Met with the alumni at her company in a meeting room. The interview lasted 45 minutes. This was definitely a very conversational interview which allowed me to speak to my experiences in my professional, academic, extracurricular, and especially my personal life. I can only describe this as one of the most enlightening and down-to-earth interviews I’ve had thus far. We went through her list of “Stanford recommended” questions:
- What was the point/situation that made you realize you wanted an MBA?
- Why Stanford?
- Tell me about a challenging time for you.
- Tell me a time where you failed as a leader. What was the reaction of those under you?
- What do you believe to be your greatest achievement?
- Tell me about a great leader you had and what you learned from this person.
- What was the best college course you took?
- Why aren’t you applying to schools X and Y?
- What is the best constructive criticism you’ve received?
- What is a non-business book you’ve read and what did you learn from it?
Then, I was given 5 minutes to ask her questions. During the interview we conversed on women in business, swapped book recommendations and community service orgs to look into, and both spoke about our passion for “why Stanford.” We discussed Stanford’s culture, class dynamics, location, which classes to take, professors and their research, and hands-down, how the GSB offers the best leadership development and growth through its general management program. We also discussed opportunities in the social sector – though I had clearly emphasized my interest in marketing. Since I had been to campus several times for the 1) Info Session, 2) GSB Tour, 3) Lunch w/ Student, and 4) In-Class Visit, I was also able to speak about the GSB on a personal level to reinforce the “why Stanford” for me.
