My Haas (UC Berkeley) interview and visit

I was waitlisted in R1 at Haas (UC Berkeley). All waitlisted applicants have an option to "enhance" their application, whether by seeking additional recommendation letters, re-taking the GMATs, submitting additional statements, etc. Another option is to have an interview, which is an opportunity I jumped on since I wanted to visit Haas anyway.

I scheduled an interview on campus for Monday morning. I arrived with about 45 minutes to spare, and spent the time going through my notes over a coffee in a Haas cafe, Fifo. I made my way to the admissions office ten minutes before the interview, and settled in waiting to be called.

Since the interview was scheduled on campus, I was expecting to be interviewed by an Admissions rep. I was a bit surprised when a student sitting in the chair next to me got up on the hour and headed my way to introduce herself. Lauren was really friendly, and she almost immediately mentioned that she is an alumna of my current company, so I felt at ease right away. We found a room, settled in, and began the conversation.

The questions were exactly the kind that you would expect from an MBA interview:

-Why MBA?

-Why Haas?

-Tell me about a time you had to act on someone's feedback

-What are you most proud of?

(at this point, I mentioned that I moved to the States when I was 14, and I was very proud of how much I have achieved so far)

-As a follow up to the story, what was it that allowed you to succeed at that?

-Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult situation on a team

-Tell me about a time you took a risk

-Tell me about one thing that is not on your resume

Overall, the interview felt very conversational and not at all stressful. I am sure it did help that after my MIT Sloan interview a month earlier, I replayed the interview in my head over and over again, analyzing everything I said, so I was well prepared for the questions. And of course, having an MIT Sloan acceptance in the pocket was a huge confidence booster.

As far as advice goes, I cannot stress enough doing your research. Using specific examples (i.e., the Experimental learning project in Zambia sounds really interesting because...) will make the conversation standout, as opposed to a generic "Haas has interesting classes." And last, but not least - be yourself!

First post! My Sloan interview.

I have very much appreciated advice of fellow bloggers on business school admissions process, so I figured this would be my chance to return the favor. Today was my Sloan (MIT) interview. I applied in October in Round 1, a few hours before boarding the plane for a vacation in Peru, and had been obsessively refreshing my email and checking Business Week forums until December 18 when I got my interview invite. Weeeeee! I was overjoyed.

Finally, the day of the interview (today) arrived. I had made sure to review MIT Sloan interview guide as well as STAR method, and I jotted down a few recent situations in which I displayed leadership or faced a conflict, so I felt well prepared for the interview. However, about 20 minutes before the interview I learned that a dear family friend passed away suddenly. I got into my interview location 15 minutes early, and took the time to read the Economist and force my breath back to normal. I had to make myself concentrate on the interview, and deal with the loss later. To be honest, it still feels very surreal, and will probably hit me hard once the adrenaline wears off.

I interviewed with Jennifer Barba, the Assistant Director of MBA Admissions. From the start, Jennifer was very welcoming and easy to talk to. She explained the process (which I was already aware of thanks to Rod Garcia's blog on clearadmit). She then asked me a few questions, for example, something I was proud of, or a time that I asked for help. The admissions committee ask that you provide examples other than the ones in your essay, so I highly recommend spending the time to come up with a few situations. The interview lasted exactly half an hour. I am confident that Sloan is a great fit for me, and hopefully that conviction shone through. Now the waiting game begins: T-28 (decisions to be released Feb 1!).