how you reacted to it. Example of a leadership situation – where you had to convince a colleague or team about something they disagreed with.
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Published: March 12, 2009
Oxford / Saïd MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Faculty / On-Campus, Face-to-Face
Length of Interview: 30 mins Location: I was taken to a lecture room with lots of computers inside. The professor was there in front of the class with another chair for me. Question asked: Tell me about yourself. Obviously, I read your application but I want to hear from you. Why MBA, why Oxford, why now? How will Oxford MBA help you achieve your goals? How will you finance your MBA? Interesting questions: You have half a day and a magic wand that can take you anywhere on earth. Where would you go and what would you do if that
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Published: March 11, 2009
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumni / Off-Campus
The alum was very friendly, personable, and welcoming. The interview was timed (35 min for the interviewer to ask questions; 10 min at the end for me to ask questions). The time passed very quickly, and there were only a few questions asked. Tell me a bit about yourself. Why business school? (Why Stanford was not specifically asked but I addressed it) What do you want to do after graduating from business school? What did you take away from your undergraduate experience? Tell me about a time you failed. What is your greatest accomplishment? The ‘tell me about a book
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Published: March 11, 2009
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off-Campus / Alumni
I met my interviewer at his office in NYC. He seemed very busy and told me from the outset that the interview would only last 35-40 minutes (which it did.) I was surprised that he did not ask me any behavioral questions like “tell me about a time….” He asked me to tell him ‘my story’ and said it should not necessarily be a walk-through of my resume. He wanted to get a picture of who I am, where I’m from and where I’m going. I think he was trying to get a sense of what made me unique. I
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Published: March 10, 2009
Harvard MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Off-campus / Adcom
I had an interview for R1 with an admissions board officer for Harvard Business School. The interview was held in an office which had been rented for the interviews in a very convenient location in London. The admissions board officer was a young woman who was very welcoming and at once made me feel at ease. She was very straight forward and informed me that the interview would be 30 minutes in length – she would interview me for 27 minutes and I would have the chance to ask questions in the last 3 minutes. The interview proceeded exactly in
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Published: March 10, 2009
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Off-campus / Alumni
Met at a cafe in a hotel lobby. My interviewer was very up to date with the school. Overall the questions came in a relaxed setting but there were some tough questions at various points throughout the interview. Interview lasted about 1.5 hours. Why are you doing an MBA? Why Stanford? Where else have you applied? How have those worked out? Tell me about what inspires you How do you deal with failure? What are your hobbies? How was your undergraduate experience? Any questions for me? Result: Denied
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Harvard MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / On-campus / Adcom
I had my interview on-campus with a representative from the adcom and it was *nothing* like what I learned online or from alumni. The interview was very personal and very stress-free. The interviewer asked me nothing about why HBS or why MBA or why now or even why me. My background is in education and in nonprofit, so we mainly focused on my reasons for taking that path. Apart from those questions were ones such as: name a business leader you admire (non-government). if you could have lunch with anyone in the world who would it be? what would be
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MIT / Sloan MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off-campus (NY Hub) / Adcom / Accepted!
My interview went smoothly. After a casual exchange about urban versus suburban life, the interviewer went over the behavioural interview format and noted that she’s looking for new examples and experiences, not ones that I used in my essays. She was very polite and cordial, and that helped me feel comfortable from the beginning. Unlike others, my interviewer provided positive feedback throughout the meeting. She smiled and said things like, “That makes sense.” and “I can see why you did this.” She even commented on what she liked. It was more conversational than I had expected. These are the questions
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IESE MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / On Campus / Adcom / Admitted!
I flew to Barcelona to interview on campus having read a number of horror stories about VCs going wrong. I interviewed with a member of adcom, who was friendly, but quite business-like. Having previously interviewed for another school, I found IESE’s questions quite unusual. To start, the adcom told me that we would discuss my background, childhood experiences and the like. She seemed much more interested in this area than in the standard questions – possibly because she had already read my file (this is not a blind interview). Questions included: Tell me about your background (personal and professional) Career
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Harvard MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off-campus / Alum
I had my interview in Europe and it was completely different from what I expected and learnt on internet. I have received few questions and they were all extremely articulated (2-3 sentences per question), open ended and somewhat vague. I haven’t received any follow-up question, no additional examples to provide, no details about my work, no current situations (at work or in the world). We were mainly talking about things mentioned in my application and, I suppose, by my recommenders. It sounded like a conversation among two computers: nor stressful niether friendly, just professional. My questions were (synthesis): walk me
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London Business School MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-campus
I had my interview in March 2009 in the office of my interviewer. The Alumnus graduated in 2005 and works in a multinational company specialized in M&A. LBS interviews are non-blind interviews, therefore the alumnus has carefully read my application. Hence, when we started, he told me not to repeat what I had already written in my essays. It is important to be prepared with alternative and interesting stories! He focused on my background and work experience (heavily quant) and why I wanted to pursue an MBA vs. a PhD or a MSc in Finance. Then, he asked if I
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Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-campus
I had my interview in November 2008 in a café in the city center. The Alumnus graduated in 1998 and holds a very senior position in a leisure company. The interview lasted more than one hour. Among the several questions I was asked: my undergraduate and graduate degree (I have a MSc in Economics), and why I chose a career in Finance over Academia my current responsibilities at work the standard why MBA / why Kellogg / post MBA goals teamwork experiences (e.g conflicts, negotiations, critics) at work and during my extra-cv activities clubs I plan to join at Kellogg
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Chicago Booth MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-campus
I had my interview in a café in the city center in February 2009. The Alumnus graduated few years ago and holds a senior position in a PE/VC industry. The interview lasted more than one hour and was an informal chat rather than a series of questions. We talked about: my undergraduate and graduate degree, and why I chose a career in Finance over Academia my current responsibilities at work the standard why MBA / why Booth / why now my LT goals (he told me to be very detailed) the clubs I plan to join at Booth I asked
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Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-campus
I had my interview in February 2009 in the office of my interviewer. The Alumnus graduated in 2003 and works in the PE/VC industry. It was by far the most relaxed and talkative interview I ever had. He briefly introduced him self and his responsibilities at work and asked me “walk me through your résumé”, my career path to date (with several follow up questions), and something about my current responsibilities. Then we talked for at least 30 mins about why MBA / why Wharton / why now / ST and LT goals. I had solid arguments even though I
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London Business School MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumni / Off-campus
This was a Round 2 interview. I live in the United States and had to drive ~3hours to get to the interviewer’s office location (that’s pretty close considering distances in the US). The interview itself was semi-formal. It was clear that my interviewer had gone through my application in detail and had some specific questions that he wanted to ask: Why are you doing an MBA? Are you applying elsewhere? Give me an example of a leadership experience Give me an example of when you took risk Give me an example of when you initiated change and how did that
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NYU / Stern MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / On campus / Adcom
Applied in late December, received the invitation to interview roughly four weeks later. My interview was conducted on campus by a female member of the admissions committee. The Adcom seemed to be intimately familiar with my application, resume and essays and many of the common questions listed in other posts on this site were asked in a way that was specific to my background. The interview last roughly 45 minutes, after which I had the opportunity to have lunch with a current student. I received my decision via email less than a week after my interview. Here are the questions
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Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2/ On campus / Second Year Student
The second year student was a finance major. It was a crisp 30 minute interview. Some of the questions he asked were: walk me thorugh your resume short term long term goals, why MBA, why that specific goal, Why Wharton and why now any challenging exp ; I spoke of a leaderhsip experience Is there anything you would like to share me with me any 2 weaknesses that I see in myself and which I would want to correct over a period of time any question for me it was a pleasant completely non stressful interview. He invited me to the
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Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off campus / Alum
I chose to do my interview off-campus and with an alum. My interview was done by a BCG partner in Monterrey, Mexico. It lasted for about an hour and was pretty good. To my surprise, it was all done in Spanish. After introducing myself he quickly asked the following: Tell me about yourself. Walk me through your resume. Why are you interested in Stanford university? Why have you chosen an MBA? Why now? Tell me a time when you had to deal with a difficult team. Have you ever led a team? Tell me about your international experiences. What are
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