This first wave of Round 2 interview invitations went out yesterday from University of Michigan Ross School of Business, and Soojin Kwon Koh, director of MBA admissions, has shared her team's plans to test out a supplemental interview process in China later this month.
Given the team-based, highly interactive nature of the program at UM Ross, Kwon says they are hoping to assess candidates' prowess when it comes to working with others and communicating in a group setting. Therefore, when Kwon is in Beijing and Shanghai on January 26th and 27th, she will facilitate the group interview sessions between current students, alumni, and applicants to gain further insight into candidates' fit with the UM Ross learning community.
The supplemental group interview is not a requirement for admission but is highly recommended, says Kwon, who explains that candidates invited to interview in those cities will still have a standard, one-on-one interview with an alumni or current student interviewer.
The admissions director says she imagines applicants outside of those areas will be breathing a sigh of relief at only having to do one interview, and is looking forward to getting to know candidates in Beijing and Shanghai on a more personal level through this pilot group interview process.
UPenn's Wharton School, which also launched a team-based discussion format during this application season, is reporting enthusiastic feedback from MBA candidates who have enjoyed the opportunity to experience team work at Wharton firsthand, as well as the chance to connect with potential future classmates.
Our guess it that this is a trend that will stick, so look for more b-schools to roll out group interviews as part of the application process in upcoming MBA application cycles.
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