got that email before my interview.. did not even check my computer, and I was carrying around my transcripts in school. could have submitted them immediately.. oh well..
my interview was sort of a disaster.. it is for u guys to judge whether it was a diaster or not.. me i felt... it kinda was.
it was an on campus interview.. should last 30 minutes.. mine lasted 1 hour...
ok this is how it started.
interviewer..on campus 2nd yr student...
right off the bat.. he told me he didnt want any thank u emails... gave me his business card..
then he asked me gmat score..told him
he had read my resume and scribbled paragraphs across it... i was already sweating while i saw all this.. and the interview had not started yet..
he did not make me walk through my resume.. but asked straight off.. why mba.. why now...
why do mba when i have 2 masters degrees...(expected that.. prepared for it)
he asked me about my career goals.. and my career switch.. poked so many holes in it.. (he was going into that field and already had a job offer).. after I answered his questions..I felt my ship had sunk.. he did not appear convinced....
asked how i will help the GSB community.. gave my answer.. he then told me that my answer was the de facto of what was expected from GSB students ..what I will do beyond that... i told him about some ideas I had for GSB students...
he asked me why i ride motorcycles..and do surfing.. I was in the best of my business dress (even tamed my fauxhawk)...yet I guess I gave him the laid back surfer vibe.. did not think he liked the idea of a GSBer being a surfer.. told me there are no surfing spots in Chicago..
then he went back into why mba and why gsb.. gave him my prepared answer... he asked which other schools.. gave the speech suggested by Rhyme.. then he said.. chicago is not the only finance powerhouse.. columbia and wharton are also there... i was trapped.. i had not applied to wharton and my columbia app is waitlisted.. so i told him that those schools are not my fit.. i met current students and alum and worked with one current student and i could not connect with them...i felt the schools promoted a very competitive and rigid environment and after visiting GSB, I felt that it was the school for me.. correct fit... talked about the dozens of students i met and interacted.. told him i went to TNDC...
he looked a bit fazed as he asked me "you were there"...i said yes.. i think he did not expect that.. but his facial expressions were so fixed after that.. i did not know if mentioning TNDC was a good or bad thing.
(at this time, my throat went dry.. and i was seeing visions of me in a torn pant running towards the mexican border, which I feel I will do eventually)...he did not look convinced
he then told me it was hard for him to understand how i moved from civil engineering to finance services.. what was the underlying theme.. i told him that i did operations research... and it was the connector.. the look on his face was questionable.. so i tried to explain what OR was.. he told me he knew it and took it in undergrad.. at that point.. i was wondering what to do.. changed gears and moved forward..
talked about clubs, what conflicts/challenges i faced at work...
then he asked me about community services i did.. i told him about the little stuff i did..beach cleaning, habitat for humanity, food drive.. crappy things that i did once or twice in a year and not worth mentioning in essays..
he asked me what personal thing i like to do.. i told him about my voluntary motorcycle lessons i offer to new riders...
throughout the whole interview.. i felt that he pressurized me a lot and tried to upset my apple cart, but the pimp i am.. i was smiling like an idiot most of the time and not showing that i was nervous.. he offered me a bottle of water and told me to drink.. i passed the offer saying i was ok.
i talked about my multicultural background and how my diversity would add to gsb.. he said there are many students like that.. i am not the only one....at this time i could feel the soldier in me going.. retreat retreat.. this is a debacle..i went on...
the interview ended and i just felt that i had not connected or interested the interviewer.. he asked me a last question.. asked me to talk about something not written on my resume..
i told him about how i lost my money and belongings in thailand.. and i worked as a volunteer near Phuket to rebuild a hotel after the Tsunami, learnt about Thai culture.. blash blah blah.....and earned money to go back..
my interviewer kept a very dead-panned look on his face.. he must have smiled 2 times at the most while being the friendly moron i was.. i was always smiling..
the interview being over.. he shook my hand ..told me that he will submit his evaluation to ad-com.. along with his evaluation and my app package.. the ad-com will evaluate me again (basic stuff).. but the way he said it and his body language.. he kinda wanted to tell me "dude go back to surfer land.. my evaluation wont allow u to get into GSB"....
i may be overthinking and hypperventilating now.. but lets see.
for those of u who read this post.. hope me luck as I decide to move to Cancun to sell coconuts... and if luck persists further south to medelin.. to ahem.. try my hand in contraband pharmaceuticals....
for the rest of the GSB interview applicants.. all the best.. I always get the short end of the stick.. so do not judge my post as something that will happen to u ...
I met a ton of GSB students and most are very cool... .....i just had a poor draw...
or maybe my interview went well and i do not realize it....
Ok..one school down.. 2 more to go.. and heard nothing from them..
Jun 10
16 Nov 2007, 06:20
. He gave me several tips about Chicago, the school, USA, etc...
