HBS MBA Admissions Interviews: Logistics and Content

 This is the first of three posts I provide advice for HBS Admissions Interviews.  This post discusses logistics and content. The second post focuses on strategy. The third post focuses on preparation. These posts post have been completely revised from my prior posts and reflect the reports I have received from clients over the past several cycles since those for the Class of 2018 (Fall 2016 entry). It also reflects the changed way I advise and prep clients for HBS.

 

At the time of the blog post (February 2021), sixty-seven of my interview-only and comprehensive service clients have been admitted to HBS since the entering class of 2008 (I had prior clients admitted between 2001 and 2007 before establishing my own service). My clients' results and testimonials can be found here. In addition to providing comprehensive application consulting on HBS, I regularly help some candidates with HBS interview preparation only. My clients admitted to HBS come from all over the world with high concentrations in India, Japan, and the US.

 

This post just describes the HBS interview with some brief analysis. In the second post, I will get really abstract, analytical, psychological, and otherwise deep. In the third post, I will be very practical, which is good since that post is on self-preparation.  If you are familiar with the logistics and contents of HBS interviews, you can skim/ignore this one. It is here mostly for those who need to some grounding in the basics before jumping into my usual guru-level goodness.  Through I think it is a good idea to  review my advice on the post-interview reflection at the end of this post even if you are not interested in what follows.

 

LOGISTICS

The interviewers are members of the MBA Admissions Board.  Some have been around forever (or something like that), others arrived yesterday but whatever the case, these people stick to their interview protocols and do a better job than any other school at being fair and giving each person who is interviewed a fair hearing.  Honestly, I think they are the best MBA admissions interviewers on the planet.

 

Scheduling your interview: HBS oversees interview slots often fill quickly so if you are invited, please select your preferred slot as quickly as possible. If you prefer to have as much prep time as possible, I suggest you schedule as quickly as you can.  As all interviews are currently Zoom interviews, whatever you may have heard about certain officers covering particular geographies does not seem to have been applied consistently in Round 1 for the HBS Class of 2023.  Specifically the admissions officer, Sarah Lucas, who typically travels to India did not interview all of the Indian candidates and Eileen Chang, who typically travels to East Asia did not interview all Chinese, Japanese, and Korean candidates.  Therefore,  you should not assume you will have any particular interviewer and will not know who it is until the session starts. The good news is that there is little difference between the way each interviewer conducts interviews. That said,  if you are Indian and get Sarah or are East Asian and get Eileen, your interviewer will have greater area knowledge but this is something you will not know until the interview starts.

 

All interviews last 30 minutes and rarely exceed that time.

 

All interviews are currently being conducted online via Zoom.  Make sure your Zoom setup is good to go.  See here for my advice about.

 

CONTENT

The HBS interview content is quite distinct from what you would find in a typical MBA interview at schools like Booth, Columbia, INSEAD, Kellogg and Tuck. It is even more different than the behavioral interviews conducted by MIT and Stanford. The HBS difference is that each applicant will be asked questions specific to them. Prior to the Class of 2018 (2016 entry), while HBS interviews were always personalized, the reports I received from clients contained more generic questions. These days the questions each applicant gets is more tailored.

 

A few things to keep in mind:

1. You have to be prepared for answering questions about anything you have done that is accounted for in the application. You can expect a few questions related to your academic and personal background so you have to be prepared to handle a full range of questions but don't be surprised if you only get a few or even no questions in this area.
2. You will need to be able to switch between micro/personal level and big picture questions as this can happen often. If you are a non-native English speaker, chances are even greater that you will be in an interview where the number of questions asked is extremely high (maybe not so much of a deep dive at all) because the admissions interviewer is testing your English ability: In particular, your fluency. They want to make sure you can handle the HBS classroom.  Still, HBS is famous for going in relatively deep with follow-up questions, so you have to be prepared for that as well.
3. You need the ability to both explain and evaluate. By explain, I mean you should be able to provide both  (1) detailed and succinct answers and (2) anecdotal examples (tell stories) to address a great range of questions.  By evaluate, I mean you should be able to interpret and give an opinion when asked for one.
4. Don't be surprised if much of your essay contents are not discussed in the interview but rather only few points might be referred to. After all, they want to learn things about you they can't find in the essay, so don't think it will your script. Your resume is more likely to be worth your intensive review.

 

While I can't provide a real interview report,  I have described  what to expect in an interview. I would also say that the reports I have seen on online are usually too brief and don't generally reflect the actual interview because to do so would be too revealing. It would very risky for an applicant to put up a real report on an HBS interview because the questions are too applicant specific.

 

How it will start:

-The interviewer will briefly explain how the interview is structured.

-The interviewer will likely begin asking you questions either about something in your background or by asking you about your recent work. Examples:

"Tell me about X college experience"

or

"Tell me about how (your current work, current project, Project X mentioned in application) is going.

 

-If the interviewer starts with educational or other personal background questions, they are likely to do for a few minutes before switching to asking about professional experience related questions.  Expect 1-3 personal questions before the switchover to professional questions.

-If the interviewer starts with professional related questions, which are often updates at work, they are likely to focus on professional questions for most of the interview and you can expect only a few personal related questions at the end.

 

The primary focus of HBS interviews is on the applicant's professional experience.   While other subjects are discussed, based on reports I have seen, the vast majority of questions in  all recent interviews was related to professional experience. You still have to prep for the full range of questions, but a great deal of attention should focus on your work experience, your industry, and your company. They want to see your ability to discuss and explain your industry and company beyond your own role. This is an interview that is used to determine your fitness to be an effective participant in the class and hence the focus is content related to how you could contribute your experience in class discussions.

You need to be able to do the following for all of your employers:

1. Explain and evaluate the nature of the business.

2. Explain and evaluate the industry overall and the competition.

3. Explain key concepts related to your industry and role/function.

4. Explain and evaluate your role in each function you held in the company.

 

In other words, you should be able to explain and evaluate the above in a way that would parallel how you might use your knowledge in class at HBS. 

Below is an example set of questions reflecting the above.  We will assume that the applicant has worked at two companies.

"What is the project that you are most recently involved in?" 1-2 followup questions

"Tell me more about your involvement in... another project/organizing recruiting/ supervising a team/ other examples that focus on the applicant's role. 1-2 follow-up questions.

"How did Covid impact your company and your work personally?" ( I assumed this question would be asked in Round 1 interviews  and I used in some of my prep sessions. It was asked in some of the reports I have seen).

"What is the best part of your job?" 1-2 followup questions

"What have learned about your company as the result of your time there?" 1-2 followup questions

"Who are your company’s competitors?" 1-3 follow-up questions

"Why did you leave your prior employer to join this company?" 1-2 follow -up questions

"When you are at prior employer, tell me more about your involvement in... another project/organizing recruiting/ supervising a team/ other examples that focus on the applicant's role. 1-2 follow-up questions.

"How would you describe the difference in the work environment between these two companies?" 1-2 follow-up questions

"Can you explain more about X (X is something complex that is at the core the applicant's work)?"  1-5 follow-up questions

 

What else will be asked:

-Your goals are likely to be asked about but don't be surprised if you are not asked about why MBA or why HBS. You might be but there is a good chance, you will not be asked that.  So you have to prep for it.

"Where do you want to work post-MBA?" "Why?"

But be prepared for "Why HBS?" or "Why do you need an MBA" (these are both topics you can always bring up if asked if there is anything you want to discuss, see below)

 

-If no personal questions have been asked, you might get something related to your hobbies, interests, or background:

"Why do enjoy doing X?"

"Tell me about your involvement in X activity/group/organization/sport/team."

"What do you in your free time?"

 

-Typical MBA  interviews questions that are commonly asked but don't be surprised if you get none of these:

"What are you good at?" (What are you strengths?) or "What is one thing you are good at?"

"What aren't you good at?" (What are your weaknesses?) or "What is something you want to get better at doing?"

"What is something surprises people about you?"

 

-At the end of the interview, be prepared to be asked if there is anything else you want to discuss or questions you wish the interviewer had asked you. Have possible topics ready for this. Good topics for this:

1. Something you really wanted to discuss but did not a chance to.
2. Why HBS if this was not asked.
3. Discussion about extracurricular activities that highlight something that shows  leadership potential, teamwork skills, intellectual abilities, readiness for HBS, or something else you think HBS really needs to know about you. For example, gaining a new skill or making a big impact in a volunteer activity.

 

Please keep in mind that my discussion above reflects what MBA applicants get asked but for 2+2 applicants the contents will be different because there will be less focus on work experience. I don't work with many applicants for the 2+2 program so I don't have enough reports to write this myself. For a description of a 2+2 interview, see here.

 

After the interviewer, you will have 24 hours to write a post-interview reflection. This is your chance to clarify anything you feel you did not address sufficiently or address topics you wish you could have covered.   I advise my clients on this document, so the first thing they do after their interview is write up a full report on the interview so they know what they discussed and so that we can determine what should go into the post-interview reflection. I suggest you do the same even if it is just for yourself.  A good post-interview reflection will do all or some of the following:

1. Address any concerns you have over what you said or failed to say in the interview. (OPTIONAL)
2. Elaborate on issues that you want to highlight that was not sufficiently focused in the interview or application. (OPTIONAL)
3. Discuss something you especially want to highlight to the rest of the HBS Admissions Board even though it was discussed in the interview.  Just keep in mind that they not asking for you to summarize the interview.  (OPTIONAL)
4. Provide a brief assessment for how you think the interview went.
5. Thank the Admissions Board and your interviewer in particular.

 

Essay length for this varies, but I would say 200-500 words is common.

 

Best of luck with your HBS interview! If you want to do interview prep with me, please see here.

 

Booth Interview Video Question Analysis for the MBA Class of 2023 Round 2

 For my overall suggestions on Chicago Booth MBA  interviews, please see here.

 

 

For the current admissions cycle, Booth started asking for one minute video for those who receive interviews:

 

"Please submit a video response to one of the following two prompts:

• Tell us about something new you learned recently that shifted your worldview. How did it influence your behavior and/or actions?
• What is something you wish people knew about you, but you’re not sure that they do?

Please note the following:

• The length of the video submission should be no more than 60 seconds.
• You will not be evaluated on the styling and editing of the recording, only the content of your submission.
• Feel free to record the video with a cellphone, computer, or other video recording device."

 

Overall suggestions:

In general, I recommend discussing  something new that is not at all or is only minimally discussed in your application. Given that Booth has already asked a lot about you in the main essays, you should certainly give an answer that is consistent with what is found there.  However this is an opportunity to give them new perspectives and/or elaborate on  a theme found only briefly in your essays. If you choose to write about something that has already been covered, really consider whether what you are adding is really strong enough to make a difference.

 

Given the length is just 60 seconds, obviously you cannot write script in huge detail, rather think of these as one-point or two-point answers. Somewhere between 90-120 words is the likely length of a script that can be communicated effectively in one minute.

 

While video is not directly connected to the interview as the interviewer will not have access to them, do keep in mind that they will be analyzed in relationship to your application and the interview report

 

Technical considerations: The most important thing is that they can hear you and see you clearly. Don't worry about editing this or making it fancy. Focus on your content and performance, not on technical issues. Don't go for some outdoor location if you can't get good sound quality. Don't focus on any props or provide visuals just on you and your message.

 

Question Analysis

• Tell us about something new you learned recently that shifted your worldview. How did it influence your behavior and/or actions?

The point here is to focus on something you learned altered your perspective. A worldview is a rather wide perspective, so the learning should be significant and not minor.

1. Focus on a specific thing you learned. Make sure that this was a new learning.  A new learning is just that, something that you would have not known previously.

 

2. Make sure this happened recently. Recently is vague but I think the last 1-2 years would be a good timeframe.

 

3.  The topic possibilities here are really unlimited as this could be everything from a lesson learned through failure or success, a leadership story, a teamwork story,  an intellectual journey, an interpersonal dynamics (EQ) situation,  a story of your motivation towards something personal/academic/professional, etc.

 

4.  Make sure it is very clear that the following underlying pattern is present in your response:

NEW THING LEARNED RECENTLY= N

SHIFT IN WORLDVIEW= S

INFLUENCE ON BEHAVIOR/ACTIONS= I

→= leads to

N→S →I

 

• What is something you wish people knew about you, but you’re not sure that they do?

I would say the biggest limiting condition to what topic should be covered is that it must be relevant to Booth’s admission decision. As such you should be able to show how the thing you wish to people knew about you effectively answers one or more of the following:  Why would someone want to be friends with you?  Why would they want to work with you in and out of class?  How will add value to them? What does this does this surprising thing reveal about your intelligence/personality/leadership/teamwork/abilities?  The point here is to focus on something that is not obvious about you but is more than a meaningless curiosity. For example, my thumbs are  double jointed and while this can be briefly amusing when demonstrated, it is not really the kind of thing that would be worth consideration here.  You want to show something about yourself that gives Booth another reason to admit you.

 

Recommended Process for making your video

Here is what I typically do with my clients:

1. They formulate ideas for their script.
2. We either discuss them or just exchange ideas about what topic to focus on.
3. They write their script.
4. I review the script.  If it looks good,  I might give editing feedback if needed. If the script is not good, we discuss it.
5. Once the script is done, they make a video.
6. I review the video and give feedback. This might also involve editing the script.
7. They revise the video and show it to me again. They alter this as many times as necessary before submitting it.

Getting Technically Ready for Online Admissions Interviews

One of the frustrations I regularly experience with clients and potential clients is their lack of technical readiness for having Zoom (or Skype or Google or FaceTime) sessions with me.  This especially freaks me out when we are doing mock interviews for MBA and other programs.  There are just some basic technical things I expect and that are critical to effective training sessions and actual interviews:

 

Be on a good internet connection. While some poor connection situations are unavoidable (power outages, location in a low bandwidth environment), most are not.  Make sure you will be interviewing in whatever optimal location you have for a high bandwidth connection.  If necessary and financially viable, if your home connection sucks get your hands a mobile connection with higher bandwidth.

 

Use a computer, tablet, or other device that Zoom (or other platform) ready.  This means making sure you have device that can handle the platform you are on consistently and effectively.  Beyond doing updates, check your device and the platform you will be on in advance.  Have a friend do a test with you.

 

Getting visual: Make sure your camera is working, your setting is acceptable, and your lighting is good.  This means checking these things in advance. Cameras are usually not the problem (unless, of course, you have failed to authorize the application to access the camera).  Lighting is important. I am not an expert on this. Google it. Tons of stuff will help you figure it out.   It is fine to use a virtual background as long as your device and bandwidth can handle it.  I am not an interior director but do try to create some sort of home office, office,  conference room type setting. Find a friend (s) to give you feedback on your setup.

 

CAN YOU HEAR ME? Be audio ready.  I have saved the most important for last. Actually sometimes bandwidth issues will make video difficult but audio is critical. Check your set-up carefully.  Some computers have great audio input (mic) and output, others don't.  Whatever the situation make sure you have an audio situation that is optimal. No echoes, no muffled speaking, no mikes that are moving around and not picking your voice in a consistent way. Just make sure you sound clear and consistently. Again, have a friend(s) help you out.

 

Finally, I would have thought that the above post would be unnecessary to write but after the last year where almost everyone has been using Zoom, I  find myself still surprised about how many people (typically 20-30 years younger than me) haven't sorted out the above issues. Given that all interviews for the foreseeable future will be online, it is critical to be technically ready for them.

Good luck!

 

Advice on Scheduling MBA Interviews

 Clients frequently ask me questions about the interview scheduling process for MBA programs. Below I have provided advice on the topics I am most frequently asked about both for interviews that are scheduled using online scheduling systems (usually interviews with admissions officers and second year students) and those that are scheduled with an alumnus.

 

 

This post is being written in January 2021, so it assumes all interviews are being conducted via Zoom, Skype, or other online platform and not in-person on or off-campus.

 

 

Scheduling Interviews for MBA Programs That Use Online Scheduling Systems

 

1. If you are invited for an interview and the school uses an online scheduling system, I recommend that you schedule as soon as possible because slots will fill quickly. This is especially true for HBS and Wharton.

 

 

2. If you want more time to prepare for an interview, schedule the session at a later date.  There is no inherent disadvantage in terms of admissions outcomes for taking a later date.  There is no inherent advantage for taking an earlier date in terms of admissions outcomes.  Some applicants who feel ready to interview or want to get an interview out of the way as soon as possible will take earlier dates by choice. Many applicants prefer having more time to prepare. Whatever the case, the important thing is to try and schedule when you think you will be ready.

 

 

3.  You should schedule at a time that is best for you. With respect to time, to whatever extent it is possible to do so, try to interview at the time of the day or evening when you feel you will perform at your best. Some of us are night people, maybe some are afternoon people, and some are day people.  It is not always easy to get a good time but to whatever extent you can try to do so.

 

 

4.  With exception of MIT Sloan, you most likely will not know who your interviewer is in advance. MIT Sloan always lets you know who your interviewer will be but most programs don't provide that information in advance.

 

 

 

Scheduling  Alumni Interviews

 

1. If you are invited to interview with an alumnus, the MBA program will assign one to you and you will need to make contact with alumnus to arrange a time for your interview.

 

 

2.  For most schools you will usually have about a two-week window to complete the interview but this varies from school to school and can be extended due to extenuating circumstances (see below).

 

 

2. It is best to make contact with the alumnus within 24 hours as it looks odd if you wait much longer than that. If you don't get a reply from the interviewer in around  2 business days, feel free to send a follow-up email but I would suggest contacting the school if you have not heard anything within 4 business days.

 

 

4. Be aware that just because you are assigned an alumnus to interview with, there is no guarantee that this person will be available.  It is often the case that alumni agree to be interviewers but are not available when asked to conduct an interview. Schools where this frequently happens include Columbia Business School, INSEAD, and Kellogg. It even occasionally happens with Stanford GSB where alumni interviewers are more intentionally selected than at other business schools.  If this should happen contact the admissions office so that they assign another interviewer to you. They also usually extend the deadline for completing the interview based on assigning a new interviewer.

 

 

5.  I highly recommend checking online to learn about your interviewer.  LinkedIn is an obvious first way to learn about the interviewer as most will have a listing there.  Knowing who your interviewer is important with respect to:

-Understanding to what extent they may have a similar or different background from you. This will help you be strategic in the way you communicate about yourself.

-Being aware of when they graduated from the MBA program so you can tailor questions to them accordingly (Example: Asking new grads about a program is very different from asking someone who graduated from it 5 or more years ago).

-Determining whether you know anyone who knows the alumnus so you can get information about them (Be careful with the way you handle this).

- This one is unlikely: determining whether there is some reason why interviewing with this alumnus would be problematic (Examples: a conflict of interest situation, someone from your past who you would not want to interview with, or someone who based on their background would likely have a bias against you. If this is really an issue contact the admissions office and explain the situation. I have been an admissions consultant since 2001 and have only encountered a few cases where this was an issue.

 

 

6. Finally, it is to a large extent the alumni interviewer's choice of when to conduct the interview, so I do recommend being flexible about this so as not to give the interviewer a bad impression even before you interview.

 

 

Best of luck with your interviews!

Preparing for Wharton Interviews for the Class of 2023

 In this post, I discuss how to prepare for Wharton Interviews for fall 2021 entry.

 

There are two parts to the Wharton interview, the team-based interview and one-to-one interview.  Each part can be prepared for. I am assuming anyone who is reading this post has actually been invited for a Wharton interview and has reviewed the official information regarding it.

 

TEAM-BASED DISCUSSION

I will not disclose the contents of the specific team-based question that Wharton has asked  interviewees to prepare. I do know the question and it changes every year, but the question itself  is not really that different: Different topic, but requiring the group to reach consensus on a proposed topic related to Wharton.   I do provide analysis of the TBD discussion question to my own clients, but will not do that here.  

 

 

Here are some basic group interview strategies to keep in mind:

1. Be someone who makes clear and effective points in the conversation, but does not dominate the conversation.

2. Don't be rude to others. Rude jerks are the easiest people to get rid of when evaluating participants in a team based discussion. I had such clients and they were dinged. I warned  them.  Stanford Professor Bob Sutton's No Asshole Rule surely applies here:  CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT IF YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE. If you are, take corrective action.  Of course, most assholes wouldn't check this out.

3. Listen closely enough to others in order to say something that builds on or reacts against what other people are saying. Refer to what others are saying in order to build consensus. Those that actively listen seemed to have a better outcome in previous years of the TBD.

4. Try to provide constructive communication that moves the discussion forward to a positive conclusion. Make an effort to include others in the conversation.

5. Don't be afraid to make a less than perfect point. If  you were about being perfect, you will never get enough speaking time and perceived as shy and ineffective in team situations. That will get you dinged.

6. Synthesize and summarize the team's conversation in order to move the conversation forward.

7.  Use hedging language and other forms of consensus building language. Try to avoid being dismissive of the views of others.

8. If you are having difficulty understanding someone because of their accent or because of your poor English listening skills, still engage in non-verbal demonstrations that you understand what they are saying.  Non-verbal communication will surely be observed, so if you look confused or frustrated that could be used against you.

9. Smile and show eye contact with other people.

10.  Make sure that you don't slouch , but are sitting tall and look like a positive and engaged person.

11.  If possible make every effort to bond with or at least meet your fellow participants prior to the actual interview.  You will have 10 minutes for the purpose, so be on Zoom 15 minutes before the scheduled start time, so you can enter into the Zoom room as soon as possible.

12. Appearing effective on video is really important. This involves setting and performance.

Setting: Make sure your internet connectivity, lighting, and the space you are in is optimal.

Performance:  I think it is worth focusing on facial expressions and body language as they appear in video. To that end,  please see https://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/body-language-on-camera-how-to-use-facial-expression-to-communicate-context-and-emotion--cms-29640  Previous clients have found this site to be helpful. If you know of any other good resources for this purpose, please let me know.

13.  Keep in mind that you are being observed by two Admissions Fellows, so your performance is being evaluated by a peer-level individual and not an admissions officer.  Hence you are being judged by someone who can easily consider how well you would fit in at Wharton.

 

How I prepare my clients for the team discussion: The main thing I can do is go over the question and make sure my clients are prepared for the topic.  The nice part of the Wharton team discussion is that you do have the question ahead of time.  I assess their content on the following basis:

1. Does the suggested answer address the topic directly?

2. Is the suggested answer one that other group members and the interviewer can easily understand?

3.  Can the answer be communicated very briefly? Given time limits you will need to communicate it very briefly.

4.  Is the answer interesting/original/creative?

5. Are there any negative aspects to the proposed answer?

6. Are they providing an effective 1-minute opening statement?

7. Do they have different approaches to their 1-minute to adjust to what others might have covered first?

 

 

I can't effectively prepare someone for the actual dynamics of a group conversation on a one-to-one basis, but by at least making sure my client's opening is solid, I know they will at least be well positioned to start strong.

 

TBD Simulations

I don't run a TBD simulation.  In past years, I would direct clients to 2 options:

Simulations in their locality:  When TBDs consisted primarily of applicants from a particular country (In my case India, Japan, or South Korea) where colleagues hold TBD practices, I was encouraging clients to attend such practices, especially as it was an opportunity to meet with possible team members before the actual event.   However, given the altered situation since R2 for the Class 2022,  this is not inherently helpful.  Fine to use such services but a Zoom-based session is the only effective way to prepare.

Online TBDs: My colleague, Andrea Sparrey, has been doing online TBDs for a couple of years. Please see  http://www.sparreyconsulting.com/page/wharton-group-interview-prep. I consider this to be the best practice for the Wharton TBD now that they all will be conducted online.  Past clients have liked doing Andrea's session. Please let her know I sent you.

 

SHORT INDIVIDUAL DISCUSSION (ONE-TO-ONE POST TEAM-BASED DISCUSSION INTERVIEW)

This is the standard part of the interview but it is incredibly short.  If you are doing more standard interviews, it will be easy to prepare for this part.  For advice on more standard interviews, please see my MBA Application Interview Strategy. I highly recommend reviewing your resume and Wharton essays as part of your preparation.

In recent years clients have reported the following:

 

Class of 2022 two recent reports for interviews conducted online.

 

1. A second-year student called me  after finishing an interview with another applicant. She said that it was strictly a 10-minute interview and read out an instruction that she’d ask why MBA/Wharton questions which will be followed by a Q&A session. My friend who had a virtual interview a day before me had told me that his was a phone interview, so I prepared a script for why MBA/Wharton questions.

 

2. For the one-on-one, the interviewer mentioned that we had 10 mins and his "one & Only question" was "Why MBA and why Wharton?". Once I finish answering the question, I could ask him any questions I may have regarding the student life at Wharton"

 

All  Class of 2022 and 2021 reports indicate the same thing. While in the past (Class of 2020 or earlier), interviewees were asked to assess how the TBD went, this has not occurred in the last two cycles.

 

We can break Why Wharton and Why MBA into into one part of two parts but essentially you should prepare a long but clear answer that assumes the interviewer knows very little about you and hence briefly introduce yourself when answering this.

 

Have questions ready for your Admissions Fellow (2nd year student) as according to the instructions, they and only they will be the interviewers.  According to this year's instructions admissions officers will not be.

 

How I prepare my clients for the individual interview: I would typically ask my clients these two questions in a mock interview.  It would not be completely realistic because I would go over all the above questions just to make sure that my client was covered for all the above topics. If we were preparing for more standard interviews (Booth, Columbia, Kellogg, Haas, etc.), it might not really be necessary to go over this part of the interview for Wharton. For more about my interview services, please see http://www.adammarkus.com/services/.

Best of luck with your Wharton interview. I hope that you get admitted to the Class of 2023!

Cheers,

Adam