The interview took place on campus in the MBA admissions office. The interview was led by a second-year student who had a copy of my resume and likely had reviewed it shortly before the interview itself. The interviewer had not read my application. The interview was laid out in a pre-printed form and we stepped through questions one-by-one while the interviewer took notes on my responses.
Overall questions were straight-forward and expected for an MBA interview. These questions included:
– Walk me through your background/Introduce yourself
– What is an accomplishment/success you are proud of?
– When was a time you received feedback or criticism?
– Why MBA? Why now? Why McCombs?
– Short and long term goals?
– How will you contribute on campus?
– What other programs are you applying to?
– Any changes to your application or additional things you would like us to know?
– Any questions for me?
I found the interview to be a bit awkward and not as personable as some of the other interview experiences I have had. If you are used to more conversational interviews, I found this one to be more scripted and structured based on the interview form that AdCom has developed. This system likely improves the consistency of the interview process, but I did not feel that it necessarily established a warm environment. This could be attributed to the luck-of-the-draw on second-year students interview assignments. This is notable because the rest of my campus visit was exactly the opposite, full of very friendly and warm students and admissions members. There is a great intimate feel on campus as classes exchange.
My advice is to really know why you want to attend McCombs and how you will contribute to the school and campus/city. The interview felt like it had a tilt towards weeding out how willing I was to attend, especially in the context of other programs I might be applying to. Don’t let the form note-taking put you off, that’s just how the process works at the school.
Clear Admit Resources
Preparing for your UT Austin / McCombs MBA admissions interview? Check out Clear Admit’s other resources:
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- Clear Admit UT Austin / McCombs Interview Guide: Strategic tips for approaching UT Austin / McCombs’ interview questions, and more.
- Interview Archive: More firsthand accounts from UT Austin / McCombs MBA applicants themselves
- Understanding the MBA Admissions Interview: Blind vs. Non-blind Interviews
- Podcast Episode 23: 5 Most Common MBA Interview Questions You Need to Ace
