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Interview Debriefs of MER Students 2023-24 23 Feb 2025, 21:52
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Business schools have begun rolling out interview invites for Round 2 MBA applicants. If you have already received the interview offer, congratulations. You have crossed a crucial stage. Now it's time to focus on interview preparation.

The MBA interview is the final step in your journey to your target school that can significantly impact your chances of admission. Through the interview, schools aim to understand who you are beyond those carefully crafted words. Therefore, the first and most critical step in the MBA interview preparation is to know your content and understand the type of questions a particular school may ask.

At MER, we contacted our successful students from the previous MBA admission cycle. Some of them gladly shared their interview debriefs. We have compiled their questions experience in this blog, including interview questions of candidates who went to different programs, but shared interview debriefs of schools that interviewed and waitlisted them.

In this blog, we explore the interview questions and candidates’ insights for UCLA, USC, Kelley, Darden, Emory, CBS, Ross, Fuqua, and INSEAD.

1. USC Marshall

Tyler– USC Admit (with 10K scholarship): UCLA admit (with 15K scholarship.) Went to USC

The director of admissions interviewed me. It was more conversational, not prewritten questions. I was given an option of having an in-person or virtual interview, and I chose an in-person interview. Here are the questions:
1. Why do you want to pursue an MBA?
2. Why Marshall?
3. What can you contribute to the program?
4. What are your strengths?
5. What are the qualities of an effective leader?
6. What is your fallback if an MBA doesn't work out?

The interview lasted for 40 minutes.

2. UCLA Anderson

Tyler -UCLA Admit with 15 K scholarship

A second-year student interviewed me, and he asked me the standard questions:

1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why MBA?
3. Why UCLA?
4. A time you were challenged at work
5. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
6. Do you have any questions for me?

The interview went on for 40 minutes.

3. Columbia Business School

Paul- CBS Admit

My interview went fine last Wednesday. It was conducted by one of the alumni. I invited him to the Amazon office in NYC for this interview. He asked me only one question:
"Why do you want to pursue an EMBA"?

He asked a couple of follow-up questions from my response.

Within 10 minutes, he asked me if I had any questions for him. I asked him a lot of questions about the EMBA program and his experience.
The entire interview was over in 40 minutes.

4. INSEAD

Harsha- GEMBA program admit with scholarships

I was interviewed by an alumnus. I was asked the following questions.

1. Why do you want to pursue an EMBA?
2. Why do you think one should look at you for leadership roles?
3. Why did you choose INSEAD?
4. What do you want to accomplish during the program and after?
5. What are your strengths?
6. What are your weaknesses? (2 weaknesses that made me think on the spot)
7. How do you manage those weaknesses while working with people of different backgrounds and cultures? I think you don’t like working in a team. (this was a tricky question)
8. What will you bring to the program? How will you manage your weakness to ensure you succeed in the program?

In the end, he asked: Do you have any questions for me? I asked the following questions:

1. What did you bring to the GEMBA classroom in terms of experience?
2. Do candidates change domains on completion of GEMBA?

The interview lasted for one hour and 10 minutes.

5. Kelley

Om- Kelley Admit (with 35K /year scholarship)

I interviewed with a second-year student. It was very conversational.

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why MBA and why Kelley
3. What are short-term and long-term goals?
4. How will you contribute to the class?
5. What is your leadership style?
6. Tell me about a time when you made a difficult decision at work.
7. Is there something that you want to share that I have not asked?

He then asked me if I had any questions for him. I asked questions about the program.
The interview lasted for about 40 minutes.

6. Darden

Om- Interview Invite

A second-year student interviewed me. It was a standard Darden interview which started with the question ‘Tell me your life story.’ I spoke for almost 10 minutes starting from my childhood days.

1. What is your life story?
2. Why MBA and Why Darden?
3. What are your short-term and long-term goals?
4. Tell about a time when you worked in a team but not as a leader.
5. How do you inspire people in your team?

The interviewer then asked if I had any questions for him. I asked him the following questions:

1. Why did he choose Darden?
2. What could he have done differently in his first year?

The interview lasted for about 30 minutes. Overall, the interviewer was very nice and seemed a bit inspired by my story.

7. Michigan Ross

Om - Waitlisted after Interview

I interviewed with an alumnus. He asked me the following questions:

1. Walk me through your resume.
2. Why Ross and Why MBA
3. How will you contribute to Ross?
4. What are short-term and long-term goals?
5. Have you spoken to any alum or current students? If yes, please tell me their names.
6. Tell me about a time you made a big mistake at work and how you handled it.
7. Follow-up question on question# 6- why did you own the mistake and not give excuses?
8. What does success mean to you?
9. Tell about a time when your manager did something that you did not like.
10. Is there something that you want to share that I have not asked?

The interviewer then asked if I had any questions for him. I asked her the following questions:

1. What could she have done differently in her first year?
2. What are some resources that people generally overlook while at Ross?

The interview lasted for about 45 minutes.

8. Duke Fuqua

Om - Waitlisted after Interview

An alumnus interviewed me.

1. Walk me through your resume.
2. Why Fuqua and Why MBA
3. Have you spoken to any alum or current students? If yes, please tell me their names.
4. How will you contribute to the Fuqua? (I told her that I wanted to join the first-gen club, and she asked me the motivation for the same. I then proceeded to share my life story, which I think she liked. From that point onward the interview became a conversation rather than an interview.)
5. Tell me about a person you deeply admire as a leader.
6. Tell me about the time you made a difficult decision at your work.
7. Tell me about a problem in India that you have been a victim of and a problem that you are part of. (PS: The interviewer was Indian)
8. How would a person who knows you would describe you and why?

The interview lasted for an hour.

9. Emory

Om – (Interview offer)

The interview was conducted by an admission committee member. (I think he was in a hurry to finish the interview the moment it started.)

1. Why MBA and Why Emory?
2. What are your short-term and long-term goals?
3. Tell me about the time when you worked in a team.
4. How will you contribute to the class?
5. Do you have any questions for me?

The interview lasted for about 25 minutes.

Related Resources

Interview Debriefs of MER Students – 2022-23
Interview Debriefs of MER Students – 2021-22 Application Cycle
MBA Interview Debriefs of MER Students
How to Ace MBA Interviews
How to Present Your Best Self in Virtual Interviews
How to Write a Thank you Note after your MBA Interview

About MER (myEssayReview)

Poonam Tandon, the founder of MER (myEssayReview), is a Ph.D. in English with 14 years of MBA consulting experience and 3 decades of teaching experience in India and the US. Poonam has successfully guided hundreds of students from around the world to gain admission into the esteemed MBA, EMBA, and specialized master's programs in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Throughout her four-decade-long professional career, she has reviewed 11,000+ essays written by applicants worldwide.
Poonam was among the top 5 most reviewed consultants on the GMAT Club from September 2012 to December 2023. Click here for her students’ testimonials on LinkedIn.

You may email Poonam at poonam@myessayreview.com with questions about your interview prep or sign up here for a free consultation.
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