Our archive of over 2,000 MBA admissions interview questions includes self-reported accounts from applicants. Please use the dropdown menu to view filter reports by school.
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Published: April 29, 2006
INSEAD MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R2 Interviews in Brazil
Fortunately, I was able to schedule both interviews on the same day and so saved myself a ton of hassle, but it also meant that i couldn’t use one interview to prepare for the other, since they were back-to-back. The questions were pretty standard and as long as you know your essays and know for sure why you’re applying to the programs, there’s not much difficulty to be encountered there. My first interview was with a female alum, the second with a male. Both had a consulting history, although the woman had recently switched industry and is now strategic director
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Published: April 27, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 3 / On Campus
questions were: overview of yourself we want students who take leadership roles… give me an example of when you ve been a leader why mba now and why wharton? what goals for the future? what strengths would your work colleagues acknowledge about you? and one weakness what do you do outside work? what would you do if one person of your working team doesnt perform at wharton? any special circumstances about your application the AdCom should know of? then questions to him.
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Published: April 24, 2006
NYU / Stern MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom
Stern requires that you visit the school for the interview. All interviews are done by adcom employees, and if not direct employees then alumni or students who work for the admissions office. They give you the option of scheduling lunch with a student and a class visit with your interview – if you haven’t ever visited, I would take the option to do both. I also asked the student to give me a quick tour of the building – that actually was very interesting. They also have guided tours, but it was nice to have a student’s perspective. Interview: I
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Published: April 16, 2006
UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Adcom
I interviewed at Darden with a member of the admissions staff. She interviewed me without referring to a resume or any other information, so the interview was completely blind–she just knew my name. The question that she asked was: “Tell me your story and specify why you made your choices and what you learned.” During the story she asked me follow up questions about specifics: based on what criteria did you select Darden, what specific skills are you looking to gain by attending Darden (the “advance business skills” answer was too general, so I had to add a few). Some
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Published: April 16, 2006
IESE MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 5 / Adcom / Off-campus
Originally shared in Jacek’s blog Interviewed by Genevieve Slonim – NYC – May 10th via VC First of all, if you have the means to interview in person, do not rely on VC, it is impersonal, and distant. My experience included the VC place giving me the wrong ISDN No., the call dropping every few minutes, the sound / video quality was awful, the room was dry, and as someone who does magically interviews the whole VC thing was an utter disaster. Moving on, I was initially asked about my background. I plan to move to Europe upon matriculation of
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Published: April 13, 2006
Chicago Booth MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Adcom, Off Campus
I did my Chicago interview in Bombay with a member of admissions committee. Surprisingly enough, at the beginning of the interview my interviewer admitted that she was nervous about conducting it. I am not sure whether she was really nervous, but that definitely made me more comfortable. She had my resume marked with notes and questions, and she started with a typical walk me through your resume question. As I started explaining, she asked me specifics about my experiences. There was no clear structure to the interview and it became very informal within first 10 minutes or so. She asked
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Published: April 12, 2006
INSEAD MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R2 Interview with Alum
I had my first interview with INSEAD 20th February. The alum who conducted it was a graduate in 2003 and is a Malaysian. Overall, I think the interview went well. It was very casual, and I felt a bit overdressed with a tie on. He was dressed in business attire sans tie and coat. The questions mainly centered on “Why MBA?”, “Why Now?” & “Why INSEAD”. I felt that I ended telling much of my life story while answering the first two questions. The third one was quite tough as I had to justify why INSEAD would be the logical
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Published: March 29, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R2 / On Campus
The interviewer introduced himself and gave me a brief background about himself. The interview proceeded as follows: Tell me about why you chose your major and why you chose to join company X Interviewer noted a leadership position on my resume and asked for an example of something I did which helped me reach this leadership position. How do you define success? if a team member is not completing their tasks, how would you deal with them? What would your coworkers note as your strenghts? What are your career goals, why mba? Anything in your profile which the adcom would
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Published: March 27, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: On Campus Interview / Round 2
Very nice interviewer – told me as soon as we sat down that there would be no hard or trick questions. Walk me thru your resume Why wharton? If you were in a learning group and the person assigned to be the leader was slacking, what would you do? What are your weaknesses? What would you contribute to the class? what is the biggest weakness in your application? How would your friends describe you? If you had a month off tomorrow, what would you do?
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Published: March 27, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / On Campus
The interviewer was a second year student and her business card states that she was a member of the admissions committee. First of all, she explained the purpose of the interview was to help the school to know more about me, as well as an opportunity for me to get to know more about the program. She also briefly introduced her background, an investment banker at Goldman. As usual, she asked me to go through my resume, and then why mba. I guess I gave very specific answers to that question, eg improve my teamwork skills in a team environment,
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Published: March 26, 2006
UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Applicant initiated / Student interview / Round 2
It was a blind interview conducted by a second year student. I was basically asked to give my life story and discuss how and why I made certain decisions along my career path. I believe I was well-prepared to discuss and explain the rationale for my decisions to attend the undergraduate school, selection of major and career path. However, I was also sure to discuss what I believed to be the strengths of my candidacy, to include leadership experience. Program Fit. I believe that you have to truly understand why you want to learn with the case study method. Additionally,
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Published: March 25, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Hub interview – Paris
So…it happened finally…the much awaited Wharton Interview. It was a hub interview in Paris with Marilyn Yakowitz (yes she is the same lady from OECD when you google her name, which is so cool). I arrived at the office of Bain and Company at 50 Avenue Montaigne (must say its a nice office, could see basilique mont martre and the louvre from the office over the Champs Elysse…ahh the sight) at 8:30 AM (1/2 and hour before my interview). The wait was interesting, as I was reading about the takeover bid by EON and the oil security crisis in Nigeria
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Published: March 25, 2006
Harvard MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Rd 2 / on campus / adcom / Admitted
Adcom was very game-faced – polite, but businesslike. Interview was 30 min exactly. She didn’t want my updated resume and told me at the outset that we had exactly 30 minutes, and not to feel bad if I was frequently interrupted. She did interrupt maybe 3 or 4 times. Preparation was useful, but there would have been no way to prepare for the hard “off the cuff” questions that she asked. Here are my questions/answers (no particular order) Name a CEO you admire: Asked me to explain a bit more about what my role at work. Asked if the power-sharing
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Published: March 23, 2006
Harvard MBA Admissions Interview Questions: On Campus / Admissions assistant director
I checked in 15 minutes early at the admission office. However, my interviewer greeted me sharp on time. and took me to her office. The interviewer is an assistant director, a very nice and pleasant lady. She didn’t chit chat much and started to explain about the interview process. She mentioned that it would be 30 minutes and I would not have time to ask any question while she would keep track of her time every now and then. She also advised I might email to the admission office later if I want more information about the program. Here are
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Published: March 21, 2006
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R2 / Alumni interview / Admitted
The interview lasted 45 minutes. It took places at the interviewer’s office. She explained me that she was going to ask me questions for about 45 minutes and then leave time for me to ask any questions that I had about the program. The interviewer was very friendly and enthusiastic about Stanford. She asked the following questions: Tell me why do you want to pursue an MBA now Why Stanford? How does Stanford fit into your short-term and long-term goals? Tell me about a recent criticism you have received and what have you done to improve? Tell me a situation
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Published: March 20, 2006
MIT / Sloan MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1
Originally shared by Business as Unusual I was a little nervous for my 8:00 am Sloan interview in Seattle because I had flown in from Austin the day before and gone to bed at 2:00 am. Moreover, my gf had not picked up my suit from the dry-cleaners so I had no idea how I would survive the dreaded behavioral interview. Anyway, the cleaners opened at 7:00, we were there at 6:45. I changed in the dry-cleaners store and headed to my interview. Incidentally, my interviewer was a little late, which gave me a little time to
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Published: March 20, 2006
MIT / Sloan MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Adcom / Off-campus
My interview was in London with the assistant director of admissions. The interview was pretty short, somewhere between 30 and 45 mins. The interviewer was very professional, but not robotic. As noted elsewhere on this page, I was asked not to use examples contained in my essay. All questions were behaviourial type questions. Here’s what I can remember being asked: Hand over your transcript Give an example of a time when you had to deal with someone who wasn’t pulling their weight Give an example of a time when your actions annoyed a superior or colleague I explained, then was
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Published: March 20, 2006
Duke / Fuqua MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Alumni / Round 1
Standard questions. Walk me through your resume. Questions on career & academic choices. Why did I leave each of the job/company? Why MBA, Why Duke? what would you bring to duke? Team Questions 5 Charasteristics of a good team. What role would you play on this team. A time when I had a difficult person on my team and what did i do. A difficult choice I had to make and what did I lear from it. Personal. how would your friends describe you? what do you do in your free time? Other Any additional information that I would
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Published: March 19, 2006
Harvard MBA Admissions Interview Questions: 2nd Round / On Campus / Admissions assistant director
She met me sharp on time and we went to her office. Unlike Wharton where the interview is held in a small dingy room, her office was large and spacious. We chatted for 1-2 minutes about a class that I had attended a day before and then she laid out the procedure – the interview would last for exactly 30 minutes and I wouldn’t get a chance to ask questions unless there was something really really important. She said most people ask questions just for the sake of asking questions and she didn’t want to waste valuable time on that.
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Published: March 19, 2006
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R2, Alumni
My interviewer was a banker. Very friendly and personable. He stuck to the clock, asked me questions for 30 mins and gave me 15 mins to ask him Qs. For the most part, I spent the first 30 minutes explaining my reasoning behind every transition, educational and professional on my resume. Why did you do a Master’s degree (non-MBA)? Why MBA, you already have a Master’s? Why now? Why Stanford? What other schools did you apply to? Why? What has been your most significant accomplishment and why? Explain to me how you lead in your work or in some other
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Published: March 19, 2006
MIT / Sloan MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R2 / AdCom
MIT sends you a 2 page guide to their “Behavioral Event-based Interview” (BEI) before you visit. The key difference is that they do NOT ask you “Why an MBA? Why now? and Why here?” They simply take your resume and application and ask two or three main questions, each with several follow up questions. Note that it is not a blind interview. The adcom is supposed to review your application thoroughly before the interview. It’s hard to list the questions they’ll ask, because the questions will be about your application. Expect questions on conflicts/difficulties at work and how you handled
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Published: March 19, 2006
Yale SOM MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Adcom / Off-Campus / Round 2
Interview was held with the adcom who was visiting the West Coast. Was in a hotel room and lasted about 45 minutes. Interview began with questions about my educational background. I was somewhat surprised by the level of detail sought – the interviewer asked me about educational choices made beginning from high school. This was followed by a discussion of my career. Once again he got into a lot of specifics about things I’d done. This was followed by the Why MBA in a kind of “what do you want to do next?” fashion. He then asked me about which
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Published: March 16, 2006
UVA / Darden MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Hub Interview, Adcom
This was an interview with Ms. Kathleen Grant, a member of the Darden Admissions Committee. The interview was very relaxed. She talked a lot about Darden and how they are unique. Then, we moved on to the questions. The interview lasted nearly an hour. QUESTIONS: Introduction Resume walk-through Why an MBA? Why Darden? How did you first begin investigating Darden? Describe how you experiences will help make a contribution to the Darden community. Are there any questions about Darden that you wish to ask?
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Published: March 14, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R2 / On Campus
My Wharton interviewer was very cordial and professional. He was relaxed and friendly for a few moments in the interview, but most of the time he was very formal and on task. We joked initially about the closet-like nature of the interviewing room and the clock situated directly above my head. His questions were not pointed in any way. Most questions felt routine with the occasional follow-up question as to why I made a certain decision. The interview took exactly 30 minutes, which was more than enough time to make your main points. I emailed him later that day, and
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Published: March 14, 2006
Harvard MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2
Interview questions: Tell me about your role. Are you able to drive change since you work in a small subsidiary of a large company? Tell me about how your leadership style has evolved? How would you communicate differently to senior leaders at your company vs. at a non-profit organization you worked for? Tell me about a recent failure in the workplace. Tel me about a conflict you recently experienced Tell me about a leadership experience outside your essays. Do you really think your career objective is achievable? What would the organization you propose look like? How would you secure funding?
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