TOP business Interview tips

flyingty

Stanford

Interview: Off-Campus
Interviewer: Local Alumnus

Stanford's interviews are by invitation only, and if selected to interview, applicants will be contacted by the Admissions Committee with the name of their interviewer and his/her contact info. I interviewed with a local alumnus that worked close to my office.

The interview was approximately 45 minutes long, and was extremely informal in nature. During the course of your discussion, you will probably get a chance to ask a lot of questions about Stanford, so make sure that you are prepared to approach this opportunity with well-researched and thoughtful questions. I found the Stanford interview to be a pleasurable and educational experience.

The interview questions themselves were pretty basic - definitely make sure you know your resume well. If possible, you want to use the interview as a venue to provide additional information to the interviewer (and the Admissions Committee) that you didn't highlight in your application. However, it is worth noting that interviewers will not have seen your application materials before the interview.

Questions included: ?Tell me about your undergraduate experience.
?Why did you choose [major]?
?What sorts of activities did you participate in outside of class?
?Is there anything you would have changed about your college experience?
?Why do you want to attend Stanford?
?Why did you decide to pursue an MBA this year?
?Tell me about your most recent leadership experience.
?What do you like to do in your time outside of work?
?What accomplishment are you most proud of?

flyingty

kellogg

An excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: What's the expected increase in applications for Kellogg compared to last year?
A: Actually, we're not anticipating an increase this year because we implemented some changes in our application process [to interview all applicants]. We anticipate that we'll remain steady in our application numbers.

Q: What type of feedback are you looking for from alumni interviews? Do alumni screen out a significant portion of the pool due to "fit?"
A: Good question. Our alumni go through a training process prior to graduation. They are critical to our interview effort, and their comments are respected. The alumni provide the same type of feedback that's provided from on-campus interviewers, and the admissions rate has been within two percentage points for on-campus and off-campus interviews, so it isn't a disadvantage.

We really appreciate the job our alumni interviewers do. Interviewers are assessing intellectual ability, work experience, leadership potential, and personal attributes such as motivation and integrity. "Fit" -- that's a key component of the selection process, and interviews help us to assess it.

Q: If an applicant lacks the resources to head to Evanston for an interview, will he or she be interviewed by telephone?
A: We have about 1,200 alumni interviewers around the world, but if an alumni interviewer is not available, then we will conduct interviews by telephone.

For the full version of this Q&A

Comments from Student 1:

The Kellogg interview was an alumni interview arranged through e-mail. The Northwestern alumni interview was quite professional. It was held on a Sunday a.m. over coffee with a recent alum now working in marketing at a Fortune 500 compnay. I would describe the interview as a casual conversation touching on many of the same points as the admissions interview at [other schools] -- professional background, long terms goals, key differentiators for Northwestern, etc.

Comments from Student 2:

My Kellogg interview was very different [from my Columbia interview] in the sense that my interviewer was formerly a venture capitalist who had done work in the area of biotechnology (my field). So for most of the interview, we talked in depth about biotechnology.

I think the main message is that Kellogg questions can vary a lot depending on the interviewer. One general question that I do rememeber being asked (since I am on the younger side of the average age of applicants) was "Why are you choosing to go to business school now?" I think applicants with only 2-3 years work experience need to be prepared to explain why now is the right time for them to go to school.

This interview took place in a hotel lobby, which I would highly recommend over a coffee shop. It was easy to find a quiet space to talk and there were no distractions.

Comments from Student 3:

Interviewer: Admissions Officer
Location: At Kellogg
When: Early October
Questions asked:
[The interview was] more like a job interview than an MBA program interview. [The interviewer asked] very detailed questions, usually based on responses. I liked this interview the least.
1. If you didn't get in this year, then what would you do? (i.e. new job, apply later)
2. Why Kellogg?
3. Why an MBA? Why now?
4. Again, [there were more] questions specific to [my] resume and responses.

Comments from Student 4:

Interview location:
Northwestern: On campus
Chicago: On campus
Duke: In Nashville with a second-year student
Columbia: In Nashville with an alumni
Dartmouth: In Nashville an with alumni

Interview length: 30-60 minutes. Alumni [interviews] definitely go longer.

As a whole, I thought the interviews were very relaxed and congenial - no high-pressure tactics or "grillings". Second-year students are not as schooled in interviewing techniques and, therefore, more likely to ask scripted questions and not interact as much. All of the schools asked the expected questions: "Why B-school?" "Why our B-school?" "What will you do with an MBA?" "Long and short-term goals?" Candidates should definitely be able to answer those questions. Although I'm not a big believer in interview preparation, I would recommend at least thinking through answers to those questions.

My biggest recommendation is to show enthusiasm for the school. I believe the interviewers want to form some sort of bond with the candidate, and they want students excited about going to their university. The worst thing a candidate can do is show no emotion or personality. They have all of your essays and application info., so interviews are the opportunity to show your personality and that you are not a one-dimensional, driven to succeed, boring person. Make sure the interviewer knows you want to go to that B-school.

Simple as that sounds, I think it is important that they see your desire to attend that particular school. I think many candidates can give off the air of indifference, probably unintentionally, which will kill an interview. Interview with the same emotion for your third choice school as your first choice school.

Comments from Student 5:

I received an email from Kellogg informing me to contact an alumnus in New York City to schedule an interview. I did, and we set up an interview in a Starbucks. Completely informal, my interviewer wore jeans and a baseball cap. We chatted about random sports for a long time. He had briefly reviewed my resume before we got started. He seemed concerned that I did not know how to have a good time, and he wanted to make sure that I fit the Kellogg mold. The interview lasted about 45 minutes, and I asked questions for about half that time.

flyingty

UNC:

An excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: How do the applicants get themselves in running for an interview after Nov. 30?
A: We have a two-part application. The first part includes a resume, application fee, and data sheet. The second part is where you submit your essays, letters of recommendation, transcripts, etc. It's not required that an applicant send Part One of the application in earlier than Part Two, but it tells us that you're out there, we can review your background, [and decide whether or not to do an interview]. If we see someone who hasn't finished school yet, we don't move forward. If we see that the work experience isn't what it should be, we can catch that. The best thing people can do is to send Part One of their application in advance -- the earlier the better.

We aren't going to admit anyone we haven't had a conversation with. Sometimes, we see someone who wasn't invited or able to interview in the pre-screening season, but we read their application and see that it's someone who's a star. It's never too late for an interview until you get a decision letter -- you could be asked to interview the week decisions are mailed. Also, anyone who is waitlisted is automatically invited to interview.

For the full version of this Q&A

Comments from Student 1:

Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Date: Nov. 26, 2002

Questions asked (not in the order asked); she had an evaluation sheet she completed during the interview:
1. Where is Kenyon College (my alma mater)?
2. Why do you want an MBA?
3. What sort of leadership roles have you had?
4. What did you learn through your leadership roles?
5. How is your current job organized?
6. What are your current job responsibilities?
7. How did you acquire your current job?
8. What sort of job do you want when you graduate with an MBA?
9. Where do you envision yourself in five years?
10. Where do you envision yourself in ten years?
11. Have you participated in any sports?
12. How are bicycling and cross-country team sports (she asked this in reference to my response to question #11).

Impression: My interview was unorthodox. The interviewer and I seemed to be of the same mindset. However, our chance to talk was curtailed by the fact that the interviewer had to deal with a personal problem and take a few calls during our interview. During these moments, I just tried to appear as though I had poise. The interviewer was very gracious and seemed to understand my disappointment at having had such a strange interview, but was not able to extend the interview because of the rigorous interview schedule. In the end, I thought, "Great, I flew here for this interview, and then I don't even get the interview time I had been promised."

flyingty

Stern:

Comments from Student 1:  

In terms of my interview process, my experience was a bit of an anomaly. I applied to Stern through the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, which is offers admission to minority students at selected schools throughout the country. My interview at Stern was held during a minority recruiting weekend at Stern, and lasted about an hour. One of the most memorable parts of my interview was the "placebility" question that I got. I don't remember the exact wording, but the interviewer wanted to know how, given my entrepreneurial ambitions, I was planning on getting a job post-graduation. I assumed that question was intended to ensure that I wouldn't ruin Stern's placement statistics, but that's just my guess.

Comments from Student 2:

I applied to a total of six schools -- NYU, Columbia, Wharton, Harvard, Duke, and Georgetown -- and got interviews with four out of these six (NYU, Wharton, Duke and Georgetown). I was eventually accepted to three out of four of these schools, NYU, Duke and Georgetown -- so hopefully I'll be able to provide some helpful insights to prospective students.

In terms of questions asked, some general ones that all four schools asked included:

1) "Walk me through your resume...and why do you feel like an MBA is right for you given your experience to date?" (All schools)

2) "If your friends were sitting in this room with us, what would they tell me [interviewer] about you?" (Duke)

3) "Given your experience/background/personality, what do you think you can contribute to [the school]?" (All schools)

4) "If you had 24 hours to do anything that you wanted, what would it be and why?" (a little strange, but I got this question from both Wharton and Duke).

5) "What are your long and short-term goals post MBA?" (All schools)

6) "Describe a time when you failed -- either a project or personal goal, etc." (Duke)

7) "Describe a time that you had to work with others on a project and what the outcome was. What did you learn from it?" (Duke)

8) "Picture yourself in 20 years, as an alumni of our school. If you were at a reunion function and we were to introduce you, what would you want to be noted for?" (What personal or professional or community achievement?) (NYU)

9) "What are the specific qualities about this school that makes it attractive to you?" (All schools)

The locations and types of interviewers were as follows: NYU: On-campus at the Admissions Office with the Associate Director of Admissions
Georgetown: During the annual World MBA Forum in New York at the Grand Hyatt with a recent MBA graduate (Class of 2002)
Duke: On-campus at the Admissions Office with a second-year student (Class of 2003)
Wharton: On-campus at the Admissions Office with a second-year student (Class of 2003)

flyingty

Michigan:

An excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: How big a factor is the interview in the Michigan application? What if an applicant is unable to schedule an interview by the deadline?

Nebel: We strongly encourage all applicants to interview. As noted on the BusinessWeek Online profile, 100% of our admits are interviewed, meaning that we talk to everybody before we admit them. So if you are unable to interview, we may reach out to talk with you. But the other outcome could be that you're waitlisted, or if an applicant is not strong enough on other fronts, obviously he or she could be denied. We offer three ways to interview -- in person in Ann Arbor, by phone to us in Ann Arbor, or with an alumni interviewer -- and all are weighted equally.

Q: Can you share an example of a time when you left an interview thinking, "No way is this person coming to Michigan!" Schwalbach: I really dislike when an interview candidate cannot shed any light as to why they're applying to Michigan. There are those that only pull information out of brochures and from the Web, but some do even less research than that. It's really disappointing that they do not understand how important it is for them to understand Michigan and to display their knowledge about our program.

Nebel: Also, if a candidate is not ready to tell their story -- where they've been, their achievements, their reason for wanting an MBA, and so on - it's disappointing, because they should be prepared to articulate it concisely.

For the full version of this Q&A

Comments from Student 1:

The Michigan interview was actually held at a coffee shop in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. Although I dressed very formally, the interview itself was very casual. The Michigan Alum started by asking me to take him through my resume, describe my experiences, and how it all has led me to my pursuit of an MBA. As I described to him the details of my experiences, he asked a few questions, one of which regarded how I reacted and dealt with certain demands in my job. I never really felt like he was just shooting out questions as I answered them. The whole interview was very fluid. I really feel that it came down to how well I could tell a story. In this case, it was the story of my professional career and how it has led me to an MBA. Of course, there were the typical why do you want an MBA, and why Michigan type questions, but I felt that was not the focus of the interview. It was a chance for Michigan to get to know me as a unique individual. This is what gave my paper application some personality and passion that is otherwise difficult to show. Since I had done quite a bit of research prior to this interview, I had many questions of my own. This helped as well to maintain dialog and momentum as the interview went on. In all, the interview went for about 40 minutes, although it felt like 10.

Comments from Student 2:

Michigan Business School (MBS) is one of those schools where any applicant is welcome to schedule their interview before their application is even submitted. You submit some basic information (e.g. your resume) when you request the interview. I believe that I requested it online by email.

At the time, I was swamped with all of my applications - HBS, Stanford, and MBS were all due within a two day stretch - so I was focusing on getting the written part done. So, naturally, I put off my interview as late as I could - which happened to be the day the written applications were due. I was working off of about three hours of sleep, and was running on coffee and adrenaline. Unlike my other interviews, I didn't have time to prepare adequately. This should give you some insight into my state of mind.

So, the interview was via phone, with a student interviewer. I called into the admissions office at the appointed time, and they, in turn, connected me with him.

The questions were, in hindsight, pretty standard. I don't remember any "gotcha" questions. Having said that, I was very nervous. The interviewer went to great pains to calm me down, and there were a few points where I paused mid-reply to collect my thoughts before moving on. About half way through the interview I finally hit my stride. In hindsight, the questions that I really wished I had done better on were those about why I wanted to go to Michigan in particular, as opposed to why I wanted to go to business school, and what my long-term career plans were.

One bit of advice I would give - and I think this applies for any business school interview, but particularly a student one - is to know your audience. I realized early on that my interviewer didn't have much knowledge about my industry (software), so I tried to make sure that I described my experiences so that he would understand them, and understand them in a favorable way. Because he was a current student, I also asked him questions that helped me understand the mentality of the school, and what the MBS experience was like as opposed to other schools. At the time, MBS was, perhaps, the school I was applying to that I knew least about. However, after my interview, I was really impressed with the school. The way I was treated, and the interviewer's answers to my questions all left a very positive impression. Unfortunately, I had thought I'd bombed the interview. Of course, things turned out quite well, but the experience definitely drove me to thoroughly prepare for my next interviews, even though I had no idea if I would even have any more.

Oh, one other thing - in hindsight, I wish I had had more to talk about with regards to hobbies, things I do to pass the time, that sort of thing. For example, I told my interviewer that I like to read, and that I've been trying to read more of the classics (which was the honest truth). I only wish I could have had a more eloquent answer as to why I liked reading them. Again, I attribute a lot of that to fatigue.

flyingty

Michigan 2:

Comments from Student 3:  

Before going for my interview I tracked down a couple of alumni in my area and spent some time talking to them about the interview and their experiences at Michigan Business School. Luckily for me one of them had been heavily involved in the admissions process during his time at Michigan. His main advice was be confident (they are looking for people who are going to be able to take an active part on class debates), know why you want to go to that particular school (if you could replace the name of the school you are applying to in your answer to the question "why us?" with any other top ten school, then you need to rethink your answer), and make sure you sell yourself. While the interviewer will have read your application form and glanced at your essays, it is still worthwhile repeating any key information during the interview.

The interview process is like dating -- the top schools only want to offer places to people who they are confident will say yes. Make sure [the interviewer] comes out of that interview knowing that you will say yes if offered a place.

As to where to interview -- I flew over from Europe for two days to visit Michigan and be interviewed, as I wanted to see the school, get a taste for the atmosphere, and show my commitment by turning up in person. Obviously if you have already visited the school then the need to be interviewed at the school is less, but I would strongly recommend visiting sometime -- all the brochures always look fantastic, but after visiting you will know which school's really suit you and which do not.

flyingty

MIT:

A conversation with Rod Garcia, director of masters' admissions at MIT's Sloan School of Management

An excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: How have Sloan admissions changed since we last spoke, exactly two years ago to the day?
A: A lot has changed. This year we're using a new online application vendor. And interviews have become a larger component of the admissions process.

Q: Indeed, every person who is now admitted to the Sloan School has interviewed.
A: Exactly. This is the third year that we're interviewing all admitted candidates.

Q: What makes a good interview at Sloan? Are you looking for certain characteristics this year that may be different from last year?A: Really good interaction between the interviewer and the applicant. It's not just exchange of pleasantries, but good exchange of info on both sides. The best ones are spontaneous interviews. Sometimes, people are overly prepared, and you really didn't get to know the person: Every statement was rehearsed. The best interview is when then person is prepared, but spontaneous and open. Those are the ones I remember the most.

For the full version of this Q&A

Comments from Student 1:

At the MIT Sloan School of Management, every successful candidate will have been interviewed. This means that the Sloan admissions staff interview two or three times as many people as they will ultimately accept, and that they take the interview process very seriously indeed.

Thus the interviews are closer to the hiring process at a large corporation than a let's-get-to-know-you, meet-and-greet chat. To the best of my knowledge, Sloan is the first business school to use Behavioral Event Interviews (BEIs). BEIs draw upon a competency model, a concise, much-considered list of the competencies - the knowledge, skills, and attributes - necessary for the candidate to be successful in the role. The trained interviewer therefore asks questions designed to probe the candidate's past experience and determine whether he or she has demonstrated the needed competencies in the past. If in the past, then most likely in the future, or so the logic goes.

The hallmark of a BEI question is, "Tell me about a time when ..." My Sloan interviewer, an extremely professional woman who was deliberately both pleasant and opaque, specifically chose questions to build on the application essays. Her lines of questioning began with "Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult conversation" and "Tell me about a time when you were particularly successful at work" - questions that were almost word-for-word identical to the application questions. Where they differed were:
?The need to speak extemporaneously rather than rewriting and reshaping over days and weeks.
?The opportunity to give more detail than would have fit in 750 words.
?The interviewer's desire to probe past my initial responses, using such phrases as, "And what happened then?", "Tell me more about X", and "How did you respond to Y?".
?The recognition that Sloan is looking for nuance, style, and character. For example, two different candidates might have written, "I was given a difficult client project and I managed it successfully." During the interview, when asked for details, one might say, "I sat down with the project team, built consensus on the scope and approach, and then guided and empowered the team members throughout the project." Another might say, "I realized that the timeframe was short and that I was the most skilled person on the team, so I took all the information, locked myself in a room for a couple of all-nighters, and pulled it off." Same stimulus, different responses, and different scorings against the competency model.

The Sloan interview may be a puzzling experience. It's short (35-45 minutes, including time for you to ask questions), it's not a making-friends exercise, and it may feel as if it repeats what you already wrote on your application. But it does have two advantages: Sloan gets the students it wants, and you don't get tested on abstruse knowledge. Oh, and there's a third advantage, it's great practice for interviewing for a job.

Comments from Student 2:

I ended up interviewing with four of the five schools I applied to: Harvard, MIT, UCLA, and Emory. The Emory interview was with an admissions officer on-campus, therest were off-campus with Alumni (mainly because I live in Germany). Regarding locations, MIT and UCLA were in the Washington, D.C. area over Christmas break. Harvard was by far the most organized with their Alumni interviews and the most international - they were able to set up my interview a few blocks away from my apartment in Hamburg, Germany! On top of that, the man that I interviewed with was a top executive and on the board of one of Germany's largest and most successful companies (very motivating for an aspiring MBAstudent).

For all of my Alumni interviews, I found the Alumni to be professional, friendly, and open to speaking with me about their school. For Emory, the admissions officer was just fantastic, making me feel comfortable right away, asking insightful (she read my application) questions and answering all of my questions about the program.

The interview questions were amazingly similar between all of the schools and I did not find that they asked me any out of context or trick questions. The questions were focused on me and my experiences. In the case of Harvard, it was more of a behavioral interview than the others, trying to gather information about how I react in certain work and life scenarios. Most of the interviews included questions like, "What brought you to Germany?" "How did you end up getting a job abroad?" "What are your career goals?" "Why business school?" "Why now?" "Why this school?" At the heart of it, they all seemed to be trying to figure out what made me tick, what I could bring to their program, if my goals and personality seemed consistent and aligned with the way I presented myself in my application, and whether I would be a good fit with their program. Many of them also asked me questions that were similar or an extension of my essay questions. For example, if I wrote anessay about an ethical dilemma at work, they would ask me how it was resolved in the end or to provide them with additional details about the scenario.

As far as advice for preparing, the best preparation is completing the application for the particular school before interviewing and then reviewing the essays just prior to the interview. Applicants should have a clear idea of why they want an MBA, their career goals, why this particular school, and what they can offer the school. These questions were consistently asked on essays and in interviews. I used my interviews as a chance to openly discuss and expand on what I considered my weak spot -- my undergraduate GPA. This turned out to be a good approach, not just because I got accepted into my top choice school, but because it let me explain the situation and how I overcame the weakness in a more personal way then what was possible on an application.

flyingty

MIT 2:

Comments from Student 3:  

I had three interviews (one at each of the following schools: Wharton, MIT (Sloan), and Chicago GSB).

Interview Notification/ Initial Preparation:
Upon receiving notification of my first interview (Chicago GSB) I pulled together a list of generic possible questions from various sources (BusinessWeek Online's B-School Forum threads, Montauk's How to get into a TOP MBA Program, and other MBA Web sites - i.e. Admissions Edge, etc).

I first prepared generic answers for each school and then when preparing for a specific interview I went through all questions and prepared specific answers that highlighted aspects of my application for that school and the story/persona I was portraying (i.e., For Wharton I highlighted my international experiences, for Sloan my creativity, etc.) Although I had similar stories for each school, I emphasized different aspects for certain schools. I also used some other resources for my school specific interview prep research (i.e., the book The ABCs of Admissions, school Web sites, BusinessWeek Online's Admissions Q&As).

The interviews:
Some interviewing highlights follow. I tried to get face-to-face interviews for all my appointments if schedules permitted.

MIT (Sloan):
- Length: About 45 min - 1 hour
- Location: On-campus with an Admissions officer
- The interviewer had previously read my application and asked questions that were very specific to my application.
- Questions were tailored to areas of my application where more information was needed.
- The interview went very quickly and although it was formal, I felt very much at ease.

Wharton:
- Length: 30 minutes
- Location: On-campus with a second-year [student]
- Interviewer already had preset questions that seemed generic, but as the conversation flowed, they were tailored to my background
- I had already visited the campus on a separate occasion and was able to bring that experience into my interview.
- Interview was blind - interviewer had not accessed my application
- Wharton's process of interview notification and scheduling was great!

Chicago:
- Length: About 1 hour- Location: Phone interview since I could not schedule a face to face in time
- Interview was with a new graduate
- This interview is part of the application (i.e. you are not selected to interview)
- Some prepared questions, some off the cuff questions
- Interview was blind - interviewer had not accessed my application
- My interviewer had a similar background (educational/professional)

Here is a list of my generic questions:
General Questions
1. Walk me through your resume, starting with undergrad.
2. Discuss your career progression.
3. Describe an ethical dilemma faced at work.
4. What would you do if not accepted?
5. What are your long- and short-term goals? Why?

Why MBA & Why X Questions
1. Why do you want an MBA?
2. Why School X?
3. Why now?
4. What would X do for you that no other MBA program can?
5. What would you concentrate in at X?
6. What do you want to do after you have an MBA?
7. What clubs and activities would you get involved in at X?
8. What will you contribute to X?
9. Which two qualities would you want me to highlight in the interview report?
10. What would you do at X?

Describe You
1. After your two years at X, what would your classmates remember you by?
2. How would your workmates describe you?
3. How would your friends and family describe your personality?
4. If two managers were discussing you, what would they be saying?

General Questions About You and Your Experiences
1. Tell me about a time you faced conflict and how you resolved it.
2. What role do you usually take in a team setting?
3. Tell me about a time when you exhibited leadership.
4. What do you do for fun?
5. How do you work in teams?
6. How would your coworkers describe your leadership style?
7. What would your colleagues miss least about you?
8. What makes you unique?
9. Tell me about a team experience that was a failure.
10. Tell me about a standout academic experience.
11. Tell me an important thing that you learnt from your work and school experiences.
12. Tell me about a specific situation in your professional career where you solved an important problem.
13. What do you do outside of work?
14. What do you want to do in your career?
15. What contributions would you make to a group?
16. Name three words or phrases to describe yourself to others.
17. What do you do to relieve stress?
18. How do you define success?

Weakness Questions
1. What will the adcom see as your weakness?
2. What areas do you need to develop?
3. What are the weaknesses in your application?
4. What are your developmental needs?

Concluding Questions
1. Do you have any questions?
2. What else should the adcom know about you?
3. Have I asked you everything? What would you want me to ask that I haven't yet?
4. What do you want to tell me/discuss that we haven't covered or you were unable to cover in your application.

Off-Beat Questions
1. If you could go anywhere on a vacation or a holiday for a day and there were no constraints (monetary as well), where would you go?
2. What is an important trend in technology?


Questions to Ask
1. Quote a comment that you read about the school in an article like "X tries to increase the average GMAT". Ask the interviewer about how the school plans to increase the GMAT and what is the rationale behind it (make sure that you ask the question pertaining to that school, don't ask about X if you are not interviewing for X).
2. How strong is the alumni network of the school?
3. What are the events that alumni organize?
4. How strong is the alumni network in your country (if you are an international student)?
5. What kind of partnerships does the school have with other business schools?
6. How strong is the association of the school with the parent University?
7. Can you take courses at other schools in the university (like school of engineering, etc.)?
8. What is the ratio of tenured to visiting faculty?
9. Does the school have chaired professors and centers for advanced studies in topic of your interest?
10. Any tips on housing in the city and things to do outdoors in the area

flyingty

LBS:

An excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: Interviews are by invitation only at London. What does the school want to find out about the applicant during the interview?
A: Like applying for a job, the first stage for the [job] applicant is getting an interview. The second stage is getting an offer. The process works like this. We'll do a review of the paper application first. We are looking to see whether the application meets our base criteria, for instance educational attainment, work experience, and the [applicant's] references. After the paper review, we'll decide whether or not to ask a candidate for interview. And at that point the interview will be following a checklist of characteristics that we've drawn up.

Q: Is a long interview better than a short interview?
A: A good interview is the best, and they can be either [long or short]. That said, it's tough to establish knowing somebody in as thorough a way as we would like in much less than 30 or 40 minutes. And some of our interviews will go on longer than that.

Q: And the ones that only last 20 minutes...
A: Could be fantastic. But how many job interviews have you had that had just lasted 20 minutes and have you got the job? I would very much doubt that that would be a typical London Business School experience. If we are going to the trouble of interviewing somebody, which is a time-consuming and expensive process, we want to give the candidate a good opportunity to have a good showing. It's also a way for the applicant to find out more about the school.

For the full version of this Q&A

Comments from Student 1:

For all those who are used to "blind" or "resume-based" interviews, be prepared. It is an intense experience. ([It] does give you the distinct feeling that whatever you say is going to count towards your admissions decision). Location: Coffee Shop in South Mumbai, India Interviewer: Alumni, MBA 2002 promotion. (Just a couple of years older than I am). How the system works/ how it went: The alum is given a copy of your file including essays and other details about your application. The adcom probably makes a lot of notes about the questions it wishes to raise during the interviewer. The alum then reads the file himself and makes his own list of questions. At the end of it all, your application has so many scribbles and side-notes in it that you want to hide your face in the sand..! ;-). Professionally thorough. My designated interviewer had some very relevant and incisive questions to ask about certain aspects of my essays. The guy even quoted me from my essays without looking at them! Luckily I had given my essays a thorough read in the morning of the interview and could answer most questions confidently. There were no major hiccups per se. I didn't stumble anywhere, but the interviewer did not give me any clue as to how it went at the end of it all. It was,overall, a very detailed experience (almost two hours). The professionalism and the attention to detail was impressive, and if you are prepared for it, it really shouldn't be a problem. No twisters.
The questions:
Why MBA
Why LBS
Why your present profession
Leadership example
Leadership style admired
Failure example
International Experiences
Developmetal Needs (Personal)
What matters most to you

Comments from Student 2:

My interview surprised me. I had prepared as most prospective candidates do by talking with other students, alumni, admissions counselors, etc. before the interview. Starting my consulting practice, I was used to giving "my pitch" and talking about my business, clients, and the consulting model. I also took some advice from one of my mentors and spent extra time before filling out my MBA applications to discern why I am a good fit for B-School in the first place. All of these things helped me in my Interview.

What was surprising for me, although maybe it shouldn't have been, was the caliber of interviewer. We met at the Four Seasons Hotel in the lobby and planned to spend about 1 and ½ hours together that evening. I had been informed that it was a two-way interview: one in which I would have time to learn more about LBS and they would have time to get to know more about me. They also told me that alumni do the interviewing. When the time came and the interviewer revealed more about himself, it really made me think about the journey I was about to take. He had graduated 10+ years ago and since then had worked for various tech companies, one of which happened to be Dell. He started, built, and managed the South African office and operations for them. Starting from scratch, he looked for everything from manufacturing facilities to operating partners and then grew it into a major business unit, of which he was president. This was really impressive.

This was the type of person who was willing to take time from his busy life, to ensure the future of his alma mater by sifting through prospective candidates. That says something about the school and program. For me, this was a positive and unexpected experience - one that made my decision much easier.

flyingty

IMD:

An excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: Is it absolutely imperative to have a campus visit, even for applicants from far-flung countries?
Ooms: A campus visit is recommended. It isn't a requirement. But an MBA is a serious investment, and you should get a feel for the school where you're going to spend the next year, and a lot of money. We interview each candidate who comes into our program, and we strongly encourage them to do those interviews on campus. The interview day is more than just an interview. It's a combination of a personal interview, an impromptu presentation, and a case discussion run by one of our professors.

Q: When are campus visits scheduled? Is it possible to just show up?
Ooms: You can go on the Web site and register for a visitor's day. Every Monday of the month we have one. You can also drop by, but it's less recommended. If you come on the visitor's days, we have everything organized, including sitting in on classes, meeting with the MBAs, and a full Q&A session. For the full version of this Q&A

Comments from Student 1:

IMD's interview took place on campus. I am not certain if it is possible to do an interview in your country of residence. A group of about eight of us (from all over the world) participated in daylong activities. The day was very informative and included an interview, a case study, a presentation, a lunch with current students, and an opportunity to participate in a class. The case study material was sent ahead of time and some preparation was required. All of the interviewees participated in this activity, the goal of which was to come to a consensus on the strategy. We then shared and defended our decision with the admission staff. It was a very interesting activity that forced participants to not only apply their business acumen, but also exhibit high level of teamwork capabilities. I would recommend being closely familiar with the contents of the case and do the preparation work prior to coming on campus. The presentation was an individual activity, where each of us was given a topic and had a set amount of time (I believe it was 30 minutes) to prepare a presentation on the topic. It is impossible to prepare for this presentation in advance, as you are unaware of the topic. You then present on the topic in front of the admissions committee, who may ask you follow-up questions. The interview itself took place with two members of the admissions team and was fairly structured. Overall, it was a very enjoyable day allowing for plenty opportunities to communicate with the students and gain a perspective on life as an IMD student.