Frequently Asked MBA Admissions Questions

by Stacy Blackman Consulting, Dec 3, 2010

Unfortunately, the business school interview can be the most unpredictable part of the MBA application process. Although it is important to prepare for this interview, it is essentially impossible to predict what you will be asked. Every interviewer is different and even the same person may ask different questions depending on how they feel that day. Regardless, all you can do is your best, and there is a set of questions that you must be prepared to respond to.

You should make sure that you have outlined answers for each of following questions:

• Why do you want to attend an MBA program?
• Why do you want to go at this point in your life?
• What are your career goals after you graduate?
• Why do you want to attend our MBA program?
• Talk and walk me through your resume.
• Name three strengths and weaknesses of yours.

In addition to this, you should have a number of personal stories prepared for the interview. The questions should be flexible enough to serve as examples for a range of questions about teamwork, leadership, failure, and more. If you have this group of stories ready to talk about, you can talk about them as needed to answer any questions that are asked.

After you have organized the information for your interviews and understand the main points you want to focus on, make sure you practice out loud, in front of a mirror or with a peer. You should not assume that you can answer these questions well just because you have typed an essay on the topic. My clients often schedule mock interviews feeling very confident and are startled to find that their answers are not coherent, and that they go off track.

Make sure to remember that the goal of the interview is to discover more information about you, and only you are the expert in this area. To come off as the expert you need to practice what you would like to say. This does not mean that you should write down your answers and memorize them exactly. It just means that you need to be able and comfortable speaking about yourself and telling your story to a member of an admissions team. Since we do not normally spend 30 minutes talking about ourselves and our experiences, it can take some practice to feel at ease.

For more robust guidance on your MBA application essays, check out the Stacy Blackman Consulting Essay Guide Series school specific guides with essay tips, sample essays, information on what your target schools value and more.

Visit http://www.stacyblackman.com/essay-guides/ to learn more.