Welcome back to Wiki Wednesdays, where we feature some of the latest contributions to the Clear Admit Wiki! As we approach the end of interview season, we’re still receiving some great interview reports from applicants. In fact, over the last few days we’ve received submissions on interviews at no less than seven schools!
This week, we’d like to highlight a few “curveball” questions that applicants to HBS and Sloan reported this week, and that are actually quite common across the board. A curveball question is one that appears to be straightforward on the surface, but often becomes challenging when one attempts a response. The first is the much-dreaded question about the other schools the applicant is considering. One Sloan applicant reported an even more explicit version of this question:
“What other schools are you applying to, and how does MIT rank against those schools?”
While it’s best to avoid bringing up other schools during an admissions interview (to keep the focus on the merits of the school in question), when cornered into this position, it’s easiest to be candid. A safe approach is to name a few of your target schools, matching specific elements of one’s profile and goals with these other schools’ distinctive strengths to explain the reasoning behind your application.
Of course, the applicant should always conclude by discussing the school for which he or she is interviewing, offering a handful of compelling reasons why this program is best suited to their goals and criteria. Reasons like location, degree of curriculum flexibility, or style of teaching (i.e. case study method at HBS, hands-on approach at Ross, etc.) are all good options – depending the applicant’s stated strengths and goals. In addition to the academic and extracurricular fit, it’s also fine to introduce personal elements. For instance, an interviewer at Columbia would take note of an applicant whose spouse is already working in New York City, etc.
The second “curveball” this week came at the end of HBS and Sloan interviews:
“Are there any other questions you wish I had asked you?”
This question can be tough because, presumably, the interviewer has already collected the information in which he or she was most interested. That being said, applicants can think of this as an opportunity to assess what has been covered in the interview and work in any other key elements that he or she had hoped to promote to the admissions committee. This may involve some quick thinking, but many applicants are sucessfully able to describe a recent professional accomplishment (like taking on a new responsibility at work since submitting the application), or bring up a hobby or extracurricular interest that wasn’t covered in the interview – preferably one that ties in with opportunities on campus or in the community.
Lastly, in the face of a difficult question, it’s perfectly acceptable to take a moment or two to collect your thoughts and compose a thoughtful and concise answer. In fact, this is always more effective than blurting out the first thing that comes to mind or stumbling around with filler words like “uh”, “um”, “er”, etc.
That’s it for this week’s Wiki Wednesdays. Thanks again to all who contributed, and best of luck to those still preparing for upcoming MBA interviews!
