Chicago (Booth) 2013 - Calling All Applicants

How would you know if your interview went well or bad? If somebody is not able to bond with the interviewer ,does that mean it is screwed?

I think it's really hard to evaluate your own performance after an interview. With my b-school interviews last year, I got dinged at a school where I had a great connection with the interviewer and got into a school where there was no connection at all.

I wouldn't sweat it. Just try and relax!

I had my interview with a Booth alum (A Wealth Manager at a bulge-bracket IB) in Mumbai. The interview was very conversational and he totally put me at ease.

I was asked the following questions-

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Extra-curricular activities during undergrad (We discussed my debating experiences in detail)
3. Why MBA ? Why Booth?
4. What are your short-term career goals?
5. What do you do for fun in Mumbai

He spoke at length about the unique features of the Booth MBA program and told me about his experiences in the city of Chicago.

All-in-all it was a comfortable interview and a straight-forward chat as opposed to a grilling He was really interested in getting to know me as a person apart from the professional achievements listed on my resume.

The interviews aren't being conducted for you to bond with the interviewer. They are there for you to communicate your story and demonstrate why you'd be a good fit at Booth. Bonding with your interviewer is not necessary to accomplish that goal. Don't over think it and put unnecessary pressure on yourself.

I had my interview on Friday. Interview was just ok. I send my thank you card on Sunday and I haven't heard anything back. I am worried. Does it mean anything? My interview was done by student. Do they send reply of thank you notes or not?am I reading too much into it?

Thanks Cheetarah!!

That, restores my faith! Good luck and i pray everything turn well.

Yes, you are reading too much into it. I did not receive responses to either school I interviewed at and I was accepted at both.

Yikes. After a full day of air travel trying to get into Chicago, and despite going into final descent more than once (then being diverted to Madison, WI), Delta ultimately gave up and flew me back to DC because of the weather. Now I have to tell admissions that I won’t be making my noon interview appointment tomorrow; what a bummer.

I love Booth but that Northern California weather at Haas is looking really good right now.

I couldn't make it in tonight either since my flight got cancelled. Luckily I was able to rebook for tomorrow morning

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Oh no that's awful! Delta made the right decision though. The weather here is craptacular right now. Best of luck for your rescheduled interview.

Hey everyone,

I had my interview today on campus and the interview was pretty easygoing with few tough questions. I was supposed to fly back to tonight, but my flight was delayed and then rescheduled from 9 pm to 6 AM! Sleeping in the airport tonight along with 200 other people. Hopefully your flights tomorrow will arrive on time. Best of luck with interviews.

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Hopefully it will all be worth it!

BTW, in your interview are you supposed to use the exact same reasons for MBA from your essays? I added a few reasons in my interview, but I hope that didn't mess up my credibility.

As long as your reasons don't totally conflict (ex, your essays say you want to be a brand manager and in your interview you say you want to be in IB) it's probably a good thing that you have even more reasons. Of course essays are limited and you have to make cuts, so you can expand and give more depth in your interview.

Interviews would not be as effective if they were a complete mirror of your application.

I hope this quells your fears.

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Thanks! This is actually very reassuring. I had a moment of panic thinking that I screwed up and they would think I didn't write my essays or something. I guess it makes sense that there would be almost no point to the interview if they wanted to hear everything exactly as you put it in your essays. I had to edit out some of my reasons due to the word count, so I brought them up in the interview. I guess I just have to wait and see what happens.

Just came back from my interview with an alum. Questions were 'Walk me through your resume, why MBA, why now, Why Booth, what do you like to do outside of work, What other schools have you applied to?'

He was also interested to see how my life experiences have shaped my present outlook. Questions went back to as far as my childhood, but it was an easy going conversation. I have no idea how I 'performed' since I didn't feel like I was being judged. Anyway, now that it's over I'm having a hard time suppressing the mental playback

Hope this helps!

My interview is March 1. I'm flying into Chicago tonight.

Good luck!