Calling all UT McCombs MBA Applicants: 2024 Intake Class of 2026

I dressed up formally. Doesn’t hurt

You can try business casuals.

I went suit, didn’t do tie

Same. Just Semi-Formals

Btw, is there a WhatsApp group for admitted students ?

Watsapp*

Thanks everyone for the replies

yeah... please do business formals for interviews

I don’t see the McCombs peer interview as an actual interview; it looks more like a formality or a checkbox for the applicant. Interviews are conducted by first-year students who have only been at the university for six months. There are no behavioral questions or questions about why MBA or why McCombs specifically. It’s more of a Q&A session where you can ask questions. An alum informed me that the interviewer doesn’t even send a report. It’s merely a checkbox to indicate whether an applicant has completed it or not.
Therefore, I would advise you not to stress too much about it. Just be prepared with questions for the interviewer.

I have a contradictory opinion. I gave this optional peer interview for 1st round. He ran it like an actual interview. Posed behavioural and so on. I suspect he reported to AdCom. Anyhow it was a ding to me. They say it is done based on overall indicators.
Bottom line I would say, Prepare well and give it like an actual one.

My interviewer said "the post mba outcomes from ALL top 20 US colleges are he same". Found it super weird.

I gave my peer interview last Friday.

It was a mixture of conversation and questions. He asked particularly about what I would do if I didn’t get good opportunities in my immediate post-MBA goal (consulting). Apart from that it was largely an informal chat. I asked him about classroom environment, clubs and life at university.

It sounds honest

Yeah, my interviewer was super honest. He was a native Austinite and said the Career Services are not much useful. Also said that since I am not planning to change function, he did not see the value of MBA. However, he conveniently drew the line at 20 (where McCombs is) while I felt it should have been T25/T30 as per career employment reports.

No I meant if you compare interviews at other schools with those at McCombs, there is a drastic difference - other schools typically include a lot of behavioral and cultural fit questions, lasting 40-45 minutes. If you ask any 2nd-year student, they’ll confirm that doesn’t send a post-interview report, which is very unusual compared to the rest of the T20 schools. My friend received a $70k scholarship in R1 and his interview lasted only 15 min. I’m not suggesting that one shouldn’t prepare for the interview, of course, that’s crucial for making a good impression.
However, I have the impression that McCombs prioritizes statistics over other aspects, given that they also only require one essay, unlike the majority of other business schools.

Sure, MBA is data driven so they look at the past data - gpa, gmat, work history, community involvement and predict the future.. because this model has worked for them.. but I believe that people change their lives all the time.. I’ve seen rags to riches and the other way around too!

Congratulations! Mind sharing what updates you sent to them to get off the WL? In a similar situation and I increased my GRE from 322 to 329 but no word yet

I submitted my initial app with a 710 GMAT so wasn’t surprised with a WL. I submitted a GRE 328 as a WL. Did you notice someone from adcoms requesting you on LinkedIn? For me Rodrigo Malta requested me on LinkedIn and then just 3-4 days later I got the admit

Not weird, but the fact. Spoke to current students, someone from Stanford and Kelley both are working as product managers at Microsoft. May be you have a richer pool and networking at T10.