This seems like a harmless inquiry, and indeed poses a great opportunity, but there’s actually a fine line to walk here.  You certainly want to take advantage of this opportunity to show the interviewer that you appreciate his or her time, perspective and knowledge.  In determining what to ask, however, you need to avoid those questions to which you could easily find an answer on the school’s website (remember that it’s imperative that you show you’ve done your homework), as well as those that are so specific or obscure that they will stump the interviewer.  Another sort of question to avoid are those that seem to be critical of the program or too concerned with other applicants; now is not the time to ask about application volume or the strength of the pool this year.

What does that leave?  More than you might initially expect.  We’ve found that a great approach is to ask your interviewer about his or her own perspective and experience.  Current students and alums who involve themselves in the admissions process are generally those who are having or have had a positive experience in business school.  If your interviewer falls into one of these categories, he or she will likely appreciate the chance to talk about a favorite class or professor or comment on involvement in a certain club.  Meanwhile, when engineering questions to pose to full-time admissions staff, remember that these individuals likely have less in-depth information but a longer-term perspective on the program than would someone who is currently attending or has attended the school.

Armed with these tips, you should be able to foster a positive and productive conversation, learn a bit more about the program in question, and make a positive impression on your interviewer.

If you have further inquiries about the best questions to pose in your interview (or any other aspect of the interview process), contact Clear Admit directly and sign up for our mock interview service (info@clearadmit.com).  We offer school-by-school interview guides, strategy sessions and mock interviews to help you perform at your best on interview day.  Also, do not forget to use the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Wiki as a resource for interview preparations!  If you want help with impressing your interviewer based on your in-depth, school-specific knowledge, check out the Clear Admit School Guides to leading b-schools.

“You are greeted with a t-shirt and a packet of information related to your interests. For myself it was Entertainment and Stern Women in Business. My interviewer came out a few minutes late to greet me, a member of the AdCom, and we made small talk on our way to the office about my trip to NYC.

The interviewer started out by asking me about one of my interests listed on my resume. From there the interview became more like a job interview with very directed questions:

Overall I feel is though it went ok. It was less conversational than other interviews I’ve had and felt much more like a job interview, which surprised me since Stern has a “Down to Earth” mentality. I was told I would find out in approximately 3 weeks (not necessarily before the Feb. 15th notification deadline).  Good luck and hope this helps!”

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!

“I was interviewed for 40 minutes as opposed to 30 minutes.  My interviewer right away said that it was a 45 minute interview.  Although one of the persons I was waiting with had a 1 hour interview and the other had only a half hour interview.  I guess the duration was not strictly 30 minutes.

2. The questions were standard but asked in a different style.  He asked all those questions using the resume.

Questions asked:

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!

“Applied to Columbia back in mid-October 2011 and received an invite to interview on December 23. Emailed all of my interview ambassadors (nine in total) and had to wait about a week and a half before the first one responded, most likely due to the holidays. Set up the interview on the following Friday January 13th with a recent alumnus who just graduated in May. Sent him my resume beforehand.

The interview was very informal – took place at a Starbucks. It lasted for about a hour and he asked me some obligatory questions to be filled out on the Columbia form. It went like this:

Then we spent the last 15-20 minutes talking about his time there and what it takes to succeed at Columbia. He was very nice and encouraging and we had a great, candid conversation. He submitted his feedback form on the following Tuesday 1/17 and I received my acceptance from Columbia on 1/23.”

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!

“The tone of my interview was conversational and the majority of questions the interviewer asked me I had seen before on the Clear Admit Wiki. There were two, however, that I had not seen and that took me by surprise:

1. What is a misconception people have about you?

2. Kellogg involves a lot of quant work. Can you tell me where on your resume you’ve had experience with quant? (In retrospect, this was a predictable question as I come from a liberal arts background and it’s an obvious weak point in my application. Luckily, my answer was the same as my “Tell us anything additional about yourself” essay.)

My interview was 35-40 minutes and I left feeling like I was able to weave a pretty good picture of myself. When I emailed my interviewer to thank her for her time (I used the general MBA Admissions email and addressed it “Attn: Interviewer Name” as she instructed.) I received an email back saying that the changes I had noted had been made to my application. I’m unsure how my thank you note was construed as an email making changes to my application, but my online file appears to be in tact!”

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!

“My visit to campus began with my interview with a second-year. Hanover just received 6 inches of snow the day before so the logical first question was ‘how was the trip’? From discussions with students and alumni, this question is more geared to understanding whether you are comfortable coming all the way out to Hanover, so I would advise to answer back accordingly even if there is 20 inches of snow on the ground. The rest of the interview was relaxed, but not quite as relaxing as expected. There were one or two questions thrown out from the interviewers list that were not expected, but the interview ultimately became more of a conversation as we talked about why he decided on Tuck and the impact on his wife and family (I am engaged so the Partners club became a hot topic for us). After the interview, I went into town to grab coffee with my fiancee and we ran into friends of hers from college. After they left, another couple from Tuck asked me if I was visiting campus and how things were going and they were extremely friendly. This was a reoccurring theme through the lunch and student tours as friendly faces met us wherever we went. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, which left me with higher impressions of Tuck than I had anticipated.

List of interview questions

I wish I attended the campus tour and student lunch prior to my interview. It would have given me better talking point about connections with the community and the culture of tuck, while giving me the confidence to talk freely about personal interests at Tuck. It was clear that my student was interested in a classmate who wasn’t just in the classroom, but a friend in the community and I found myself wavering on whether to discuss his involvement in things like the Hockey club, or Tuesday nights with the Whiskey club. I feel that these can be traps to see whether you are looking for 2 years off from work, or to really achieve professional growth from your MBA experience, but I definitely got the impression that the social . . . → Continue Reading]]> Take a peek at the latest addition to the Clear Admit Wiki, a free online resource for MBA applicants to share their experiences with the admissions process!  This Round 3 candidate for Dartmouth / Tuck shared the following account with a second-year student interviewer:

“My visit to campus began with my interview with a second-year. Hanover just received 6 inches of snow the day before so the logical first question was ‘how was the trip’? From discussions with students and alumni, this question is more geared to understanding whether you are comfortable coming all the way out to Hanover, so I would advise to answer back accordingly even if there is 20 inches of snow on the ground. The rest of the interview was relaxed, but not quite as relaxing as expected. There were one or two questions thrown out from the interviewers list that were not expected, but the interview ultimately became more of a conversation as we talked about why he decided on Tuck and the impact on his wife and family (I am engaged so the Partners club became a hot topic for us). After the interview, I went into town to grab coffee with my fiancee and we ran into friends of hers from college. After they left, another couple from Tuck asked me if I was visiting campus and how things were going and they were extremely friendly. This was a reoccurring theme through the lunch and student tours as friendly faces met us wherever we went. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, which left me with higher impressions of Tuck than I had anticipated.

List of interview questions

1. How was the trip?
2. Will your fiancée be coming with you if you attend here?
3. Walk me through your resume?
4. What do you hope to do with your time here?
5. What are your long term goals?
6. What are you three greatest strengths and weaknesses?
7. It’s 5pm on a Friday, what’s your plan for the weekend?
8. What clubs do you hope to participate in?
9. If I’m the admissions officer and you can tell me 3 things that you can bring to Tuck, what would they be?
10. What questions do you have for me?

I wish I attended the campus tour and student lunch prior to my interview. It would have given me better talking point about connections with the community and the culture of tuck, while giving me the confidence to talk freely about personal interests at Tuck. It was clear that my student was interested in a classmate who wasn’t just in the classroom, but a friend in the community and I found myself wavering on whether to discuss his involvement in things like the Hockey club, or Tuesday nights with the Whiskey club. I feel that these can be traps to see whether you are looking for 2 years off from work, or to really achieve professional growth from your MBA experience, but I definitely got the impression that the social scene at Tuck is a very important part of the experience there and wish I had opened up a bit more.”

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!

“List of interview questions:

Commentary (What did you think of the interview? What surprised you? What didn’t surprise you? What might you conclude about the school based on this experience?):

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!

“I interviewed on campus with a second year student. There were numerous other activities scheduled for your interview day such as class visits and lunch with current students and professors. I had attended one of the Darden Open House days prior to my interview so I did not stay for any of the additional events. The student I interviewed with my very friendly and after answering the initial question it became much more conversational.

The interview was completely blind without a copy of my resume.

The interview began my student interviewer telling me that this was my opportunity to ‘tell my story’ and that I would have about 20 to 30 minutes to tell him about myself. I included information on the normal interview questions you would expect such as my work history, short and long term career goals, why I want to pursue an MBA, why now and why Darden as well as hobbies and personal interests. While the time they give you for this seems long, structuring your answer around the normal interview questions makes it a bit more structured. Also, my interviewing interjected on occasion so it made it feel a little less like a monologue. Following this he asked if I had any questions for him – we had a quick conversation about recruiting and what his plans are for after graduation as well as life at Darden outside of class and in Charlottesville. He was very enthusiastic about the program which made the interview have a more casual feel.

Thankfully I was somewhat prepared for the interview format or else I would likely have found the time they allot you a bit overwhelming. Practicing how you want to structure your response is definitely crucial in this case. Because of the case method at Darden, it seems that this format is used to make sure you are comfortable speaking without specific prompting and can convey information clearly and articulately. Also, because there are not many follow up questions, I would suggest to future applicant that you are aware of what accomplishments or key projects you have worked on that you want to include as you will likely not have the chance to do so later.

Interview length: 45 minutes.”

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank . . . → Continue Reading]]> In the midst of Round 1 interviews, this candidate for UVA / Darden shared the following experience with a second-year student:

“I interviewed on campus with a second year student. There were numerous other activities scheduled for your interview day such as class visits and lunch with current students and professors. I had attended one of the Darden Open House days prior to my interview so I did not stay for any of the additional events. The student I interviewed with my very friendly and after answering the initial question it became much more conversational.

The interview was completely blind without a copy of my resume.

The interview began my student interviewer telling me that this was my opportunity to ‘tell my story’ and that I would have about 20 to 30 minutes to tell him about myself. I included information on the normal interview questions you would expect such as my work history, short and long term career goals, why I want to pursue an MBA, why now and why Darden as well as hobbies and personal interests. While the time they give you for this seems long, structuring your answer around the normal interview questions makes it a bit more structured. Also, my interviewing interjected on occasion so it made it feel a little less like a monologue. Following this he asked if I had any questions for him – we had a quick conversation about recruiting and what his plans are for after graduation as well as life at Darden outside of class and in Charlottesville. He was very enthusiastic about the program which made the interview have a more casual feel.

Thankfully I was somewhat prepared for the interview format or else I would likely have found the time they allot you a bit overwhelming. Practicing how you want to structure your response is definitely crucial in this case. Because of the case method at Darden, it seems that this format is used to make sure you are comfortable speaking without specific prompting and can convey information clearly and articulately. Also, because there are not many follow up questions, I would suggest to future applicant that you are aware of what accomplishments or key projects you have worked on that you want to include as you will likely not have the chance to do so later.

Interview length: 45 minutes.”

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!

“I interviewed on campus in conjunction with Fuqua’s Weekend for Women, a three day recruiting event. All attendees were invited to interview during the event. Interviews were with second year students. Interviews were conducted after the first day of the event which included classes and speaker events. My interview was very casual and more of a conversation than specific questions.

The interview was based off my resume but not any other information included in my application.

The interview began with him asking me to walk him through my resume. This was the only specific question, after that it was more of a conversation. I was still able to work in future career goals, why I wanted to pursue an MBA and what it was specifically that I liked about Fuqua however just as part of the conversation and not as answers to specific questions. We also discussed recruiting, his experience at his summer internship and the general culture of Fuqua.

Overall the interview went well and I enjoyed the conversational format and that it seemed more so that I was just talking with a current student than interviewing. The other attendees of the event all had positive things to say about their interviews though some said theirs were much more formal and structured. When interviewing with students it seems as though the formality and structure is just largely a function of the personality of the person with whom you happen to interview.

Interview length: 45 minutes.”

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!

“I interviewed on campus in conjunction with the Johnson Women in Business event, a two day women’s recruiting event. I received an invitation to interview prior to the event but all attendees were invited to interview regardless of if an invitation had been extended yet. The interviews were the first part of the event followed by two days of class visits and speaker events. My interview was with a member of the admissions staff and the interview was relatively formal with structured questions. I had met the person with whom I interviewed at a prior open house in my area so because we had met before and had kept in touch over email, the interview felt a bit more informal than it would have likely otherwise.

The interview was largely based off information in my resume. I had already submitted my application but I do not know if that information was used to ask specific questions.

Interview questions:

I had a very pleasant experience with the interview and in speaking with the other attendees of the recruiting event it seemed the interviews were what people had expected. Having the opportunity to meet members of the ad com in a more casual setting such as an open house was very helpful and allowed me to establish some rapport before the actual interview so if you are able to attend any of these events, I highly recommend it. I was somewhat surprised that my interviewer pushed the subject of other schools a bit so I would recommend future applicants be prepared for this question especially if your other school choices are not direct peers of Johnson (ie larger program or in an urban area).

Interview length: 1 hour and 15 minutes, although the end was primarily just a casual conversation rather than specific questions.

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow . . . → Continue Reading]]> Welcome to another interview report posted recently to the Clear Admit Wiki, a free resource for MBA admissions applicants to share their experiences with the admissions process. This Round 1 applicant to Cornell / Johnson interviewed on-campus with an adcom member:

“I interviewed on campus in conjunction with the Johnson Women in Business event, a two day women’s recruiting event. I received an invitation to interview prior to the event but all attendees were invited to interview regardless of if an invitation had been extended yet. The interviews were the first part of the event followed by two days of class visits and speaker events. My interview was with a member of the admissions staff and the interview was relatively formal with structured questions. I had met the person with whom I interviewed at a prior open house in my area so because we had met before and had kept in touch over email, the interview felt a bit more informal than it would have likely otherwise.

The interview was largely based off information in my resume. I had already submitted my application but I do not know if that information was used to ask specific questions.

Interview questions:

1. Walk me through your resume.
2. What led you to this career path and why?
3. What are your short and long term career goals?
4. Why an MBA and why Johnson?
5. What other school are you applying to and a few follow up questions on how I compared the programs such as if I preferred the case method to lecture and how I viewed those that are farther from New York City and how I thought that would impact my experience with recruiting for finance jobs.
6. What is the role you play in a team environment?
7. Tell me about a time when you worked with a challenging team member.
8. What organization to you plan to join at Johnson?

I had a very pleasant experience with the interview and in speaking with the other attendees of the recruiting event it seemed the interviews were what people had expected. Having the opportunity to meet members of the ad com in a more casual setting such as an open house was very helpful and allowed me to establish some rapport before the actual interview so if you are able to attend any of these events, I highly recommend it. I was somewhat surprised that my interviewer pushed the subject of other schools a bit so I would recommend future applicants be prepared for this question especially if your other school choices are not direct peers of Johnson (ie larger program or in an urban area).

Interview length: 1 hour and 15 minutes, although the end was primarily just a casual conversation rather than specific questions.

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!