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Stanford GSB
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Matriculating
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
I had my Skype interview with an alum who lives in the same country. The interview was very informal, the alum mentioned that so far there was no big correlation between what feedback he gave to the AdCom and how the outcome of the admission process was, "therefore let's just have a nice conversation". The interviewer went through the list of 8-10 typical questions "tell me about a time you... contributed intellectually to a project; suggested something innovative; worked in a team; dealt with disagreement; asked about my career vision and followed up on some topics mentioned in my CV like extracurriculars and hobbies. The interviewer allocated enough time for my questions and answered them very honestly. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience, which gave Stanford several points in my mind comparing to HBS.
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5
0
Jones Rice
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Interviewed
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Zoom interview with 2nd year student. Interview started well with the interviewer asking me to relax and letting me know that this isn't going to be a typical stress-test interview. Lasted about 35 mins
1) About myself
2) Why MBA?
3) Why RICE?
4) A time when I motivated a team
5) What are the steps I took to motivate the team?
6) A time when I overcame adversity
7) How did I overcome it?
8) About my learnings in tech industry
9) my thoughts about the risk on depending on a single client wrt my startups.
10) Questions for the interviewer
Please expect specific questions on the actions you took for your behavioral questions. A very smooth & friendly interview.
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2
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ISB
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Admitted
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Duration: ~ 40 mins;
I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Mr. Ankur Warikoo, founder of Nearbuy and Groupon and whose video on entrepreneurship I watched a day before! Another senior alumnus Mr. Rajesh Dhadiwal (works in MediaKind - a spinoff of Ericsson) was there from the founding batch and 1 AdCom member who was always on mute with no video.
They made me feel comfortable and asked about where am I located and do I work from home or travel to office. Then started with the following questions (not verbatim):
1. You work in the Govt/public sector so was it a conscious choice you made?
2. How will MBA help you in your job? (I had mentioned in my essay that I would like to go back to my organization)
3. Do you have any ideas or plans for the development of the sector? (had mentioned about it in my essay and in an answer)
4. What if you don't make it to ISB?
5. How did your evaluator react when you informed her about your plans?
6. Tell us in detail about your journey from your foundational years.
7. How did you develop interest in financial sector during your Engineering? (had mentioned this in one answer)
8. Rapid fire kind of Qs: choose between speed & power, speed & perfection, and money & perfection
9. What do you think leadership is and tell us something about your leadership experience
10. Lets say you have some enemies. If I were to go to them and ask about what they think about you, what would they say?
11. What do you do outside of work?
12. Questions for us? (asked 2 Qs: tips to maximize the learning and overall experience if I get admitted and how ISB experience has changed you as person and as a professional over the years)
My connection got lost and the call ended in between but they re-connected soon and were totally cool about it.
Overall it was a very relaxed kind of conversation, I tried to present my answers in a structured way and cover all the relevant points but I feel I might have still missed out on a few points.
PS: I appeared for a mock interview through Preppie.com and found the feedback to be good and actionable.
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14
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ISB
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Interviewed
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
◙ Brief about me:
• Mechanical engineer
• 6+ years of work experience in Oil and gas industry
• Extracurriculars: Start-ups and a few participations
◙ Overall Interview experience:
Chilled one, Casual. It was more conversational than interrogative. Nothing asked out of my essay/profile/from what I said.
◙ Advise & Gist of interview:
• Listen carefully.
• In tough questions ask for a few seconds to channelize your thoughts and then respond.
• Be clear about what you have written in your profile, essay, work experience & extra curriculars.
• I did not ask about current affairs. But advisable to know at least what is happening around in your field.
• Thoroughly prepare and practice Why MBA? Why from ISB?
• Do research on ISB as much as you can. You will have cutting edge in an interview.
• If possible do ask one question at the end. Maximum two. But keep in mind that those questions shall be answerable by the alumns.
• Don't ask silly questions such as: About the results and all.
◙ Interview scheduled on 08-11-2020 on 12:00PM IST, Started 10 minutes late i.e @ 12:10 PM. 3 Alumnus and one from ad com.
Total interview time: 50 mins.
• Q:1 - Tell us about your recent work
○ I answered it by telling about my work exp and start up.
• Q:2 - Let's go deeper in your start-up. Explain us everything from scratch
○ I answered it, It took around 5-7 mins.
• Q:3 - Tell us what was your biggest mistake in it
• Q:4 - Why MBA, if you have already dived into ventures and learned a lot?
• Q:5 - Again why spending too much on MBA and not to invest in your start-up?
• Q:6 - What would you change in your concept if you would start again?
• Q:7 - Why ISB and full time program? Why not online courses out there?
• Q:8 - How you will manage to face competition in your business?
A few more questions on my goals and start-ups.
◙ For my preparation I took help from Preppie. Nishchay is really helpful. He has managed to arrange my interview from the start-up background alumnus, helping me to get the real experience.
I hope this helps to the students who will have their interviews ahead.
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5
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Marshall
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Admitted
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Hey dudes, I wrote up my interview experience on clearadmit but figured I'd crosspost it to here. Hope it helps!
As a preface, this is my first and only interview for Round 1 of the Fall 2021 intake. I did two MBA interviews last year and ultimately deferred to this cycle, so I do have some experience. With that said, the interview was friendly as Grace Kim, the director of admissions, is a great interviewer. It is noticeable that she is at least using a mental list of questions if not following a prompt, which makes the interview less conversational, but she did work in a good amount of personal questions as follow-ups to my answers.
The interview lasted 39 minutes, so it did go over but I took that in stride since she asked a lot of questions about my resume. She started by saying it was a blind interview, that she had a copy of my resume, and asked me to give her a quick rundown of my professional experience. This progressed into the following questions:
1. She asked about my leadership among each role I have performed.
2. She asked about why I want an MBA.
3. Because I said consulting, she asked why consulting and if I knew what type I wanted to do.
4. She asked for my long-term goals specifically 10-15 years down the road.
5. She went back to my experience and asked about a time I faced a challenge as a leader.
6. Based on 5, she asked what I did and how I changed my leadership to avoid that challenge in the future.
7. Based on 5, she asked how my team would speak to my improvement.
8. I attended language school for the military, so she asked why I chose my language.
9. She asked why Marshall.
10. I forget the way she worded it, but her final question essentially was to describe a way that people see myself that is inaccurate.
She gave me the opportunity to ask questions even though we were beyond the time limit. All in all, good interview. Sent my thank you email today and she mentioned that Round 1 decisions are somewhat rolling, so results should be out at the earliest in mid-Nov but more than likely in Dec. Hope this helps!
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0
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IIM (All Schools)
IIM Ahmedabad PGPX
Final Decision:
Withdrawn Application
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Interviewed by 2 Profs today. Interview was delayed by 1 hour.
Extempore: 10-15 mins (1 minute to gather my thoughts and then had to start)
1. Had to speak for or against: "Business education degree doesn't matter to grow in the corporate ladder". I spoke against it and gave my reasons with caveats.
2. Follow up Qs: Why would an engineer or a coder need business education ever? They can work on an OS or some technical product and grow. Defended it by providing a normal career progression of a tech professional and that I've seem my alumns transitioning eventually. Plus even in one's own tech venture, once the scale of things increases diff aspects related to finance, marketing, coordination with Govt and regulators emerge and one would need knowledge about these aspects and would need to hire people who deal with this stuff and to manage these people and teams, formal education would help.
Rest of the interview: around 15 mins
1. Tell me about yourself: tried to show my personality, my career progression, hobbies, and current role
2. Specific work experience related Qs: what are the factors that you take into consideration to manage and oversee investment of public money, is there a gap between regulators and industry, why insurance penetration/coverage is poor in India - tried to present balanced answers and core reasons along with solutions
3. General Qs: what would you focus on specifically during the studies here - tried linking my goals here
4. Qs for the Profs: Had 2 Qs in mind - what about the International Immersion in COVID times (Profs said its uncertain and asked me to check with PGPX office), and asked about IIM-A's bid to make UP a 1 trillion economy (Profs said they have produced many great managers, and providing consulting is their fundamental right :D, and the graduates will also help in this venture, more info cannot be provided he said).
Overall feel: Calm, pleasant conversation, not a stress interview, didn't feel "grilled"
Advice: Be confident in whatever you say, try keeping the answers crisp and simple and stop whenever you realize you've been rambling (I was stopped once), and hope for the best!
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1
0
ISB
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Admitted
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Zoom Meeting with a panel of 3, all alumni ('15, '16, '17 year passouts)
Interview started 40 minutes late and went on for about an hour.
Questions Covered:
- Current role responsibilities.
- Business Model of the employer
- Few questions regarding my working domain and Indian market
- Why PGP? Why ISB? and why now?
- Alternate career plan if MBA is not possible.
- Discussion on my long term goal, starting my own business, and any ideas I have in my mind.
- What if I don't get a product management job from campus?
- Brief discussion on my hobbies.
Almost 3/4th of the interview time was spent on discussing my current role and domain related stuff.
Overall, it was more of a discussion than a stress interview. I was quite relaxed throughout the interview.
The interview was completely focused on what I have written in my application, from job responsibilities to essays.
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1
1
IIM (All Schools)
IIM Ahmedabad PGPX
Final Decision:
Admitted
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Scheduled slot: 15:30
Panel - 7
The interview was advanced by 15 minutes (Informed by call) and went on for 30 minutes
Background: 7+ years of work experience in software development.
Started with extempore for about 10-15 min
Topic: shortage of food grains in India can be solved only by improving storage facilities.
I took this topic and presented my view. Surprisingly I was not interrupted while speaking and could complete my whole argument. Cross questioning happened. Later, based on this discussion and final agreed outcome, was asked to provide my position on the impact of FDI (via companies like Walmart that bring good supply chain management) on the Indian economy.
Then my work experience - All companies that I have worked with. What's the best thing about my current employer.
Then deep dive into my projects and extra-curricular activities
I had given my GMAT in 2017 so asked why took so long time to apply after that.
Finally was asked if my extra curriculars are so good (I am a national level actor) why not take those up as a career and why MBA? What were my post-MBA goals? Would I want to stick to my industry or would I want to shift? Since I have been in the software industry, what is my stance on WhiteHat Jr? Is it right to get children as young as 6-7 years old into coding?
They had read my complete profile including, resume, essays, and application form So I would advise everyone appearing for these interviews to know in and out of your complete profile.
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1
0
IIM (All Schools)
IIM Ahmedabad PGPX
Final Decision:
Interviewed
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Interviewed by 2 Profs today. Interview was delayed by 1 hour.
Extempore: 10-15 mins (1 minute to gather my thoughts and then had to start)
1. Had to speak for or against: "Business education degree doesn't matter to grow in the corporate ladder". I spoke against it and gave my reasons with caveats.
2. Follow up Qs: Why would an engineer or a coder need business education ever? They can work on an OS or some technical product and grow. Defended it by providing a normal career progression of a tech professional and that I've seem my alumns transitioning eventually. Plus even in one's own tech venture, once the scale of things increases diff aspects related to finance, marketing, coordination with Govt and regulators emerge and one would need knowledge about these aspects and would need to hire people who deal with this stuff and to manage these people and teams, formal education would help.
Rest of the interview: around 15 mins
1. Tell me about yourself: tried to show my personality, my career progression, hobbies, and current role
2. Specific work experience related Qs: what are the factors that you take into consideration to manage and oversee investment of public money, is there a gap between regulators and industry, why insurance penetration/coverage is poor in India - tried to present balanced answers and core reasons along with solutions
3. General Qs: what would you focus on specifically during the studies here - tried linking my goals here
4. Qs for the Profs: Had 2 Qs in mind - what about the International Immersion in COVID times (Profs said its uncertain and asked me to check with PGPX office), and asked about IIM-A's bid to make UP a 1 trillion economy (Profs said they have produced many great managers, and providing consulting is their fundamental right , and the graduates will also help in this venture, more info cannot be provided he said).
Overall feel: Calm, pleasant conversation, not a stress interview, didn't feel "grilled"
Advice: Be confident in whatever you say, try keeping the answers crisp and simple and stop whenever you realize you've been rambling (I was stopped once), and hope for the best!
*Fin*
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0
0
IIM (All Schools)
IIM Ahmedabad PGPX
Final Decision:
Interviewed
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Time 5:00 pm. started 10 mins after. around 25 mins. Extempore - democracy give rise to demogauge hence it is not good (not the exact wording but this is what it meant, was a long sentence).
many arguments cross questions about the topic. then why mba and why iim a and over.
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1
0
IIM (All Schools)
IIM Ahmedabad PGPX
Final Decision:
Waitlisted with Interview
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Scheduled time: 11:00
Started by 11:30
Experience : 10 yrs in Mfg R&D, PSU
Extempore topic is 3 lines long and escense is india should support big firms to enter global marketplace. If Companies within india compet within themselves will lose the global game.
Spoke in favour for couple of minutes and tons of counter argument from their end.
Asked about my company and what support govt should do in economic wise for my company. Made a point that we are working without any support in the past & are competitive.
They made a link to my extempore stand that without support you company is growing. So why govt shlould back big firm.
What do I do? What software i use for design?
Why not analysis?
Why not switch to Private for growth ? Why MBA ? What extra I could do apart from my R&D role in this 10 yr ? After MBA role I seek wont be this interesting as my present role?
Total : 25 min approx.
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0
0
IIM (All Schools)
IIM Ahmedabad PGPX
Final Decision:
Waitlisted with Interview
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Scheduled slot: 14:30
Panel - 7
Interview was advanced by 15 minutes (Informed by call)
Interview went on for 30 minutes
Background: ~5 years of work experience, currently in Investment Banking.
Extempore, again, was the same topic:
Do you think Atma Nirbhar bharat is a political gimmick and chinese imports can’t be replaced in near future?
I asked the panel on the exact time period they were referring to with the words "Near future". The profs just asked me to carry on. I pointed out that Atma Nirbhar is not a political gimmick. But, reduced dependency on China might not happen in the next 10 years. They asked me about further steps the government could implement to reduce dependency. (Approximately 5 minutes)
The rest of the interview was a grill on Why an MBA, Why my long term objective, Why not try and achieve my long term objective right away, and one final question on most significant achievement in my latest job.
Hope that helps, guys. Good luck with the process.
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1
0
IIM (All Schools)
IIM Ahmedabad PGPX
Final Decision:
Interviewed
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
My interview - Engineering Professional 9+ years.
Extempore topic - Do you think IIM Ahmedabad should open campuses in USA to study about emerging markets.
They asked me to speak about 3 minutes ... Ended in 1 minute.
I took an affirmative stand.
Then the young professor took the opposite.
He gave 2 points. I countered one and interrupted me on the next.
The older prof interrupted the whole conversation and asked me about my work.
Then tried to phrase a question - what do you think about drinking water and the whole scene). I gave a broken answer and then he immediately corrected himself and said oh you don’t work on that.
Final question, why MBA - I tried to brush my profile -they said we are fully aware and tried to explain.
Started at 344 pm
Ended at 407 pm
About 20 minutes
industry- water and wastewater Treatment
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1
0
IIM (All Schools)
IIM Ahmedabad PGPX
Final Decision:
Interviewed
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Hello I just finished my interview- my extempore was - Should India provide free education at all levels as public policy.
my interview started with tell us about yourself, work, profile
and then close to 20 mins of arguments on extempore
and ended with a small chat on extracurriculars
total 33 mins interview
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1
0
Kellogg
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Interviewed
Status:
Off Campus with Alumni
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
The Alum introduced himself in the beginning, spoke about his career path, and explicitly mentioned that the interview is just one aspect of the decision making process, and that I should be at ease and not be nervous about the experience.
After a light banter to start off, we went on to the questions. He went through my CV in detail the previous night and also learnt about the companies I had worked with. Here is the list of questions.
1. Walk me through your resume. Quite a few follow up questions about my previous jobs.
2. Walk me through your decision making during company switches
3. Talk an example when you demonstrated teamwork
4. Talk an example when you demonstrated leadership
5. Why Kellogg?
6. Why an MBA now?
7. Any questions for me?
I asked him 4-5 questions regarding his takeaways from Kellogg and life after Kellogg. He ended the conversation on a friendly note mentioning that I can contact him any time to know more about Kellogg or if I needed any help in general.
The whole experience felt not like an interview but like a coffee chat with the sole aim for identifying fit.
He initially mentioned that the interview would last for around 30-45 minutes, but it went on for over an hour.
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6
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ISB
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Denied with Interview
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Zoom Interview: 3 Alums - 1 from 2010 (Consulting) and 2 from 2013/14 - Didn't get their backgrounds
Interview went for about an hour. Alums seemed interested in what I was saying, but they did grill me in between. I think I was able to hold my own but I could have given more compelling reasons for few times
-Asked me about my career journey and to throw light on reasons for switching jobs
:Explained how I worked across private, public & social sectors and what value I was able to bring to each work environment and teams in brief
-After I completed my transition into social impact and my experience & achievements at Govt and CSR Consulting firm, they asked me to explain the switches in earlier years
:Explained the opportunities that presented itself before me at different stages and why I took them up
-Asked about where I want to go next and why?
:Explained about journey in last 3 years at intersection of corporate, govt and social ecosystem and why & what I would like to work with businesses on. Shared reasons why I felt it was a natural progression
-Asked why MBA, why ISB
After 45 minutes or so, they said due to paucity of time, we will have to stop. And I asked a few questions which they again answered sufficiently in my opinion.
Overall, I had a good interaction, despite the grilling. Suggestion would be to share reasons for things you do, demonstrate what you did and how well you did. Do have a good answer for why you wouldn't get what you want without an MBA
Hope this helps. All the best to all for their upcoming interviews and to those who would be waiting for them. Still time to get an opportunity
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2
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Scheller
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Admitted
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
The interview lasted for around 45 minutes, and it was pretty conversational. It was conducted by admissions director and a current 2nd year MBA student. The 2nd year student was having access to my resume only not the entire application.
Surprising thing is that, they didn't start the interview with the typical 'Tell about your background' or 'Tell me about yourself' question but rather with 'Why MBA' question after an initial conversation. I asked them whether they would like to hear my introduction, they said that they have my resume handy and wouldn't require that.
Below are the questions (may not be in the same order asked) :
1) Why MBA?
2) Why Scheller?
3) What courses or specialisation you are looking for? What clubs you would you like to be part of?
4) What is your post-MBA goal? Any specific companies you are looking for?
5) What is your greatest achievement - Can be professional or personal?
6) Instance where you showed leadership. What is your leadership style?
7) How do you handle conflicts with your team mates?
8) Situation where you dealt with diversity in the team
9) How do your colleagues or friends describe you?
10) Whom did you reach out to among our current students?
11) What do you do in your free time?
12) After learning about me, they felt that I am good at networking. They shared that they are not so good at it and asked me how did I develop that skill
13) Few questions from my resume
14) After the questions are completed, they asked me if I would like to add share anything else
15) Finally, they asked if I have any questions?
They wanted to make sure that you are good fit to the school and are a team player. Do enough research about the school and talk to student ambassadors.
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3
0
IIM (All Schools)
IIM Ahmedabad PGPX
Final Decision:
Matriculating
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
This year first a five-minute mock session to test the systems was held. On the day of the interview, the person who conducted the mock waited with me and then ushered me into the interview room where two Profs. were present. After greetings, a Professor asked me to speak on a topic randomly selected by him from a bowl of chits for a few minutes (I do not remember the exact duration) and the preparation time was ninety seconds. I could choose to change the topic, but after choosing to change the topic, I could not revert to the first topic.
My topic was "should work from home be made mandatory in cities with high pollution or traffic congestion?". I continued with the topic. I took the stand that mandatory work from home will impede the growth of many organisations and gave examples to support my argument. After I completed a Professor countered with two other examples. I agreed with one and disagreed with the other and relied on examples from my personal experience. Afterwards, the Professors asked me to speak about my professional journey and end it with my post-MBA target. The discussion on this went into three trajectories qualitatively- my work experience, my post-MBA goals and other options that I might consider.
The duration of the interview was around 15 minutes.
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1
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.jpg "Johnson (Cornell)"){kind=logo}
Johnson (Cornell)
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Interviewed
Status:
Off Campus with Adcom
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
My interviewer was a member of the Adcom. She was very friendly, and I really enjoyed our conversation. The interview lasted ~30 minutes.
Questions:
1. Introduce yourself
2. Why MBA?
3. Why Cornell/Johnson?
4. Post-graduation goals?
5. What does leadership mean to you?
6. What new thing have you been doing since/as a result of COVID?
7. Is there anything extra you want to share with the admission committee?
8. Do you have any questions for me?
Good luck everyone :)
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4
0
McCombs
Full Time MBA
Final Decision:
Admitted
Interviewed on:
5 years ago May 4, 2021
5 years ago May 4, 2021 10:05
Interviewed with an MBA2 Admissions Ambassador. Started with his introduction. He mentioned he is gonna ask me a list of questions and will be typing my response to forward to the Ad Com. Also mentioned the interview is 45 minutes but he is okay to extend it beyond that.
Q1. Tell me about your work experience and what were your motivations during that path.
Q2. What made you pivot into the industry you are working in?
Q3. Tell about a time you faced a n issue and resolved it through your skills?
Q4. What was the most challenging moment in your career and how did you face it?
Q5. What are your short term and long term goals?
Q6. Why MBA?
Q7. What other schools are you applying to and why McCombs?
Q8. What clubs will you join at McCombs?
Q9. What is your your plan B? (the framing of this question was lil different)
Q10. McCombs respect diversity.................. Tell me about a time you interacted with someone from a different culture or identity in a professional space? What did you learn from it.
Q11. Tell about your passions outside of work.
Q12. Anything else you would like the admissions committee to know?
Q13. What is the most exciting thing for you in the industry you are working in?
Q14. Do you have any questions for me?
Interview went for 53 minutes. There were a couple of times when he asked a question I have already answered in some other response. He was very frank about it being a pre decided list of questions and told I can chose to repeat or answer with another incidence or chose not to answer. I had a good time. We had a nice conversation in the end with my questions, which he answered very sincerely and interview ended on a good note.
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