I attended the Ross Information event today.what kelly kong - associate director of admission said is that moday onwards emails will be rolled out regarding change of application status to "complete" for those who have submitted all necessary data pts and a reminder mail to those who need to send in any additional info. All the apps will then be stacked up (it will not be stacked up in the order of application...so someone who submitted on 10th sept could well have his app right at the bottom)

a random check regarding gpa, work ex etc will be done to verify authenticity (this is just for a small sample..not all apps)

After tht the review begins...interview calls shld start trickling out from end of next week....and one has to wait till end of dec or so to hear back from the adcom regardless of when he submitted..

i hope my application finds its way to the top of the pile!!

Below is my recap of the Super Interview Saturday.

Overall, I felt the event was great. Prior to this, I had Ross below Kellogg and even with Duke. Now, I have Ross even with Kellogg and above Duke. This could all change, especially depending on acceptances, but that is where I am now.

Overall Event
It was definitely a hard sell. Soojin (the admissions director) told us that we were their "cream of the crop" and that they wanted to provide us with as much information as possible regarding life at Ross. The event was fairly well ran and organized with only a few minor complaints. The entire morning was basically a meet and greet session with prospectives as everyone completed their interviews over a 3 hour period. Afterwards we had a welcome from Soojin before we went to the new building for lunch. Lunch was casual as we were basically free to roam the new building. Following lunch, Dean Dolan spoke to us. He did a great job of finding out what we wanted to know from him (he even cold-called on a student to find out) and candidly answering everything to the best of his abilities. His big focus was how Ross combines the analytics and theory of a school like Chicago and the action/case-based learning of HBS. The next two sessions were panel's with current students. These were extremely helpful on getting a true sense of life at Ross. Finally, a bus took us to an art museum where we had cocktails and finger foods while socializing with current students. The night continued on afterwards, but I did not participate as my voice was completely gone by that time (see Nightmare Situation thread) and I had a very important football game to watch.

Interview
All interviews were blind and conducted with 2nd year students. Since my interview was later in the morning, I received numerous reports throughout the day which all stated that the interview was very basic and casual. My interview was more casual than the adcom interview with Kellogg, but much less casual and conversational than my Duke interview. My interviewer was very nice, but she didn't show as much emotion as the "bubbly" interviewer I had at Duke. This interview also had a few more questions than any of my other interviews even though it was only 30 minutes long. It looked like she had a list of about 15-20 questions but I think some of them overlapped so she did not ask every single one. Below are the questions:
- Walk through resume
- Why MBA
- Why Ross
- Career goals
- How will you contribute to Ross
- Talk about a difficult time working with a group
- How would you motivate someone in your team that did not appear interested
- Leadership examples
- 3 adjectives to describe you
- Anything else I'd like to add
- Questions for her (5 minutes)

New Building
I can see why they needed a new building. The old building definitely showed its age. The new building was outstanding. I visited Duke 2 weeks ago and Ross' new facilities made Duke's new facilities seem 10 years old. The building was very modern and open. All of the rooms had state of the art technology (and very comfy ergonomic chairs ). The workout facility was awesome as it looked like there was plenty of cardio equipment to satisfy everyone.

Prospective Students
I think this was the most successful aspect of the event. Enough can not be said about the value of meeting and bonding with other prospective students. Not only do you get to see what some of your future classmates are like, you also develop friendships that could really help the transition into the MBA program. I was blown away by the diversity of backgrounds I encountered. Just to list a few:
- Professional basketball player (Europe)
- Professional folk singer
- NYC entertainment booking agency owner
- High school teacher
- Many non-profit backgrounds
Everyone was really down-to-earth as well and fun to hang out with. It was definitely a talented group that also had personality which I feel is extremely important.

Ann Arbor
Yeah, the weather sucked, but outside of Duke, the weather sucks at all of the schools I'm looking at (Chicago, Boston, etc.) Also, if you're going to have bad weather, it's nice to know you have the nicest b-school facility in the country to hang out in! Ann Arbor seemed very cool. I felt it was nicer and more upscale than Durham and probably Evanston as well. (Difficult to tell as I my time in the town of Ann Arbor was brief.) I liked how the students mentioned that Ann Arbor was a true college town. People don't have Ross friends and Detroit friends like schools in larger metros. I checked out a few places to live online and rent was very cheap. Many students live in nearby apartments or houses that are within walking distance to the school so a car is not necessary, but would be nice.

Let me know if you have any questions about Ross or the event!

I'm in with a Full Consortium Fellowship (full tuition), got the call this morning at 930 central time.

I toured it at GBR. The outside was done at that point but the inside was still a shell. Last I heard they still expected it to be ready for winter semester this year (so like Jan 2009).

I think I've got a better grasp on the question now that I'd had some time to think about it.

I think the ideal content for this question would be an extra-curricular activity that you have a real passion for. Something that you can relate your experience to when it comes to solving multi-disciplinary problems. For example, if you volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, you could say your alternate career would be a home builder. You could then talk about the leadership you needed to show when you volunteered.

As to skills useful in solving MD problems, think "soft" skills like communication, persuasion, organization, motivation, vision, innovation, etc.

You don't have to go for the grand slam. I think this question also tests your ability to relate your personal experiences to the "bigger picture". Going back to the Habitat for Humanity example: If you were working on a bathroom remodel and people were getting in each others way, maybe you organized the work so it was done more efficiently? That would fall under leadership and organization. Those are both skills that would be useful in solving MD problems.

I think you need to focus less on what the alternate career is and more on the day-to-day skills you show when you pursue it. For example, if you had a musical skill you could talk about the leadership you showed when you tried to organize practice sessions.

RF
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I did my Ross visit on the 25th and it was time well spent! There were 8-9 other people visiting (including YihWei!!). You have a 40 min small-group Q&A session with a current student (2nd year who were very open to any question), then you get a 40 minute tour (only a small part of the new building is accessible right now). Then you sit in on a class (I did Marketing analytics, dry material but the professor was good), then lunch with a couple other Ross students. I stayed for an additional class after lunch (Competitive analysis) which was very interesting. It was a case-study that mixed strategy with game theory. Great professor.

The visit plus my conversations with the current students just cemented in mind the exceptional quality of Ross. I'm looking to stay in the health care field and Ross pulls every single TOP health care company. In talking with the health care club rep, she told me that another major pharmaceutical company contacted HER and wanted to come recruit on campus. Very impressive.

My impressions of the city haven't changed much since I last lived in Ann Arbor. GREAT city. It's a small city, but very vibrant. Lots of restaurants, reasonable cost of living, lots of stuff to do around town.

Hopefully YihWei can post about his impression and what he learned at the happy hour that day!

RF
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The interview does not mention your interview date. It asks you to register between a time period. My email said that I can register between Nov 3rd to Nov 28th. My Tepper intw is on 17th. And Ann Arbor is a 5 hr drive from Pittsburgh. So, I picked a slot of 18th Nov (Tuesday).

I really think that adcoms are reviewing the apps in a random order and sending out those emails. Be hopeful - Keep your fingers crossed.

Done with Interview!

I was interviewed by a second year student. Few others were interviewed by adcom. The interview was exactly 30 minutes, I wish it was a bit longer!

Walk through your resume
Describe your goals
Why Ross
Leadership experiences
Tough time handling a team member
Any questions for me

I wasn't asked anything about my extra curricular activities, which really upset me. I had 1000 things to talk about. I guess they were strictly following the time limit!

The Discover Ross event was amazing! The caliber of other prospective students attending the event was outstanding.
We did a case workshop as well - the best part of the event.

Oh and I also met Darden2010, it was really fun chatting with her.

Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck to all.

I am in the same boat. Haven't heard anything at all. Moreover, I sent an update regarding my employment, but didn't get any response.

But, I am refraining from asking them anything. I am sure they are extremely busy and may not like being probed.

But, I could be wrong.

Ryguy,

Appears that 12/3 is open. I count 7 interviews between 10:15 and 2pm. They go fast though I think... but right now, they are open.

Hope this helps!

~Sam