Chicago Booth Interviews

If you are preparing for a Chicago Booth interview, read this post after you read my general post on interview strategy. If you are looking for my analysis of Booth's essays, you can find it here.

I have reviewed reports of University of Chicago Booth interviews found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com. These reports reveal that there are five key things to consider when preparing for Chicago interviews:

1. You need to know your resume completely as you will likely be asked about content in it. Review it carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. If it is on your resume, it is fair game.

2. Prepare to answer routine MBA questions. Most reported interviews simply consist of them. See my previous post on interviewing. Chicago's Full-Time MBA News stated the following:
"To prepare for your 45-minute interview, review your application thoroughly. Know how you will want to convey your story, your career plan and your unique goals. If your goals and motivations are clear, you can expect a lively conversation and lots of good questions by the interviewer. Ask yourself these important questions before your meeting:

Can I clearly articulate my career plan and future goals?

What do I really want from my MBA experience?
What is my motivation to obtain an MBA?
Why is [Booth] the right place for me?
Why am I right for [Booth]?
How do I plan to use my MBA in my career?

What can I bring to the [Booth] community?
Where do I see myself in 5, 10, 15 years?

You should also know what it is that you want to discover about the [Booth] during your meeting. Have a few questions ready to ask your interviewer about the things that are most important to you and your MBA experience. Getting answers to your questions is an equally important part of any B-school interview." (Adam's note, "GSB" changed to [Booth]")

3. Be ready for unexpected hypothetical and/or critical thinking questions, especially from alum. With such questions, always take a second or two to think before diving in with an answer. That said, most interview reports don't include such questions. 

4. The quality of the interviews really varies. The reports on both sites are with students and alum. Some interviewers are reported to be great and some are not. I think it is important to keep in mind what Chicago says:
Interviews are conducted by admissions staff, students or alumni. They are held on campus or in a location convenient for the prospective student. All interviews, regardless of who conducts them, receive equal weight in the evaluation process.

While that is true, the reality is that if you can choose, take admissions staff. Students and alum can vary in quality and level of fairness, but on balance admissions officers are more likely to treat you fairly and will be professional. That said, if you think you may do better with alumni, act accordingly. From my perspective, some older Chicago alum tend to have an outdated view of the school and this can hurt some interviewees who do not intend to focus on finance.  I have noticed that here in Japan, the interviewers now tend to be more recent graduates.

5. Reported interview length could be from 30 to 60 minutes, with many reported interviews taking about 45.

If you are interested in my interview preparation or other graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学 インタビュー 面接

HBS MBA Interviews

You can find my essay analysis for Fall 2009 Admission here.

HBS ADCOM HQ

In my experience, my clients who succeed at HBS interviews go to their interview with a sense of confidence based on having done careful preparation. My clients who have failed the interview stage have generally done so because of related reasons: lack of confidence and/or preparation. While these issues could be the same for any interview, the reality is that HBS admissions interviews are simply more thorough than that of most other schools. Failure to take this interview sufficiently seriously is a recipe for disaster.

In addition to my own knowledge, I have reviewed reports of Harvard Business School interviews found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com. These reports reveal that there are five key things to consider when preparing for HBS interviews:

1. You need to know your application very completely as you will be asked by adcom about its content. Review your entire application (not just resume and essays, but everything including the transcript) very carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. Remember: Anything is fair game. Assume that the weakest parts of your application will be topics in the interview. Assume the worst-case scenario and be very prepared to address their concerns. Given the annual failure rate at HBS, if you have any academic weaknesses (low GPA, a relatively weak TOEFL, insufficient proof of a quantitative background), be ready to address those issues. Be prepared to tell new stories and alternative versions of the stories you told in your essays.

2. The questions you get will be specific to you. Most questions will not be odd, but they may be unexpected. On the other hand, a number of reports indicate that the majority of questions are actually common ones. See my previous post on interviewing. Be able to articulate clearly what you want to learn at HBS and what you can contribute. While it is important to be able to discuss leadership, don't assume the interview will be entirely focused on it. The interviewer will come in knowing what they want to ask you.

3. Assume there will be at least one question for which you might not be ready for. Don't panic. Take a deep breath. Answer the question and do not become flustered. Be ready to answer questions about a hypothetical case study, conflict with colleagues, and the latest book you read as these have all been reported frequently.

4. Adcom interviewers are friendly, but to the point. They don't do stress interviewing exactly, but they will question you intensely. They will be taking notes. Anything you say can be subject to inquiry, so speak concisely, answer questions precisely, and try to avoid voluntarily bringing up any topics that you really don't want to talk about. Assume the you will be asking follow-up questions, so expect to be able to analyze/explain in a great deal of depth. Your interviewer will know exactly what he/she wants to ask you because the purpose of the interview is (1) to see if you look as good in reality as you did in paper and (2) to address any concerns that they have about your suitability for HBS.

5. Reported interview length for interviews is 30 minutes.

For more about this interview, please see my more recent post on it.

If you are interested in my interview preparation or other graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学 インタビュー 面接

UC Berkeley Haas Japan Trek 2009 Sponsor

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
明けましておめでとうございます。

I am happy to announce that I am an official sponsor of the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business 2009 Japan Trek. This trip is a great way to help Haas MBA students from around the world learn about Japan. I know the Japanese students at Haas put significant work into this trip and I am glad that I can support their efforts.

この度、カリフォルニア大学バークレー校ハース・スクール・オブ・ビジネスの2009年度Japan Trek公式スポンサーとなりましたことをお知らせいたします。これは世界各地から来ているハース・ＭＢＡの学生にとって、日本を学ぶ絶好の機会です。また、ハースの日本学生たちが多大な労力を注いでいるこのツアーのサポートをできることを、とても喜ばしく思っております。

-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.


ビジネススクール MBA留学

Thank you!

This will be my last post for 2008. I just simply wanted to thank my readers for visiting. I am rather busy assisting my clients. I anticipate more blog posts after the 15th of January.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Cheers,
Adam

On consistency between your application and recommendations

I am frequently asked questions from MBA, LL.M., MPA, and other graduate school applicants about how much consistency there should between their application (essays, resume, and application form content) and their recommendations. This is a complex and annoying issue for many applicants, especially if they themselves and/or their recommenders come from countries where such recommendations are not a part of the academic and/or business culture.

Since the application and recommendations are not the product of the same person, total consistency would be amazing, unnatural, and highly suspicious. The applicant and the recommenders each have their own perspective. Of course, if you have a recommender who has worked with you on a single or on very few projects, chances are great that the stories they tell in their recommendations will have a significant overlap with the stories you tell in your essays and/or accomplishments in your resume or application form. On the other hand, if the recommender is someone you worked with for a long time on a variety of projects, the differences in the subjects of the stories that are covered is likely to be much greater. Of course, if you have a particularly important project or activity that you want to make certain that your recommender covers, let them know that. Hopefully you have selected someone who will cooperate with you.

I would hope that what you say about yourself in your application is reflected sufficiently in the recommendations that admissions is not left with the feeling that are reading about two different people. For instance, direct contradictions between your application and your recommender about your role in work or of your strengths would look odd. That is why it is important to make sure that you give your resume to your recommender and are certain that they perceive you in a manner similar to the way you perceive yourself. They don't need to tell the same stories you do in essays, but they had better be writing about the same person.

Hopefully you are selecting a recommender whose perspective on you will not be a complete contradiction. There are some situations where this occurs. For instance, female applicants sponsored by their companies might find it necessary to select a male recommender who just happens to be a sexist. In such instances, the applicant might have a guy, usually older, who wants to write about "how charming she is" and completely ignores her real talents. Sometimes, I advise such applicants to simply explain to their recommenders that such statements will not be viewed positively by an admissions committee that includes and is often directed by women. Other times, if the recommender is " a busy man" I suggest my client simply request that such unhelpful comments be eliminated. That usually solves the issue.

If, after selecting a recommender, you find that the person's version of reality is simply too far away from your own and they seem uncooperative, you might find it necessary to get a new recommender. I have advised a small number of clients to "fire" their recommender because it seemed like no other course of action was possible, but this is obviously not an ideal result.

For more about recommendations, please see Steve Green's previous post. Next year, I intend to cover recommendations in much great depth.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学