I completed my Stanford interview today. I interviewed with an alumnus in my area who decided to start his own company.
The interview lasted just over 45 minutes, and he had a list of questions that the school had 'suggested' that he ask (not specific to my resume, like Harvard). This interview was different from the Harvard interview in that he was trying to get to know me and what motivates me rather than see what I have done and what I can do. From the interviews alone, I got a good idea of how the two schools are different. I honestly have no preference right now...
Anyway, I won't list out any specific questions that he asked here, but they were different from the 'typical' (i.e., Kellogg & Harvard) questions. They may not vary the questions much from year to year; I think the
accepted.com interview database contained a lot of the questions that I was asked.
Overall, I think the interview went ok. Not as good as Harvard, but better than Kellogg. I think I was still in the Harvard mindset, where I was trying to brag about my accomplishments rather than talk about who I am.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that UCLA & Columbia aren't good fits for me. I'm from Southern California, so UCLA doesn't have the excitement factor that I'm looking for. I'm getting sick of city living (lack of parking, small apartments, expensive everything), so Columbia is going down on my list. Tuck might be the 4th and final school I apply to. I'll keep everyone updated.
Thanks for reading my posts!