McCombs (UT Austin) 2013 Calling All Applicants

I did my McCombs interview on-campus a few weeks ago with a member of the AdCom. I had the option of doing it with a student, but I opted not to. Personal preference, not really any other reason behind it (it was my first interview, so I wanted to do it with an AdCom).

I looked online through several blogs and found a number of the same questions for the McCombs interview, which all seemed to pop up during my conversation. Things like, "tell me about yourself"/"walk me through your resume", etc. (the major ones), but I did get surprised by a couple of questions.

Namely, "what is the first impression someone has when they meet you?", "if you could change something at the company you work for, what would it be?" and "why did you choose your undergraduate institution?" I got tripped up on the first and last of these questions, as I was not expecting them, so my advice would be to be ready to answer questions that you may not have prepared for.

As for blind or read, I can't say, as it was not brought up.

Hope this helps! Just be yourself and you'll do just fine.

Got an invite to interview.. somehow I managed to squeeze in the application by R3 deadline..

Hey Krasher,

Thanks for the detailed information. I really appreciate it. This will be my first interview as well. I still don't understand the benefit of interviewing with Adcom member over doing it with Second Year.

I concur with you; first and last question would have stumped me as well.

Thank You and Good Luck!

Sumeet,

If you happen to impress the Adcom member while he/she interview you, then you have an edge as that person will be there in all the discussion related to your application. He will be your advocate. A second year guy will not be there when the decision is being made. Good luck.

Well this is not right and I would love to be proved wrong but only if this is based not on your personal experience alone.

Sumeet,

Adcoms generally give the following options :

1)Interview with the adcoms
2)Interview with alum/2nd year students (they are part of admission comm)
3)Skype
4)Telephone
5)Campus visit

all of these options are given giving due consideration to the applicants location , mobility and his/her preference. In the end the adcom wants to know you as a person and wants to make you as comfortable as possible. A 2nd year student would be almost at par with the adcom member himself because that 2nd year student has been nominated and elected by the adcom itself. So my advice is don't worry about the fact that who has higher say over whom in the admission decision making process. Focus on what you want to tell and what impression you want to leave. Hope this helps.

One more question about the video submission.. Did every waitlisted candidate get a mail asking to submit the video? or was this required only for a selected few waistlisted?

Can a current student (or a very knowledgeable applicant) tell me what McCombs mean when they mention "official transcripts" to submit with my deposit. Should it come directly from my college or can it be a scanned document? Thanks.

It should be sealed and signed transcript. In the case of McCombs, it can be mailed either directly from your undergraduate school or mailed by you. Scanned and uploaded copies are not considered official.

Thank you.

When did you submit your application? I submitted mine on 23rd right before midnight, but haven't heard anything yet. Wondering if they send invites the same day, or on a rolling basis.

Rolling basis up until a week or two before the decision deadline.

Posted from my mobile device

Ugh. Don't remind me. I think it is ironic that McCombs is waiting until the day after Valentine's Day to break people's hearts. Caveat: Not everyone will be disappointed.

I saw that some people already got invites for rd3? What is it based on? Luck of the draw or quality of your candidacy?

Posted from my mobile device

I'm anxiously awaiting hearing about the R2 decisions. I saw that for Round 1, some people were notified that they were admitted about 8 days before the notification deadline. If it works the same this time, that could mean some of us might hear something next Thursday.

Just got invited to interview at the UT-Austin! My younger brother's undergrad alma matter! Hook 'em Horns!

The video interview was 3 questions, with a 90 seconds time limit for each response...for a total 4 minutes and 30 seconds MAX. I was expecting about a half hour!

First question: why would you be a good fit with McCombs?
Second question: what would you change about the McCombs curriculum?
Third question: what clubs would you like to join?

It was really odd for me to not have the instant feedback from seeing an interviewer's reactions and no ability to interact. Also, your computer displays how you look in your video, so it's like dictating an essay into a mirror. I felt quite awkward, while I'm quite comfortable in face-to-face interviews.

I thought that the video interview would be my chance to jump onto the accepted list, but it was a strange experience that didn't leave me feeling confident.

Good luck to you other waitlistees.

I submitted my application on the 23rd too..