USC MACC interview coming up--pretty scared

Can someone give me some information about how the interview was conducted? I turned in my application about 3 days ago and expect to be called for an interview.

thank you

^ I was in your situation not too long ago. Thinking back, I think I was only asked 2 core questions:

-Why accounting? <-- major topic of interview
-How do you think you'll do in our program?

Minor things that I remember:

-Why did you choose your email address and what is the meaning behind it? <---
-How did you study for the GMAT?


The interview process at USC (in my opinion) is more of an assessment of the candidate's sanity--it's their way of making sure you are not a lunatic/psycho. I think it stops there. I don't think the interview process significantly influences the candidate's chances of getting in (unless, again, you are just obviously dumb or crazy). A grad student gave me a tour after the interview and he said that his interview last year lasted less than 5 mins on the phone, which supports my hypothesis in my opinion.

Good luck.

Congrats on getting in Silver.

I'm actually in the same position you were in when you posted this thread haha. I have an interview with Cathy Cowan next week...hopefully it'll go just as smooth.

Btw, I was wondering if they admitted you into the program on the spot? How is it that you found out so quickly??

I also applied for USC for Fall 2008 and am waiting for them to contact me.

Congrats on your acceptance Silver!

Could you guys tell me how long it took for them to contact you about setting up an interview after you submitted your application? Also, yes, please share your interview details (i.e. what you wore, how they notified you that you were accepted, etc).

For the people who were accepted or received an interview at USC, could you please tell me your stats so I know my chances? Thanks!!

I applied to the program on Nov, 25 and was interviewed and accepted on Jan 31. My interview was over the phone and it was only about 15 minutes long. At the very end of the interview, Cathy asked me if i had any other questions and then told me i had been accepted. My stats are:
670 Gmat
3.12 GPA
Accepted in the Summer 08 program

Hey guys,

I recently applied to USC and wanted to know what others think my chance sof getting in are. I got a 620 on the GMAT and have a 3.44 GPA. Let me know what you think.

thank you

thanks jlister.

bparker, i think if your grades in your accounting classes are B's or better, you have a fairly decent chance of getting in.

Does anyone know where to find the USC Macc program student profile w/ average gmat scores and gpa? I couldn't find it on their website. The only profile I found was for the Marshall MBA program. Thanks in advance!

I don't think they actually have the information on their website. But when i met with Cathy, she gave me a print-out of the admission stats. I don't have the paper anymore but i believe that the average gmat was in the 650's and the GPA was around 3.4

yeah the average GMAT is 656 and the average GPA is 3.46 for the 08 class.

I plan on applying for the MACC program for entrance in Fall of 2009. I just took the GMAT and got a 620. I called the MACC program and asked "if I should consider retaking the GMAT for a higher score." The lady told me "no a 620 is fine." With this in mind I think they just look for candidates who meet the requirements. You do not need a 650 on the GMAT.

Good to know! Thanks for the info...

I don't think a 620 GMAT is "good enough" unless you have a gpa close to a 3.5. I believe they look at your overall application to decide whether or not you are a good candidate for the program. I had a 3.0 GPA and a 690 GMAT and I believe I got lucky when they asked me to come in for an interview. And of course they make their final decision whether to admit you after/based on how well interview went.

I would have to disagree with that. If the lady tells me not to consider retaking the GMAT, from my understanding this means that if I get a 700 it is not going to improve my application much. But I guess we can only wait and see.

True, you may not need a 700 GMAT to get into the program. But keep in mind that there are only a total of 80-100 actual open spots for the Macc/MBT program. (they may admit a slightly higher number considering students who are admitted into the program but decide to attend a different school). And in my opinion, unless you have a great interview or a high GPA you probably won't get in with that score because of how competitive the program is.

Hey Superel,

Congrats on getting an interview! did they accept you on the spot? Would you mind sharing some the the ?'s that were asked? Also other people make it seem like once you get an interview you are pretty much accepted. Did you feel that way?

thanks in advance

P.S. I hope you are right about that GMAT thing Miami!

Sadly, my interview experience wasn't as pleasant as the others who posted on this thread...
She first asked me how I thought I'd do in the program and I responded by saying that I felt really confident in myself to do well. Thats when she brought out my transcript and pointed out my low GPA along with the fact that I only got B+'s in both my introductory financial/managerial accounting courses.

I still haven't found out whether I got in or not, but after that Interview I strongly feel that a minimum GPA/GMAT just won't cut it. You gotta really impress her if you wanna have a shot at getting in.