Simon (University of Rochester)

"1) Tell me about yourself 2) Why Simon. 3) Why this is the right time for you to pursue MBA? 4) Short Term goal. 5) Plan B. 6) Any questions from us?"

"1)tell me about your hobbies 2)tell me about your time at your company 3)what kind of person are you - a team leader or a team member 4)have you had any experience travelling internationally. If not do you have any experience across different cultures. 5)what is your short term goal 6)what is your back up plan incase the plan doesn’t go as expected 7)why do you want to come to Simon 8)do you have any questions for me The interview was really casual and chilled. I asked the interviewer if there were any teaching opportunities in Rochester where I could help underprivileged section and if the school provided opportunities to students to help faculties with their research as Simon is a research based school. I also asked her if my understanding of the school was correct and if I had misunderstood anything. The problem is I was under the impression that the interview was an hour long as my invite was for 1 hour. So all my answers were prepared accordingly. I am worried if the interviewer felt I was rambling on. It’s difficult to guage the interviewers reaction if you are looking at the camera."

""Walk me through your resume" "Why do you believe an MBA is right for you" "Why are you pursuing an MBA now" "Why are you applying to Simon" "How do you see yourself contributing to Simon" "How does your undergraduate major contribute to your sought out profession? How will an MBA help you with this?" "What are your short-term and long-term goals" "What are your target companies post-MBA?" "What is your back-up plan if you cannot get into your target companies?" "Have you had any multi-cultural experiences or international travel during your professional career?" "Do you know any data programming tools?" (If you do not know any, learn some or show you are in the process of learning. Very critical.) "Do you have any questions for me?" My experience: Overall the interview was one of the most conversational interviews I had. The AdCom member was extremely nice and genuinely wanted to get to know me better and my motivation to pursue an MBA. The interviewer did not seem to be disengaged at all and reciprocated everything I discussed. Overall, the interview was intended to last 30 minutes, but found ourselves talking for 48 minutes. Just be yourself, don't hide anything, smile, and utilize those interpersonal skills! Advice: Know your resume well, there is a possibility they will ask you to highlight a certain bullet point which you might have. Prepare anecdotes about professional and non-professional experiences Do heavy research on the university to show your commitment to their program (ex. clubs, career centers, culture) Show up 5 minutes early before interview, they will not permit you to join online interview any earlier. Dress Professionally Good luck on your interviews!"

"Tell me about yourself Why mba Why now Why Simon Short term goal Plan b Travelled to other countries on work assignments. Question about my hobbies How do you say your working style is as a team member Leadership style. 3 mins essay : have you not met your goal at any point? Why? Any questions to us?"

"1. Tell me about your college you went and your work experience. 2. Can you explain me what you do in your current role and how does your day look like? 3. Do you have anyone directly reporting to you? 4. What data tools or programming tools you know? 5. What is leadership style mean to you? 6. What is your work experience working with team across world? 7. Why do you want to MBA? 8. What is your short-term goal? And Plan B? 9. what is your Long-term goal? 10. Why Simon? 11. what are the Clubs that you want to be part of? 12. Why should we take you not others? 13. What questions do you have?"

"It was very conversational! I enjoyed the interview and was asked the following: 1. Why Simon? 2. Why MBA? 3. Why now? 4. What are my ST and LT goals? I was then given 10 minute to ask questions about the program / admissions process. Overall, it was a great session!"

"I had a video interview with an admission committee member. It was a blind interview and lasted for about 30 mins. I was asked following questions: 1. walk me through your resume. 2. tell me more about this experience you have mentioned in your resume. 3. short term goal. 4. plan B. 5. why MBA, why now? 6. why Simon? 7. tell me about a time when you failed and what did you learn? 8. what are your strengths as a team member? 9. what is your leadership style? 10. how do you approach to a conflict in team? (written)"

"Don't worry at all about the interview. Everyone is super nice! Just have clarity and oral practice of the following questions: 1. Walk me through your resume/ Tell me about yourself 2. Why MBA and why now? 3. Why Simon 4. Professional and Personal challenge and how you overcame it I have been admitted with scholarship and I was asked the above questions on campus by an alumni who was super sweet, but I'll also list down a few others I was asked at other schools: 5. 3 words that describe you 6. Leadership experience 7. What did you learn about yourself from the application process 8. Strongest and weakest parts of your application Good luck on the interview. Just keep calm, SMILE and be confident. Imagine that you are already a business leader and talk like one!"

"It's very conversational. They'll ask you to walk through your resume and about your work experiences. They did not ask any questions about my undergraduate schools, but I would be prepared just in case. They did ask me why I wanted to go to Simon. They did a great job of helping me feel relaxed. Be yourself and prepare for all of the standard interview questions, you'll do great! There is also an interview debrief section here on GMAT for Simon that has some excellent debriefs."

"The interview was conversational and had most of the standard interview questions !! All questions that I was asked are covered in 1 or more interview debriefs stated below. So I have nothing more to add. Just be confident, know your resume well and try to show that you are a well-rounded individual."

"The interview was very much like the job interviews that I have had. The adcom was very friendly and just wanted to get to know me better. The questions were along the lines of "Tell me about yourself?" "Expectations from the program?" "Long term/Short term goals?" and a few questions about things from my resume. The interview which was very conversational touched upon things already mentioned in my application but gave me the opportunity to explain them in greater detail since I wasn't constrained by the word limitations. Hope it helps!!"

"I interviewed with a recent alumni. It was very conversational and I thought it went well. I was asked very generic questions like why simon, why mba, what my career goals are as well as questions related to my background. I don't think I can add anything new to the existing debriefs out here. Hope this was helpful."

"The interview was really more of a conversation than anything else and lasted 30 mins. It was done on Zoom. Questions (I can't remember all) 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. What is your short term plan? 3. If that doesn't materialize what would you do? 4. Tell me more about your undergrad. 5. (Questions specific to my work experience. I've been an entrepreneur for 7 years with few more years working at other firm) 6. Why Simon and not somewhere else? (got asked a variation of this question again) 7. 3 minute 'essay' : What has been your greatest achievement? 8. I asked 2-3 questions at the end. I haven't had a response as of writing this so.... Anyway, hope this helps."

"Hi everyone, I recently interviewed with an admissions director from Simon. Here are some insights from the interview which I hope can be found helpful! All the best to all prospective applicants! Overall, the interview is best described as a friendly conversation. The tone was very calm and relaxed and the interviewer does not give you any reason to feel under pressure. They are genuinely trying to get to know you better. I very much enjoyed sharing my story, gaining deeper insight about Simon and learning more about my interviewer. Questions: 1. Please tell me about yourself (give a brief introduction of who you are and a walk through of your resume) 2. Tell me about your undergraduate experience, what did you study and what were you involved in during school? 3. How well do you manage time? 4. What are you post-MBA goals and why are you pursuing an MBA now? 5. What are some target companies you aspire to work in? 6. What is one thing that you have achieved recently that you are proud of? 7. Why Simon? 8. Can you please describe a time when you worked in a team? 9. Please describe how you would mitigate conflict in a team setting? 10. How will you contribute to Simon? Overall the interview lasted ~50 minutes. Advice: Know your story, resume and reasons for MBA well. Prepare some anecdotes as support. Study up on the program and try to speak with some students beforehand to get a better idea of the school culture. Dress professionally and arrive a few minutes early."

"I had my interview with Jennifer Crandall from the admissions team at Simon with Zoom. She told me it was a blind interview so I should elaborate on my answers. Interview was conversational and standard - 1. Introduce yourself 2. Walk me through your resume 3. Why MBA 4. Why now 5. Why Simon 6. which extracurriculars I will like to try? 7. Asked about my leadership style 8. what will be my bigggest challenges at Simon? This was followed by my questions about the program. No written question was mentioned."

"Walk me thru your background/resume Why MBA and why Simon? What are your post-MBA goals? Any specific industry/companies/functions? Do you have a backup plan if you don't achieve your primary goal? How do you handle working in teams? Do you have any international work experience? What do you like to do outside of work? Nothing unusual, just come prepared knowing your story and why you want an MBA at Simon."

"I had my interview with Trista Kukucha from the admissions team at Simon. She told me it was a blind interview so I should take the time to explain my answers and not worry about rehashing what I already have written in my essays / other parts of the application. Most of the questions were pretty standard - 1. Walk me through your resume 2. Why MBA 3. Why now? 3. What about Simon makes it a good fit for me 4. Asked about my leadership style and a leader that I admire. 5. I had to write a fact about myself which I feel was not included in any part of my application which I would like the AdComs to know to improve my candidacy in the zoom chat box - had about 3 mins This was followed by my questions about the program."

"I had a Skype interview with Maureen Plavnicky. She told me it is a blind interview. The interview lasted for around 30 minutes. She asked me around 10-12 questions. Most of them were general MBA questions. Some of the questions were: 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. Tell me about your work experience? 3. Why MBA? 4. Why MBA right now? 5. What are your personal expectations from an MBA? 6. Why Simon? 7. She asked me "Who am I most inspired by and why?" and I had to write the response and send it on zoom chat. I had a total time of 3 minutes to write the answer. In the end, there for time to discuss any questions for her."

"I was interviewed by Andrew Brayda who is associate director of admissions. He also mentioned that director of admissions, the name is Julie or Judy, was supposed to take the interview but could not due to some exigency. It was a blind interview. The interviewer had access to only my resume. I guess it’s a double scrutiny process. The questions were like - introduce yourself, - why MBA, - why Simon, - what would you contribute to Simon community etc. They ask you only one behavioral question at the end of the interview to which you’ve to respond in writing in a chat box. Overall I felt as if they were trying to confirm if I’m the same guy who wrote the essays."

"- Very conversational. - majority about background - post mba goals - no behaviour questions all to the point and lasted around 30 minutes through skype. Also contrast to previous threads no mention of writing an answer to question in zoom chat box. So I was a little surprised by this. Overall its all about - why simon - why mba - why now - clarification about previous background"