Top Business Schools Report Healthy Application Volume Increases
When GMAT test-taking volume jumped by 11 percent for the year ending last June, those watching the MBA admissions space had reason to suspect that application volume at top schools might follow suit. Recent articles from Bloomberg BusinessWeek and Poets & Quants reveal exactly that, with Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, the University of Virginia’s Darden School and the University of Chicago’s Booth School all reporting double-digit increases in the number of students applying to their two-year, full-time MBA programs.
Bloomberg BW last week surveyed its top-10 ranked business schools, discovering that half were reporting significant increases in application volume, ending a three-year decline. Johnson led the pack, with an increase of 12 percent, followed by Darden, at 11 percent, and Chicago Booth, at 10 percent.
P&Q reports that Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business blew even those numbers out of the water: Applications to that school’s two-year MBA program swelled by 25 percent after it moved up the Bloomberg BW rankings four places, to 15th, last year. Continue reading…
Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management Sees Application Volume Rebound
After a 7 percent drop in applications to its two-year, full-time MBA program last year, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management saw double-digit application volume increases this year to all of its MBA programs, according to a recent article in Poets&Quants. Interest in the school’s one-year MBA program for undergraduate business majors was especially great, with 30 percent more applicants this year over last, Kellogg Dean Sally Blount told P&Q.
Blount bragged about the school’s waitlist, calling it “awfully beautiful” and noting that it is filled with candidates with GMAT scores of 720 and higher. She credited the school’s new senior leadership team – as well as its strategy to build enrollment in its one-year program while shrinking its traditional two-year program – for the application volume growth. Kellogg last year increased the size of its one-year program by 15 percent, to 100 students. Continue reading…
Tell Us Tuesdays: Submit an MBA Interview Report from MIT / Sloan, U. Penn / Wharton, Yale SOM, Northwestern / Kellogg or Columbia and Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!
Welcome to May’s first edition of Tell Us Tuesdays, where we highlight MBA interview reports that have recently been posted to our Interview Archive! Over the past week, we have received interview reports from Chicago Booth.
The Clear Admit team greatly appreciates all of the interview reports we’ve received this admissions season! If you’re interested in sharing your experience, we’ll be awarding a $10 Amazon gift certificate toevery applicant who submits an interview report for MIT / Sloan, U. Penn / Wharton, Yale SOM, Northwestern / Kellogg or Columbia through next Tuesday, May 14th at 4 p.m. EST! All you have to do is send us your interview field report for the selected schools for inclusion in the Interview Archive and we’ll send you a $10 Amazon gift certificate. We will notify the winners by e-mail (Limit: one gift card per person).
The most helpful and informative reports usually include the following information:
- Date/Admissions Round
- Description of visit and/or interview atmosphere
- Type of interview (alum vs. adcom, blind vs. application-based)
- 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?)
Applicants who would like to supplement the information available on the Interview Archive can check out our Clear Admit Interview Guides, which provide school-specific insight about admissions interviews. Good luck interviewing!
Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 3 / Second-year student / On-Campus
I interviewed with a second-year who works in admissions. It was very informal, and lasted about an hour. Below are the questions she asked me:
-Walk me through your résumé
-Tell me a time when you faced a conflict
-Tell me about your leadership style / how did you develop it?
-Why Kellogg? Why MBA?
-What do you plan to do after school?
-What will you contribute on campus?
-What questions do you have for me?
Then she asked me a few questions about two items on my resume.
Tell Us Tuesdays: Submit an MBA Interview Report from Berkeley / Haas, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU / Stern, or Dartmouth / Tuck and Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!
Welcome to our weekly edition of Tell Us Tuesdays, where we highlight MBA interview reports that have recently been posted to our Interview Archive! Over the past week, applicants have sent us nearly three dozen new reports from schools such as MIT/Sloan and Berkeley/Haas .
Thank you to everyone who has contributed information to the Clear Admit Interview Archive this admissions season! If you’re interested in sharing your experience, we’ll be awarding a $10 Amazon gift certificate to every third applicant who submits an interview report for Berkeley / Haas, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU / Stern, or Dartmouth / Tuck through next Tuesday, April 23rd at 4 p.m. EST! All you have to do is send us your interview field report for the selected schools for inclusion in the Interview Archive and we’ll send you a $10 Amazon gift certificate. We will notify the winners by e-mail (Limit: one gift card per person).
The most helpful and informative reports usually include the following information:
- Date/Admissions Round
- Description of visit and/or interview atmosphere
- Type of interview (alum vs. adcom, blind vs. application-based)
- 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?)
Applicants who would like to supplement the information available on the Interview Archive can check out our Clear Admit Interview Guides, which provide school-specific insight about admissions interviews. Good luck interviewing!
Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2/ Alumnus / Off-campus
We were at the Starbucks. Interview was casual.
1 Walk me through your resume.
2 Elaborate on work experience after MBA.
3 Why MBA?
4 Why not School XYZ?
5 What would you do if your boss doesn’t favor you and puts you in a bad position?
6 What would you bring to Kellogg?
7 Why not 1 year?
8 Questions?
We spent 1 hr and 20 mins.
It was a ding.
Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / Phone
Usual questions – interviewer was from adcom and set expectations straight
1. walk me through your resume
2. why I changed a couple of jobs that I did ?
3. Key learnings from each job
4. weaknesses
5. any questions for me
6. Open ended question – will give you a minute to say anything you want to say outside of what I have been asking
Felt comfortable with the interviewer – was called for an interview after an initial waiver. I do not know what that means.
All the best to everyone – applied to wharton, tuck and columbia as well but no good news from any of them thus far.
Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-campus
Overview: My interview took place on Kellogg Interview Day (KID).
As soon as I reached the venue, I was asked to submit my resume.
I was later informed that my interviewer would go through my resume for 15 mins
before the start of the interview. (That is why they asked for resumes at the reception counter.)
The interview was blind. My resume was the only information my interviewer had.
The interview lasted for 45 mins as was mentioned in the email.
Questions:
- Walk me through your resume.
- Did you face any problems when you first came to “country X”?
- Did you first start your job in “your home country”?
- Explain to me how “your products” are developed at “your company”.
- Give me an example of your leadership experience.
- Give me an example of a difficulty you faced in your career. How did you overcome it?
- Why do you want to do an MBA?
- What are your short term and long term goals and why Kellogg?
- How is the Kellogg program different from other general management programs?
- How will you contribute to Kellogg?
- You have mentioned in your resume something about “your extra-currics”. What do you mean?
- Is there anything else you want me to convey to the adcoms?
- Anything more
- Any questions for me?
I was also asked a few follow-up questions regarding my work.
Atmosphere: The interviewer was friendly and he created a very relaxed atmosphere.
The interview was conversational and we spoke a lot about economy X, current challenges, ways to improve, etc.
He also knew my undergraduate college and had a positive impression about it.
What I felt: The discussions about the economy, my undergraduate experiences, etc.
helped me to build a strong rapport with my interviewer.
Towards the end, he said something on the lines of “I am going to recommend you” but I am not sure
what to make of it.
We had exchanged business cards at the beginning of the interview. I sent him a thank you note.
We are still in touch and are now discussing when to meet next.
Surprises: None
What didn’t surprise me: It seemed my interviewer’s biggest agenda was to check my “fit” with Kellogg.
Conclusions about Kellogg from this experience:
Kellogg is really big on “teamwork and collaboration” (cliche I know!).
What I mean is, if a person cannot talk and form bonds with other people at work,
Kellogg is not the school to go.
Kellogg truly believes that it takes strong interpersonal skills to excel in the field of business and management.
Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Admissions Officer / On-Campus
The interviewer was pretty friendly. she said the interview would last 30 mins and it lasted for about 40 minutes.
My questions were as follows not exactly in that order.
1. Can you talk about your education background
2. Why did you choose to work for xxx
3. Why did u switch your company
4. If I were to call your team and ask them about your positive points, what would they say?
5. Following that, what do you think your team will say your negative points are and on giving my answer she asked me “why is that a negative point, can you explain”
6. How would you describe your leadership style and give me an example.
7. I applied for the 1 Y program, so she asked me why 1 Yr
8. what was the biggest accomplished at your work place.
9. Did you ever have to think outside the box, give me an example of that situation in college and at workplace.
10. why do you think Kellogg can help you achieve your goals, why not some other school
11. what are your short and long term goals
12. how will you contribute to the school
Any questions for me:
1. I asked her about the new construction Kellogg is thinking of, and asked her if the students are providing any kind of input
2. the digital effort Kellogg is working on
and a couple more.
I think the interview went well, but that’s my feeling and also there is no wrong answer for anything. I did multiple mock interviews so I was pretty prepared with all my answers. My mock interview and strategy session with clear admit was very helpful.
Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round1/Alumnus/Off-Campus
My interviewer let me choose the place, so I chose a coffeeshop in a hotel, which is quite quiet.
Interview was casual, we chit-chat a bit before interview.
He asked me to walk through resume first, then he just randomly pointed interesting point and asked me to elaborate more on that. Then he asked follow up questions
After that, these are the questions he asked.
1. What motivates you when your boss doesn’t favor you and puts you in a bad position?
2. Which quality you didn’t know that you had before working? And you were surprised that you can do it.
3. What do you think are the qualities that a good leader should have?
4. Tell me the time when you have to deal with bad leaders. How did you deal with them?
5. What is the most difficult task? Is it about dealing with people, analyzing things, or persuading executives? How did you deal with them?
After an interview, we chit chat more about his experience at Kellogg.
We spent 1 hr and 20 mins.
And I got an offer from Kellogg 1Y MBA program 
Kellogg MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2/ Alumnus/ Off-campus
Hi,
The conversation was smooth,nice and very friendly. We met at a coffee shop. He had my resume and went on it briefly prior to the meeting, from what I can say. He said it will be about 45 minutes, we ended in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
The questions were as follows:
1) Walk me through your resume. Asked a few follow up questions regarding my career, undergraduate studies etc.
2) Why do you want an MBA (which led to more questions – which students did I talk to, what were your impressions…)
3) How will you contribute to the school?
4) Tell me about a time you worked in a team, and your team was encountering difficulties.
4) Tell me about a time you thought that you see the solution to a problem, but your teamembersmanager didn’t see it as you?
6) What qualities define a great leader in your view? Tell me about a great leader that impressed you.
7) What do you define as a difficult task? which tasks you do like to do?
8) my questions to him.
Featured Products
Recent Tweets
MBA Admissions Mashup
Beat The GMAT Forums
- Ask Clear Admit :: RE: Profile Evaluation - MS Finance Programs
- Ask Clear Admit :: RE: Should I re-apply to McCombs
- Ask Clear Admit :: Profile evaluation and suggested schools
- Ask Clear Admit :: GMAT 660/5 years Experience/ 3.8 GPA (Indian)
- Ask Clear Admit :: RE: Profile evaluation- GMAT-760(Q50,V42)
