Haas (UC Berkeley) EWMBA 2013 - Calling All Applicants

I received a reminder email about my interview tomorrow. That's about it.

best of luck... mine is next tuesday. how's your preparation? the biggest advice i've been given is to relax. the best interviews spawn from this nice relaxed dynamic between interviewer and interviewee (easier said than done for me)

btw, 10 more seats! 240-250.

Good to hear about the added seats. Any word if they're during the week or on the weekend?

For the interview, I'm treating it like any normal interview I have with clients. Stay relaxed and don't focus too much on the exact wording of your responses. The best thing you can do is just be yourself. It's a blind interview. So, they're not going to be grilling you on your application. Know your resume and you'll be fine.

Just remember they're not looking to deny you admission. It's just a verification process to make sure you're the same person that submitted the application.

i've heard the same too, although I hope it carries considerable weight as it is a way for me to differentiate myself. I've heard two extremes: one saying it's purely a sanity check, another person saying he was rejected two years straight (accepted third) because of the interview. The latter implies that it's more than just a sanity check or a verification of person to application since he didn't use a consultant or a fake essay,etc.

Hey Guys,

I interviewed on the 10th.
I have previously (blind) interviewed with Kellogg and Anderson also, I'd say this is nothing similar to those. This interview (or atleast mine) was not blind as they like to put it. The questions I was asked were extremely targeted, there was absolutely no beating around the bush. Most of the questions kinda indicated what they really wanted to understand.

I had recently gotten a major promotion, 25% of the time was spent on understanding this promotion
I had applied to the Haas's FT prog last year, 25% of the time was spent on explaining why the shift from FT -> PT
25% of the time was spent on very very intricate details from my resume, I was stumped ( and impressed) by the level of details they care

The routine questions were peppered between the head-scratcher's.
- How is my current situation linked with my short term goal
- Have you talked with anyone or atleast connected with anyone from target short-term goal place (!)
- What would your collegues or friends say about you
- Long term goal in very detail (not the routine stuff of I want to do blah blah - do your homework!)
- What will I bring to the class
- Motivation behind long term goal

After about 25mins of speaking and explaining how I am different and how will bring a lot of different things to the table, I get this question
- We get tons of applications from engineers like you every-year, how are you different

I thought the last one was the proverbial 'final nail in the coffin'.

I would have enjoyed and probably aced the interview if I knew what was coming, I was sort of caught off-guard. I do not have high expectations of making it.

Luckily I got an acceptance from UCLA this week, for now I am proceeding as if its a done deal.

Good luck to you all!

I hope you get in. Do not worry now.
The fact that they had a lot of information on your from your FT app is the reason your interview was so detailed. The other reports on this forum do not mention this level of detail.
And, all us engineers are going to have a tough time differentiating.

I think the real question is, HOW do you differentiate yourself from the other engineers? Or, approaching it differently, WHAT is it about engineers that is so boring to the adcom? I feel there must be some common characteristic among all engineers they don't like. Perhaps too quant focused? Boring?

What were the things you mentioned in those 25 minutes that didn't seem to convince them that you are different from the rest of engineers?

I just had my interview. It definitely was blind for me. They clearly had looked through my resume and come up with a bunch of questions based off of that. Nothing too terrible as far as questions go. I think it went pretty well, but who knows what will happen. Now I get to sit back and wait.

For the engineers out there, don't feel bad. I felt like I had to differentiate myself from other consultants which only make up 6% of the class.

very cool, thanks for the update. any pattern to what they wanted to clarify in the resume? perhaps promotions? leadership experiences within each bullet point? impact?

was there any talk of your extracurricular activities? everything seems so work related!

For me, it was mostly because I've worked in a number of companies in the past. So, they wanted to clarify why I've changed jobs.

The vast majority of the time in mine was spent on work, and they definitely hold you to a 30 minute time limit.

Right. I've been at the same company for 7 years so I figure they will try to narrow in on the "transitions" just like your transitions between jobs.

here's a totally different question... i assume you wore a suit. what is considered business formal in terms of colors? My suit is black with dark blue stripes, formal enough, but what about the shirt and tie? I have a white checkered shirt that is a bit casual, and a dark tie.

Thanks!

My interview was actually over Skype since my schedule is nuts during the week and it's near impossible to commit to something in person unless it's on a weekend. It wasn't ideal, but thankfully I've been to a class visit back in September. So, hopefully not showing up to the interview didn't hurt me too much.

Being from the east coast originally, I went formal with the suit. Black suit, solid white shirt, and a solid blue tie. I was going to wear a red tie, but didn't want to jinx anything by wearing Stanford colors.

- Wear a plain shirt (no checks)
- Any decent tie will do
- Any business suit is fine

On a different note, be prepared to answer - "Why were you with the same company for so long" - I was also with the same company for over 5 yrs, I was asked this question.

Glad to hear it wasn't just me. That was a line of questioning I hadn't expected.

I interviewed this week. Few pointers to those who are anxious.

1- 30 min is the limit. Not a minute over.
2- Basic questions.
Walk me through your resume.
Long term goals. How will you organize your time (I have diversified profile).
What do your friends say about you.
What is your greatest achievement at current company.
and some others.

3- Be calm. It is really comfortable interview.

I am an engineer too, but as I said I have diversified profile and had a little unorthodox interview. I was able to focus more on my other side of life.
Wear a professional suit. I wore Grey suit with plain light blue shirt and a blank tie.

Best wishes to all.
Now keeping fingers crossed till Feb

congrats. the fact you said it was a comfortable interview should indicate you did fairly well. i'm hoping I can nudge the interview into my out-of-work experiences. when you say "unorthodox", what do you mean?

February is my birthday, fingers crossed! i can already tell you I only want one thing for xmas and bday combined.

Folks - Did any R1 applicants receive an interview call in the last few days ?