Good and Bad Questions for Adcoms (during interviews)

Question

Hey Everyone,

In the spirit of helping each other out, I thought we can use this space to list some good questions to ask adcoms and some no-nos. This way us GMATClubbers won't seem stupid when we actually get to come face to face with the adcom.
 
EDIT: After some discussions, I think this thread will be more useful for people who have to ask questions at the end of interviews, if the adcoms are interviewing them. So contribute that way if you can.  

I will keep track of this and compile them all in the first post as they come. 

Here are some of my thoughts for questions:
 
Good:  

- What are the areas for improvement for this school and things that students like myself can help with? (good for during interview)?

- The school prides itself on student collaboration and teamwork, could you tell me an example that exemplifies this quality?

- Are the professors and the administration receptive to student comments on teaching quality? If so, is there a process built in for this kind of feedback and review?

- How are the teams formed in core classes? What is the rationale behind this method of team-forming?

- What is the diversity like at this school? What methods is the school using to increase this diversity? (outreach, education, others?)


 Bad:  

- Why should I come to school X instead of School Y (cross-town rival)? (this may be a question to ask a student in private, not good for adcom)

- Do NOT start talking about yourself or telling other students what to do in the app process in front of the adcom! Big no-no!

- So, what's School X good at? (shows you didn't even bother reading their viewbook or website)

rhyme · Answer

Don't overthink this interaction really.... they are not going to really size you up based on your questions - and most of them know that students come at differing levels of familiarity with a school. The key is to remember they are not out to "get you" or find a way to trip you up. Just be yourself (cliched I know), and interact, ask what you want to ask - try to avoid wasting people's times by asking questions you could look up.

kryzak · Answer

I understand rhyme, I'm more starting this thread to also get the MOST out of meeting with the adcoms. What are questions that you would ask an adcom that you wouldn't ask students or use other ways to find out? Why talk to the adcom at all if you can't leave an impression? There must be some good questions that the adcoms will answer better than anyone else, right? It's not about which questions make you "look good", but which questions helped your application the most because you got info that you couldn't get anywhere else.

lepium · Answer

I agree, most info sessions are non evaluative.

L.

rhyme · Answer

Honestly, I don't think such a question exists. The questions that you really want to know -- how hard is school, do you party, do people date, hows the recruiting in area X -- will get the straightest answers from students. 

An adcom isn't going to say "This is Kellogg, it's a gentleman's B for everyone" - but a student might. Similarly, an adcom isn't going to describe to you "the Wharton Walk" (which is basically a bar hoping exercise)... Nor will you likely get a discussion of "the 5 girls and 2 guys that went skinny dipping on the Fiji random walk from the GSB" (As I said to them later "you can get lucky by accident with those odds") ... Nor will you hear about increased competition in banking jobs this year (as im starting to hear rumours of now)... 

Or rather, whatever you hear is always "hedged" - by which I mean that responses, while correct, also limit themselves. Carefully crafted replies.
Its the difference between asking your boss about how a company is doing and asking your peer. 

In other words, I don't think you will actually get any particularly useful information out of an adcom - outside of simply learning about a program that you maybe didn't know about (oh I didn't know the GSB had X or HBS provided Y).... at least, if there is a magic set of questions that add value, I never found them. The value I got was rarely, if ever, from adcoms and almost always from students.

kryzak · Answer

So what you're saying is there's no real point in talking to the adcoms either at infosessions or on campus during visits? That's kind of what I thought, but it just seems that everyone always tells you to go talk to the adcom. 

Though there IS a type of question that you need the adcoms to answer, one directly related to the app process. Like for schools that allow more than 2 recs, but prefer 2. The adcom for Kellogg answered that the "Magic number is 2". They'll read extras if they feel like it, but if they're swamped, they'll only read the first 2 they see. That's something that you can't really get from a student. Also, the Part I and Part II deadlines for Kellogg was clarified by the adcom, not by the students.

rhyme · Answer

I should have been clearer - certainly administrative type questions about the app process... yes, you should ask the adcom. As to what the school is like, getting lots of good info for your essays, I think you'll get a lot more from students than you will from adcoms. Thats not to say that you wont get ANYTHING from an adcom - only that what you get from them is more
"marketing speak" or (as in your example) simply administrative or logistical questions ("I dont have a TOEFL but I went to X... is that ok?") than the "scoop" on the culture and the school.

csgreen · Answer

I think this thread is very useful for admissions interviews, in which case adcoms  are  evaluating your questions. First of all, make sure you do ask questions to show that you really are interested. Your questions can show that you have done some research about the school and that you have reflected on how well you might fit. 

I think the questions that  kryzak  suggested are excellent suggestions, and I will probably use them during my interview at Ivey next week.

kryzak · Answer

haha, glad to think *someone* finds this thread useful. I need contributions from people (stuff you asked at these interviews) to populate the list so it'll be helpful for others.

MBAbot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club MBAbot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

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Good and Bad Questions for Adcoms (during interviews)

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