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: January 20, 2007
Duke / Fuqua MBA Admissions Interview Questions: On-campus / student / Round 1
A second year candidate who was fairly reserved and discerning conducted the interview. Because of this the interview seemed more formal than some of the others I have had. The interviewer was in a class I visited earlier in the day, so he asked me what I thought of it. He had a copy of my resume. The first question was the standard “walk me through your resume”. Additional questions: If you were going to assemble an ideal team, who would you choose for it and why? What is the difference between a leader and a manager? Describe a time
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Published: January 19, 2007
Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Alumni / Round 2
Interview was held at Goldman Sachs in NYC as part of an interview day. Met with an alumni from the class of 2005. He was a one year student, but was able to answer all my questions about the two year program. Nice guy, conversational, wrote a lot while I was talking, but he did make the effort to glance up and look at me from time to time. Most of the questions he asked are already in here. Standard walk me through your resume, tell me about teamwork experiences, leadership experiences in and out of work/school, what have you
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Published: January 18, 2007
Yale SOM MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / On-campus / student
The second year student who conducted my interview was very friendly and intelligent. The interview was relaxed and comfortable. The interviewer had a copy of my resume. Since his background was in the same industry, he was most interested in the transitions between companies I had worked for and the reasons underlying those decisions. The interview was brief and conversational, yet professional; it focused mostly on the basics with just a couple industry specific questions. Interview Questions: 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. How do you see the future for your industry? 3. Why are you interested in Yale?
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Published: January 17, 2007
Berkeley / Haas Round 1 Interview Report (Intl location)
I had an interview this morning with <Alum> at his office. He is a senior partner at Big consultancy. Alum was very friendly and the whole interview was conversational. Half the interview was about him talking about his experiences, his motivations, his school decision, what to look out for at HAAS and his favorite classes and Profs. He also compared HAAS and its benefits and disadvantages to the other programs that I was applying to. This cleared a lot of questions that I had regarding the program and was planning to ask. He asked me the following questions as part
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Published: January 6, 2007
Ross MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Off-Campus / Alumni / R1
Had some trouble with the logistics because of weather and construction. Arrived early to calm the nerves and prepare. Setting was a typical corporate environment (the alumnus’s work location). Started very informal as we walked to a conference room (chatted about the weather and my commute). When we got comfortable in the conference room the alumnus then launched into the standard questions. After about 30 minutes, when it came time for me to ask questions, it became much more conversational. Alumnus Questions posed: Tell me a little about yourself? Tell me a little about the positions you’ve worked in?
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Published: December 27, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / On campus
I interviewed with a second year student. Started with my resume, the interviewer tried to understand my past experience flow. It took us between 5-10 minutes to finish this. Then he asked why MBA with so much experience, followed by why Wharton. He interrupted me in the middle of my Why Wharton answer and started asking about the leadership story. That was followed by the my leadership styles. I gave examples of at work and community services. Rest of the questions were my team work experience and how to resolve team conflicts. He also asked about the long term, short
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Published: December 25, 2006
Harvard MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / alum
I was asked to interview with an alum. We met in the alum’s office My interviewer was very warm and personable. We spoke for a few minutes about the weather (It was unusally cold that day). The interviewer explained to me the purpose of this interview and told me that the adcom wanted him to ask me a few specific questions and that he would follow up with some questions of his own. From the type of questions I was asked on my essays, I understood that the interviewer had thoroughly read my application and essays (He did not read
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Published: December 24, 2006
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R1, Alumni
I interviewed with a local alum. After going back and forth over email, we found a mutually convenient time to meet at his office. There was _nothing_ surprising about the interview. All the questions were asked in a very conversational, yet professional, tone. 10 minutes of icebreakers/small-talk. When did you realize you needed an MBA? Time when you saw poor leadership at work? Time when you did something that impacted people (in work or outside of it). Why Stanford? Favorite course at school, and why? <insert more generic questions here> Overall, it was a very pleasant conversation. My interviewer was
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Published: December 19, 2006
London Business School MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alumni
Interview was conducted in English. It took place on a weekday evening in my interviewers office. He received my current application, essays and CV. No recommendation letters or even the recommenders’ titles, no last year application (I am a reapplicant). He was curious “what were those huge improvements and changes that made adcoms consider you this year” so we talked about my last year aspirations as well. I wasn’t asked about Life and Universe and Everything (I mean why MBA, why NOW, why LBS), but this question loomed in the air. What I was asked: Your short-term and long-term goals.
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Published: December 19, 2006
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R1, Alumni
I interviewed with an alum. The interview began after some initial chit chat and lasted for 45 minutes. The interviewer was extremely friendly. The interview itself was more of a dialogue rather than a set of questions followed by my answers and his taking notes. Here are the questions that I was asked: What has been your most rewarding experience among your two jobs and education? Why is this so? What have you learnt from this experience? How have you evolved as a person? Why do you feel the need for an MBA when your career seems to be going
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Published: December 18, 2006
Yale SOM MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1, Adcom
My interview was with an admissions officer in November 2006. She was incredibly nice. The atmosphere was relaxed. It completely threw me off. I went in expecting a hard grilling session and had studied tons of interview questions. That was a mistake. The interview started with a “walk me through your resume” question. Basically, I think I blew it because I was deconstructing other answers in my head and re-forming it as I talked. Not smart on my part because it came out jumbled, or at least I thought so. Time alloted was 30 minutes. We went to 45. Not
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Published: December 17, 2006
London Business School MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alumni
Location: His office in a stylish skyscraper. Time: Early morning His sector: Private Equity His Previous Job: Consulting My background: Sales/Marketing in a famous multinational.Only 3 years experience but good progress. Strong GMAT/GPA. Strong Essays. Summary We bought coffee and muffins from the cafe downstairs; immediately he put me at ease by being very friendly. I asked him questions about the deal his firm was trying to close.(something I learned by researching about him) Interviewer had read my application carefully. He had specific questions to ask,making the interview experience similar to that of HBS. He walked me through his own resume first,then said ,now it is you
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Published: December 17, 2006
Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Telephonic / second year student / Round 1
NOTE: My interview was earlier waived, citing heavy application load. After reviewing my application, AdComm invited me to have a telephonic interview. I called AdComm to schedule an interview and this post is a briefing of the telephonic interview. I spoke with a second year student as a part of the Kellogg admission process. The call came in 20 minutes late. The interviewer seems to have had some trouble reaching me. The interview started with apologies from either end, she for having kept me waiting and me for the trouble she had in reaching me. The interview began with the
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Published: December 14, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / On campus
I scheduled an on-campus interview for Round 1 Interview on Dec 1st 2006. I would really like to say that credit must go to Wharton for making the Interview atmosphere stress-free and very friendly. Even though, all applicants sit in their dark-blue / black suits in a common waiting area, first-year students keep dropping by and really make applicants comfortable. I would also like to mention that the Lady attendant in the MBA admissions office at Wharton deserves special credit; she is very cheerful and makes the applicants at ease before the interview. Coming to the questions I was asked
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Published: December 14, 2006
Stanford GSB MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R1, Alumni
I interviewed with an alum. The interview lasted for 45 minutes and after some conversation on sports and weather, we dived into the interview immediately. My interviewer explained the admissions process and told me that I will have an opportunity to ask questions at the end. Here are the questions that were asked: Why do you need an MBA? My interviewer then asked me about a specific volunteer work that I was doing and asked me to elaborate on how I felt working for that organization Can you talk about an instance at work that made you realize you need
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Published: December 13, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: LAUDER / Round 1
Here are the questions he asked: 1. Tell me a little bit about your career, starting from university, why you chose that university, etc. 2. Tell me a little bit about your experience working in London – how was it different from working in an emerging market, etc. 3. What are your short-term and long-term goals? 4. Why Western Europe and French? 5. Elaborate on the similarities between Western Europe and emerging markets (something I mentioned in my previous response) 6. When did you first start learning French and how has that progressed? Have you been on an immersion experience
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Published: December 13, 2006
Chicago Booth MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1, Alum
I had my Chicago GSB interview in the morning today with an alum in his office. He is an entrepreneur and heads his own company. I reached his office 20 minutes early. We started the interview 10 minutes before the stipulated time. He didn’t have a copy of my resume. I had brought 3-4 copies so i gave him one. The interview was ok. The inetrviewer was passionate and enthusiastic. It was more of a discussion than interview. The alum had some 20 years of total experience, so he handled the interview quite maturely. Some of the questions i remember
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Published: December 9, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / On campus
My interview was on campus with a second year student. The time went by quite fast so I felt like I was not asked a lot of questions. The interviewer made me very comfortable and asked me the following: Walk me through your resume. Can you give some details on what you do at work? Why Mba, why Wharton? Why now? Please talk about one of your strengths and one weakness Do you want to mention anything that the adcoms should be concerned about that you may not have communicated in the application? Do you have any questions for me?
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Published: December 8, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Reapplicant / Round 1 / Adcom
I had my interview with Marilyn Yakowitz from adcom. Just like last time, it was a very comfortable and positive experience. I had prepared the same questions as I had been asked last time, and also more on developments since last time, etc. The interview was scheduled for 30 minutes, but went on for 40. I told her upfront that I am a reapplicant, and a first time applicant to Lauder. Here are the questions she asked: 1. It’s interesting to see you went to university in Canada and England. Why did you choose these countries? 2. Why did you
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Published: December 7, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / On Campus
The Wharton interview went well. I was interviewed by a second year student. It was very conversational. There were quite a few laughters and “Good … Very Good” comments during the interview. I was asked the following questions: 1. Explain how you have made all the academic and career choices so far 2. Example of teamwork, what makes you succeed as a team leader 3. Define leadership, which of those attributes do you possess 4. Why MBA and why Wharton 5. What would you have contributed to Wharton at the end of 2 years? 6. Why did you start the
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Published: December 6, 2006
London Business School MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alumni
The interview lasted over 1.5 hours. The interviewer was very personable, and we met in her office. These are roughly the questions I was asked (tough to remember all of them given that the interview was quite long). Tell me about your job. What are your responsibilities? What do you do on an average day? What do you like about your role? What do you dislike about it? What are you strengths and weaknesses? Give me an example of leadership (this is where I was told that I needed to provide a more recent professional example). How do you deal
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Published: December 6, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / On Campus
The interview was very structured (yet still relaxed) and the 2nd year student seemed like he wanted to hit certain points. Overall, the interview lasted 40 minutes or so. 1) Why did I pick to work at XYZ? 2) Why MBA? Why Wharton? 3) ST/LT Goals 4) What do I bring to Wharton? This took about 15-20 minutes or so. Then the next section was pretty much all teamwork questions. 5) Time that you had to encourage a team member who wasn’t performing. 6) Time that you had to challenge a manager. 7) Why do you think Wharton has
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Published: December 6, 2006
Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / student
The Wharton interview was more of a conversation than an interview. I interviewed with a 2nd year student on Wharton’s campus. I could have done an alumni interview in my home city, but I wanted to check out the school, as I had not visited before. The interview is blind (the interviewer only has your resume). What led you to your current job? Why do you need an MBA? When I told him what I wanted to do post-MBA, he followed up with Why do you want to go into that field? He also happened to know something about that
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Published: December 3, 2006
Chicago Booth MBA Admissions Interview Questions: On campus, Student, Round 1
All of the questions that I was asked are already listed on this page. The interviewer was friendly and stuck to the standard MBA interview format. The interviewer probed why I was pursuing an MBA now because I would have less than 5 years of experience when I start the program. I am planning a career change, so I mentioned how continuing in my current path isn’t going to be much useful in the long run. I also reiterated how leadership experiences acquired through work and extracurricular have prepared me for my future career. The best way to prepare for
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Published: November 29, 2006
Columbia MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Alumni / ED
I had no trouble contacting one of the three alumni about an interview. The alum asked me to email my resume beforehand. The day of the interview, I met with him in his offices. He was friendly yet professional. There was no “take me through your resume” question… Right off the bat, he asked why business school – but then limited my answer by saying “but i don’t want to hear its because you need to learn about finance and accounting to start your own business, because you can always hire someone else to do that ” (I plan to
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