Hey all,
I just submitted my application for R1 and wanted to share my interview experience with everyone:
The interview was very conversational and I felt like I most definitely stressed myself out way too much about the experience. There were no curve-ball questions; it was a legitimate discussion about who I am and what I was looking for in my MBA search. The conversation flowed very naturally and transitioned smoothly. Here were the topics we discussed:
1. Tell me about yourself. (I ran through my undergrad experience, employment history, accomplishments in each role, and how I spend my spare time. I basically expanded on everything listed on my resume.)
2. Why are you looking to pursue an MBA? (I discussed how my current role has developed me, but how I am limited in certain personal development opportunities and how I'm interested in expanding on my strategic abilities; wanting to move into internal strategy / consulting long term)
3. What are your short term plans? (This was not directly asked, but we had a conversation that stemmed from my 'why MBA' answer about what I was looking to do and if/how the Emory program was right for me individually.)
4. Why Emory? (Intimate class sizes, experiential / case study approach to learning, I want to stay and grow my network in Atlanta)
5. How will you be involved on campus? (This was not directly asked of me, but I found a great point in the conversation to pivot onto the topic about how I'm interested in various clubs and student representative roles. One of my prepared questions was about the Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy, so I took the opportunity to show my interest in leadership roles.)
6. What questions do you have for me about the program that haven't been answered by your research? (This was asked verbatim. I chose to ask about the various leadership roles, the student/professor relationship culture, and international learning opportunities for the 1-year program. I'd suggest being careful not to ask questions that can be easily answered by an internet search. If you've been preparing for interviews, you know to ask 1-2 questions that align to your why mba / why emory answers.)
That's pretty much it. The interview was 30 minutes long and I interviewed with a member of the AdCom. I had completed all of my essays prior to interviewing, so I felt very prepared. You should have answered all of these questions to yourself through your MBA search / essay writing already. If you aren't there yet and are considering Emory, I'd suggest writing some mock answers for all of the essay prompts. THAT BEING SAID - my interview was blind. After R1, the AdCom would have obviously read through your application before inviting you to interview, so YMMV.
Cheers!