{"id":5485,"date":"2010-12-16T09:44:38","date_gmt":"2010-12-16T17:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=5485"},"modified":"2010-12-14T09:59:18","modified_gmt":"2010-12-14T17:59:18","slug":"consider-this-before-your-admissions-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/consider-this-before-your-admissions-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Consider This Before Your Admissions Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve written before about how you don\u2019t go into your MBA admissions interview with a blank slate<\/a>. Even in the case of a \u201cblind\u201d admissions interview in which the interviewer may have nothing other than your resume, the admissions office already knows a great deal about you, and you can be sure that what the interviewer learns will be submitted back into your file. Then, that whole file will be considered, meaning that the interview, while it comes later in the process, is not a final hurdle, but rather one more piece of the whole puzzle.<\/p>\n

Therefore, it\u2019s important that you be an expert on YOU and everything that is in your application. Admissions officers are not looking for discrepancies so that they can say, \u201cA ha! We caught you in a lie! Automatic ding!\u201d But, you do need to ensure that the person in your application and the person in your interview are the same.<\/p>\n

To make sure that it all fits together, ask yourself these things as you prepare for your admissions interview:<\/p>\n

How Would a Stranger Describe Me After Reading My Application?<\/strong>
\nIt is naturally challenging to look at your own application through the eyes of a stranger. Sometimes enlisting the help of someone else (either an MBA admissions consultant <\/a>or a friend of a friend, who is someone you can probably trust but who doesn\u2019t know you very well) is a good way to get a view of your application through those eyes. Whatever way you do it, ask yourself what themes emerge. Are those the same ones you wanted to emerge? (You might be surprised how, even just a few weeks after submitting your application, your view on how strong your application is can change!) If so, then how can you reinforce them in your interview? If not, and you\u2019re lucky enough to still have an interview invite, how can you get those themes on the table in the interview?<\/p>\n

How Well Does My Story Fit with My Target Business School?<\/strong>
\nIt is easy to assume that getting an interview invitation means you\u2019ve already done the main things that every applicant must do to succeed: Demonstrate fit with your target school and stand out from the crowd. However, many times admissions officers will see a strong applicant and say, \u201cSeems like a star, but we wonder how well he\u2019ll fit in here,\u201d or they may ask, \u201cIf we admit him, what are the chances that he\u2019ll actually come?\u201d The interview is an excellent way for the admissions committee to answer these questions. You can demonstrate strong fit by reinforcing the message that your career goals and what the school offers match up well, by showing a deep knowledge of the school and by demonstrating a real enthusiasm for the program. Many of our clients have turned their applications into acceptances by demonstrating fit \u2014 which was the one big question mark that still hung over their candidacies \u2014 in their interviews.<\/p>\n

What Questions Do I Hope They Ask Me?<\/strong>
\nThis seemingly simple question is one that we frequently present to our clients. For one, it forces them to actually consider about these questions and think through their answers, which prevents the likelihood of a disastrous flub on a simple, slam-dunk question. This exercise also helps your organize your thoughts in terms of what messages or themes you absolutely know you must get onto the table before the interview is over. Looking back at your application, perhaps you now wonder if your career goals seem unrealistic. Either they ask you about this and you can put this question to rest, or you hit the issue head on yourself, mitigating this risk on your own.<\/p>\n

Ready to sign up for a GMAT course? Enroll through GMAT Club and save up to $180 (use discount code GMATC10)!\u00a0 Take a look at our course options in some of our most popular cities: New York<\/a>, Chicago <\/a>and Los Angeles. <\/a> And make sure to subscribe to our blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve written before about how you don\u2019t go into your MBA admissions interview with a blank slate. Even in the case of a \u201cblind\u201d admissions interview in which the interviewer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5485"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5487,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5485\/revisions\/5487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}