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Re: Calling all USC Marshall MBA Applicants: (2018 Intake) Class of 2020!
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17 Feb 2018, 20:34
I just had my interview in person yesterday, thought I'd share a debrief with anyone who may find it useful.
So I interviewed at Marshall yesterday after doing interviews at Anderson and Haas 2 consecutive weeks prior. Needless to say, between what I do professionally and the fact that I was flying from San Jose for the UCLA and Marshall interviews, I was extremely tired. But one thing that was unique about USC that I really appreciated, given that I'm a really weird candidate in regards to background, was how open the lines of communication were. It was energizing.
Nirav was very, kind, accommodating, and made me feel excited about the prospects of attending USC, despite me applying to GSB, Haas, and Anderson additionally, tough in state competitors.
Leading up to the interview, like 72 hours before, and peaking about 30 minutes before my interview, my personal life was falling apart in all facets. Literally. I didn't know how I was going to interview. But walking into the office, I felt and understood the mystique. Marshall is not as flashy as other facets of USC, but I will say this - you can tell that at Marshall, people just get stuff done. There are not a lot of frills, but you can tell the program is straightforward if you've been on campus or done extensive research. Additionally, walking around Marshall, I was surprised how quiet and peaceful it was. I know it was a Friday afternoon, but for being in the middle of LA, the environment is serene. That helped given what I was going through at the time. As soon as I walked through the office, I felt empowered and calm enough to give at least a not completely terrible interview.
The interview was very straightforward, same as all MBA programs - walk us through your resume. One aspect of the interview that appealed to me, that was different from my other interviews was how open and flexible it was relative to other programs. That is neither good nor bad - it's just something to consider when preparing. What I mean by that is when you interview, if you're a person who knows exactly what you want out of life and can articulate it effectively, your interviewer will allow you the space to express that. Conversely, if you're someone who may not be as confident in what you want or not sure what direction you want to go, that will be revealed more in a Marshall interview than at least Anderson and Haas. But if you think about it, it's effectively the same dichotomy with all MBA programs, just variations in the degree to which that dichotomy is engrained in the culture, but not by many degrees of separation.
I had a good time. For being a top program, Marshall's admissions staff does a really good job helping you feel confident about your application process from sign up to post interview. To be fair, everything I'm mentioning is just based on single interviews across 3 schools, not a large sample size, but I do think that the overall culture will be reflected regardless of interviewer. Hope this helps!