I know many people on this forum have applied to business schools. Well, some of my friends are going to Columbia next week for an interview. One of them had some Alumni interview(don’t know what that is). how about other people here?
I didn’t apply to Columbia but I think you have the opportunity to interview either on campus with the admissions committee or with an alumnus in your local area. These interviews should be weighted equally. I’ve had a couple of interviews with the round 1 schools I applied to. I think they went pretty well but it’s hard to know how things go until you hear about the admissions decision. Just trying to keep my fingers crossed and say a prayer every now and again.
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I didn’t apply to Columbia but I think you have > the opportunity to interview either on campus with > the admissions committee or with an alumnus in > your local area. These interviews should be > weighted equally. > > I’ve had a couple of interviews with the round 1 > schools I applied to. I think they went pretty > well but it’s hard to know how things go until you > hear about the admissions decision. Just trying to > keep my fingers crossed and say a prayer every now > and again. I have no doubt that you will make it into the school of your choice.
Thanks for the well wishes, mo34. Hopefully it all works out. I actually had an alumnus interview with my top choice school today. We talked for about 50 minutes and it felt like a pretty casual conversation. Here are the things I was asked: - Give me a two-minute summary of your resume, focusing on the choices you made and why you made them (as opposed to the actual job duties). - Why MBA? - Why now? - Why our school? - What clubs and classes do you hope to take? - How do you define leadership? Tell me about a time where you demonstrated leadership in a stressful situation. - How do you define success? - What are you passionate about? - What do you do for fun? Overall I felt the conversation flowed pretty well and I didn’t feel too stressed about the situation. The biggest challenge in interviews, I think, is to keep your answers succinct and tight. Sometimes I have to repeat the question to myself just to make sure I understand it and I can answer the question that’s being asked. It may be advisable to repeat it aloud just so you can get affirmation from the interviewer that you understood what he/she was asking. Also, I think that visiting campus and speaking with a number of students made me feel much more confident in my responses. These things also helped me communicate why I wanted to go to this school and make it sound like my reasons came from the perspective of someone that actually went there and really understood the school.
FYI Columbia - the interview process is conducted strictly by alumni. The alums are provided a script by the admissions office (a coworker of mine acted as an alum ambassador). I had an interview during last years admissions cycle. The interview is fairly straightforward. Aside from the traditional why now? Why CBS? etc. they asked me to discuss an ethical dilemma I faced and how I resolved it. They also threw is a team-based question. Hope this helps. Good luck everyone!
Good luck Numi. ^^ Value Addict are you in bschool right now?
Unfortunately…yes… I don’t want to disclose where I am attending on a public forum
why is it unfortunate that you’re in b-school?
I can’t even finish app for 1 school, let alone all the 8 schools that I originally thought of applying. I hate writing essays with a passion. Just do. So i’m curious, why are you guys applying to bschool? I know logically that industries require this stepping stone, but aside from the recruitment system what else can you benefit from it? UoP can provide pretty much the same material without the 120k price tag.
Of course you can learn the same material anywhere, but the benefits are pretty much the experience of being around some of the brightest classmates you’ll ever meet, and developing a great alumni network. I’m applying to business school because I want to get out of finance and eventually move into strategy or executive management.
120k price tag is a bargain compared to the present value of the extra income you will gain. Business school is not necessarily to learn material (since books and U of P can do that, also G.W. Bush made it through), it is to network.
But it is an expensive way to network. Granted that Top 5 schools have unbelievable networks. But how about those lesser renowned schools? At which point does “network” become overrated? I’m not here to dog on MBAs, just asking for the pragmatism.
I think in addition to the network, it gives you the label on your resume that you have been missing and unfortunately, has become almost a requirement these days in the finance community. Believe me, it’s totally worth it.
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > why is it unfortunate that you’re in b-school? Not too enamored with my program overall. I am starting to question whether it was worth it. Also have some gf issues to deal with (aka long distance). So I suppose its both the emotional and financial toll of the experience.
I haven’t had the interviews yet… In fact I am going to my first open house at Booth on Friday. Not looking forward to tonights GMAT class though…
ValueAddict Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > numi Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > why is it unfortunate that you’re in b-school? > > Not too enamored with my program overall. I am > starting to question whether it was worth it. > Also have some gf issues to deal with (aka long > distance). > > So I suppose its both the emotional and financial > toll of the experience. i hear ya…well, what would your alternatives have been? that’s the other way to look at it…even if you’re not too enamored with your programme, at least you might be best off there as opposed to whatever your employment situation would have been, but i guess only you know the answer to that.
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > programme Just when you think new heights of pretentiousness couldn’t be reached…
wanna go to the theatre?
Thanks - I know I never cease to amaze you. Now tell me something I don’t know.
iheartiheartmath Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > numi Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > programme > > Just when you think new heights of pretentiousness > couldn’t be reached… Haha! I just spit out my drink!