Merage (University of California Irvine)

"1. Tell me about Yourself 2. Why the school? 3. Other schools I’m applying to and what factors I consider when deciding? 4. Specific feedback/criticism I got at work, how I resolved and lessons learned 5. A time I led collaboration/team work 6. How I will be an authentic member of the community 7. Do I have other companies i’m considering asides the one mentioned"

"It was on expected lines. I was interviewed by Lindsay Haberman. 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. Why MBA 3. Why Merage 4. Leadership 5. Feedback received from supervisor"

"My interview was with Jon Kaplan. Mostly straight forward questions. - Walk me through your resume - Why MBA, why now? Short-term, long term goals. - Why Merage? Then was later asked about weakness I might have and how I have handled conflicts earlier. That's about it. It wasn't confrontational. Overall pleasant experience. Lets wait for the results."

"I ws interviwed by Christian Hansen. The interview was just like any other Typical interview.. Go through esume, what do you do , ST and LT goals, Why MBA , Why Now, What companies are you looking for , Didi u talk to any current student etc etc. No curve balls or I got you!! questions . Just make sure ypu have prepared for the interview .. I prepared for 2 hours ( browsing website , talking with a current student etc) and my interview went fine .. All the best"

"I got a skype invitation after the video one. I chose Ashley for the discussion. It went on for around 40-45 minutes where we touched upon multiple things such as my current role, how was my experience with previous employers, how will merage help, other schools and how would i chose and so on. There was no surprise elements, but I must say She came up with interesting questions. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. And now, waiting for the results."

"I had an interview last night on Skype (India Time 11:30 P.M.). The questions were asked from the set of questions list. Christian Hansen was my interviewer; he was friendly and made me feel relax. I am quite excited about knowing the depth of the culture, and UC Irvine ecosystem from Christian. Now, I am waiting for the admission result outcome. Fingers crossed."

"I had an in person interview and it went really well. It was with Christian Hansen who was extremely welcoming and friendly. He had a set list of standard questions but it was really more of a conversation to build understanding both for him in terms of my vision and for me in terms of what the school has to offer. It was scheduled for 30 minutes and lasted about 45 because we had plenty to keep chatting about. Later that day I joined a current first year student for a class which was very insightful. She was able to give me a brief tour and introduce me to a number of classmates and faculty, all of whom were extremely warm and open. Merage truly has built a good culture and it is now even higher up on my list of consideration for attending."

"If its the video interview with recorded questions interview on kira talent platform, that you are talking about, I gave it couple of weeks ago. There were 3 questions. The questions were pretty normal and non-standard. My internet connection got AWOL while I was on 3rd question so when I connected back, I got a new question. Q1- If we talk to your colleagues , what all would we get to know about your strengths and weaknesses? Q2- What is the most challenging aspect of managing a team? Q3- Who is your most favorite innovator and why?(Discarded due to net connection) Q4- In your line of work when did you provide an innovative solution to a problem?(Might come re-phrased) But most probably, since these are non-standard questions, you might not get any of these. In any case, the questions wont be nothing you wont be able to imagine an answer to, in 30 seconds. All the best :)"

"I was asked the following questions: Walk me through your resume Why MBA/ Why Now Why UCI Plan B Anyone who has been an inspiration in your life/ Leadership Which other schools you have applied and why? (or what are the factors you considered) One situation where you had to adjust because of cultural differences and what did you learn. Hope this helps Thanks"

"Interview was very straight forward. Standard questions - Why MBA, Why Merage, Long-term and Short-Term Goals, Backup plan, Target Companies, How your experience is linked to your goals, Strengths / Weaknesses, Questions based on work experience / leadership experience."

"Had my skype Interview today. Basic questions similar to the ones others have mentioned. -Walk my through your resume -Why Merage? Why MBA? -What are your short term goals upon graduation? Plan B? -What other schools have you applied to and what are you looking for in a MBA program? -Talk about a time when you faced an ethical dilemma in your professional career Overall it went smoothly. Just make sure you keep your answers and explanations in line with your resume and essay(s) and you should be alright. Most of the questions/ conversation was around those for me. :)"

"Applied end of Jan. Got the KIRA interview done by Feb 20th and in person interview done 3/1. The interview was with Taylor Martini. He actually remembered me from an info session which was cool and remembered what I wrote in my essays. His questions were like what others have mentioned: -Walk my through your resume -Why Merage? Why MBA? -What do you plan to take advantage of at Merage? I would add what you plan to contribute as well if you're asked this question -What are your short term goals upon graduation? I would know the actual title of the position you're talking about and if you can talk to someone in this specific role, currently, it shows that you've taken time to research the position -What other schools have you applied to and what are you looking for in a MBA program? -Talk about a time when you improved a process or implemented a new process and how did that turn out? Was it successful? Ask good questions back to them. I asked about how they are bridging the gender gap at Merage, are they trying to become a Forte Foundation member school. Hope that helps. Good luck everyone! Now the wait. Fingers crossed!"

"I interviewed yesterday with Eric Duarte. Interview was very relaxed and conversational, I really enjoyed the experience. Very standard interview, the questions I remember were: Walk me through your resume. Why MBA? Long-term and short-term goals? Plan B? Why Merage? Nothing out of the ordinary. Good luck to everyone still waiting to interview!"

"Congrats on your interview invite! I had my interview on Monday (in-person) with Christian Hansen - really nice guy and it was very conversational as opposed to one-sided. There were no trick questions: Walk me through your resume, why an MBA, why Irvine, how do you plan to contribute to Merage, what are your short terms and long term goals - how will Merage help you achieve them? I am not really sure what advice to give in terms of in-person vs. Skype. I was given the option within the interview portal to select either Skype or in-person. Not sure if there is a reason that they specifically offered you a Skype interview as opposed to giving you the option. Hope this was semi-helpful :) Good luck!"

"Finished my video assessment on Wednesday, and received the Skype/in-person interview today. My first question is "what are you doing to grow as a leader?" The second is "What did you learn from the experience of supporting other on a project. The third is to describe an innovator you admire. I use the 30 seconds to write down the keyword, then just expand from there. Good luck!"

"I would suggest practicing with the interview portal for a while before completing the actual interview, but know that the questions were not really close to the ones that they give you to practice with. My questions were along the lines of, "How do you gain commitment from your team?" and "Tell us about a time where you were unsure what your role was in a project. How did you handle that?" One thing that threw me off is that during the practice questions, they only allow 60 seconds for you to respond, whereas on the actual questions, they give you 90 seconds. This caused my timing to be a bit off when I got to the real questions. To be honest, I did not feel incredibly confident with my video interview and I got a bit nervous when I was responding. I'm worried that may be why I haven't received anything for an in-person interview :( Update: I just received an invite for an in person interview - so excited!"

"Interviewed on 10/31. Typical business school interview... - Walk me through resume - Post MBA career plans - Why Merage - Strength/Weakness - Backup plan"