Welcome to the first ‘Wiki Wednesdays’ column of the 2007-08 season, where we take a look at new and noteworthy additions to the Clear Admit Wiki. For those unfamiliar, the wiki is intended to serve as a repository of information learned by applicants as they progress through the MBA admissions process. The wiki includes MBA interview reports, field accounts of campus visits, school selection stories and more. Much like Wikipedia, it’s a free resource with content that is driven entirely by its users. At this point in the admissions process, we’re beginning to see some great contributions to the wiki from applicants who have already interviewed. Applicants have recently posted detailed reports on their interviews at Kellogg, HBS, Wharton, Columbia, Tuck and Yale SOM – and we’re expecting more in the coming weeks!
This week we’d like to focus on the Kellogg interview. While most schools offer interviews on an invitation-only basis, Kellogg gives all applicants the opportunity to interview. Though the system does operate on a first come, first served basis, applicants can choose between an on-campus interview or an alumni interview in a more convenient location. One recent applicant commented on the value of scheduling an on-campus interview:
“I sat in on Prof. Haviv’s financial decisions class, took a tour, and had lunch with some students. All of this really helped reinforce my desire to attend Kellogg. It also helped motivate me for my interview!”
Another applicant shared a similarly positive on-campus experience, but warned:
“One piece of advice if you are interviewing on campus: check out the schedule of events for that day first to make sure your interview lines up with the activities you want to do.”
While the value of visiting campus is fairly universal, one Kellogg-specific trend is also apparent in the recent Wiki posts. In comparison to other schools that conduct blind, resume-based interviews, we’ve noticed in recent years that Kellogg interviewers tend to pose more industry-specific questions. Several applicants reported questions to the same effect:
“Why did you take your current job? How big is your company? What does your company specialize in? (She asked me very specific questions about my company that I could have never prepared for.)”
“(Specific to my background) Do you want to focus on government issues in your practical opportunities at Kellogg?”
“The one question that caught me off-guard was the interviewer’s suggestion to apply for the MMM program (engineering management & MBA dual degree). I would recommend all engineering applicants to at least have a good sense of what the program is and why it is/ isn’t a good fit. The other engineers in my session were asked the same question.”
Given these three accounts, applicants would be wise to prepare for in-depth discussions of their present and future industries. In addition, applicants may be asked to comment on an element of the Kellogg program that relates directly to his or her industry – just one more reason to do some thorough research on the program in preparation for the interview!
Thanks to everyone who posted interview reports in the past few weeks! As we continue to build this great applicant-generated resource, we look forward to seeing more accounts of readers’ interviews, campus visits, and general application experiences in the near future!
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