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Nov 2007:30 AM PST
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Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
Updated on: 29 Sep 2010, 20:13
Self-initiated interview.
My interview was on September 20th. I flew into Boston on the 19th, and rented a car for my long 130-mile drive to Hanover. Because this was my first time on the east coast, I seemed to have a rather difficult time to find a fast-food place. At any rate, I gave up after two tries of exiting the freeway, only to venture into the vast darkness that seemed to consume the night. I stayed at the Marriott in Lebanon, which was an awesome hotel! The room was beautiful and the bathroom is awesome (I know it sounds weird, but I have major pet peeve regarding restrooms). Since I wasn't able to find any fast food on my way to Hanover, I asked the receptionist for the nearest fast food restaurants. Lo and behold, I missed my exit and all hell broke loose...before I knew it, I was already in Vermont. The drawback of the school, which can also be viewed positively, is its location. Dartmouth really is in the middle of nowhere, which helps generate such a tight-knit group. Anyway, it took me an hour to drive back to my hotel (with my McDonald) and I slept the night away.
The morning of 20th was chilly, like any other East coast morning. I checked out of my hotel at around 7:00am and drove to Dartmouth. I signed up for the class visit/interview/campus tour altogether and the appointment begins at 8am. I got lost the first time on campus as I wasn't able to locate Tuck and its buildings. I went into the Undergraduate admissions to ask for direction and the lady was super nice (I'm sure she's seen a whole lot of people who get lost). After asking for direction, I arrived on Tuck ground about 5 till 8. Checked in and settled down and began chatting with other prospective Tuckees who are waiting there. I personally felt that everyone was so accomplished that it really put my life in shame. Of course, I talked myself out of it and eventually felt comfortable conversing with other prospectives. I attended a class (Leadership in Management & Teams, I believe) taught by Professor Kleinbaum and while it was an MBA class, I personally felt that I could've contribute a bit in the class discussion. Later I discovered that it was probably one of the easier classes at Tuck. The class was extremely discussion-driven. Professor (seemed to have) cold-called a student in the beginning to discuss the case for the day. The professor literally acted as a facilitator in discussing the case, and probed for Q&As from students. Another thing about the class was that it was only about 60 students, in which this was different from my undergraduate study where I would sit in a class of 300 people. Having a smaller class really makes a difference because students actually know who the speaker/professor is. The largest lecture classes that I sat through (for a whole quarter, or 10 weeks) was 510 students. I barely knew anyone in the class and I can't even be sure of who the professor is. Anyway, the class ended at 10:00am and my interview was scheduled at 10:15am.
The interview itself was so conversational that it felt as if I were chatting with a friend of mine. The gentleman who interviewed me had a bit of an accent, but I was able to understand him. He basically told me that he wants this interview to be a "chat", a "conversation". He told me straight out that he's not trying to grill me or throw curveballs at me, but he just wants to know who I am. So we chatted about the regular interview stuff (i.e. walk me through my resume, talk about my life after undergrad, what I can contribute to Tuck, what do I expect from Tuck) and he would, inevitably, jump into my answer by asking another follow-up question. In the end, I asked him a couple of questions, in which I genuinely had an interest in. The interview was scheduled for 45 minutes, but we lasted for about 50 minutes. I felt that the conversation could've been longer had we not been 'kicked out' of the study room by the next group of interviewer/interviewee. One thing that I can comment on is the class that I sat in prior to the interview sort of influenced some of my answers. I didn't like that feeling at all. I was very engaged in the class (quietly) and I believed I've picked up some terms here and there as I listened. My suggestion is to keep an open mind if you're going to sit through the class first. If I had a do-over, I would've opted for an earlier interview time, or preferably before I had to sit through a class. After the interview, we had lunch with the prospective students (as well as a couple of current students) and the campus tour was fairly informational.
Overall, the campus itself was beautiful and the student body seemed so awesome. Though the campus (and the town) is so tucked away on the map, there are so many things that you can do on campus that you eventually forget about the urban settings. I'm completely drawn to this school as I know I would love to be a part of this environment. The small class size is what I would really like to be in, and of course, learning to play ice hockey at Tuck is icing on the cake.
**sorry guys, did not intend for this to be this long...***
My interview was on September 20th. I flew into Boston on the 19th, and rented a car for my long 130-mile drive to Hanover. Because this was my first time on the east coast, I seemed to have a rather difficult time to find a fast-food place. At any rate, I gave up after two tries of exiting the freeway, only to venture into the vast darkness that seemed to consume the night. I stayed at the Marriott in Lebanon, which was an awesome hotel! The room was beautiful and the bathroom is awesome (I know it sounds weird, but I have major pet peeve regarding restrooms). Since I wasn't able to find any fast food on my way to Hanover, I asked the receptionist for the nearest fast food restaurants. Lo and behold, I missed my exit and all hell broke loose...before I knew it, I was already in Vermont. The drawback of the school, which can also be viewed positively, is its location. Dartmouth really is in the middle of nowhere, which helps generate such a tight-knit group. Anyway, it took me an hour to drive back to my hotel (with my McDonald) and I slept the night away.
The morning of 20th was chilly, like any other East coast morning. I checked out of my hotel at around 7:00am and drove to Dartmouth. I signed up for the class visit/interview/campus tour altogether and the appointment begins at 8am. I got lost the first time on campus as I wasn't able to locate Tuck and its buildings. I went into the Undergraduate admissions to ask for direction and the lady was super nice (I'm sure she's seen a whole lot of people who get lost). After asking for direction, I arrived on Tuck ground about 5 till 8. Checked in and settled down and began chatting with other prospective Tuckees who are waiting there. I personally felt that everyone was so accomplished that it really put my life in shame. Of course, I talked myself out of it and eventually felt comfortable conversing with other prospectives. I attended a class (Leadership in Management & Teams, I believe) taught by Professor Kleinbaum and while it was an MBA class, I personally felt that I could've contribute a bit in the class discussion. Later I discovered that it was probably one of the easier classes at Tuck. The class was extremely discussion-driven. Professor (seemed to have) cold-called a student in the beginning to discuss the case for the day. The professor literally acted as a facilitator in discussing the case, and probed for Q&As from students. Another thing about the class was that it was only about 60 students, in which this was different from my undergraduate study where I would sit in a class of 300 people. Having a smaller class really makes a difference because students actually know who the speaker/professor is. The largest lecture classes that I sat through (for a whole quarter, or 10 weeks) was 510 students. I barely knew anyone in the class and I can't even be sure of who the professor is. Anyway, the class ended at 10:00am and my interview was scheduled at 10:15am.
The interview itself was so conversational that it felt as if I were chatting with a friend of mine. The gentleman who interviewed me had a bit of an accent, but I was able to understand him. He basically told me that he wants this interview to be a "chat", a "conversation". He told me straight out that he's not trying to grill me or throw curveballs at me, but he just wants to know who I am. So we chatted about the regular interview stuff (i.e. walk me through my resume, talk about my life after undergrad, what I can contribute to Tuck, what do I expect from Tuck) and he would, inevitably, jump into my answer by asking another follow-up question. In the end, I asked him a couple of questions, in which I genuinely had an interest in. The interview was scheduled for 45 minutes, but we lasted for about 50 minutes. I felt that the conversation could've been longer had we not been 'kicked out' of the study room by the next group of interviewer/interviewee. One thing that I can comment on is the class that I sat in prior to the interview sort of influenced some of my answers. I didn't like that feeling at all. I was very engaged in the class (quietly) and I believed I've picked up some terms here and there as I listened. My suggestion is to keep an open mind if you're going to sit through the class first. If I had a do-over, I would've opted for an earlier interview time, or preferably before I had to sit through a class. After the interview, we had lunch with the prospective students (as well as a couple of current students) and the campus tour was fairly informational.
Overall, the campus itself was beautiful and the student body seemed so awesome. Though the campus (and the town) is so tucked away on the map, there are so many things that you can do on campus that you eventually forget about the urban settings. I'm completely drawn to this school as I know I would love to be a part of this environment. The small class size is what I would really like to be in, and of course, learning to play ice hockey at Tuck is icing on the cake.
**sorry guys, did not intend for this to be this long...***
