ACE Women’s Collective Events
How to ACE the MBA Interviews
Let us save you hours of research, see below for a summary of valuable insights from our event with David White, an expert MBA admissions coach at Menlo Coaching. As a perk to our community, David is offering 10% off on any interview prep services when you mention ACE Women’s Collective.
Key Take-Aways :
1) How does the MBA Admission Committee (AdCom) arrive at the final decision once you’ve gotten an interview invitation?
The interview is NOT make or break, the Adcom still considers your whole application and the interview feedback is just one part of that application.
2) What are the 3 Core Formats of MBA Interviews?
· Harvard Business School (HBS):
- Case-based discussions (similar to consulting type of interviews)
· Wharton Business School:
- Group-based discussions:
· Rest of the Schools:
- Behavioral Questions
- Predictable Questions
Have school specific questions? Click here to see the detailed description of each component of the MBA process for top B-Schools
3) What qualities in applicants are Adcom looking for?
Soft skills: The interviewer is looking to assess your communication skills, your ability to articulate and structure your answers concisely
Understanding your “WHY?”: why business school now and why this specific business school.
Career Progression and Career Focus: How clearly can you link your past experience to post MBA goals?
Leadership experience (or potential): How have you made an impact in your community?
Still feeling lost? Check out Menlo Coaching’s interview prep video library David created exclusively for the ACE community.
ACE the MBA Interview Key Takeaways
Check out our top three takeaways from the conversation between Tori (HBS ‘22) and Obinna (Tuck ‘18, Menlo Interview Coach) and additional resources from Menlo Coaching.
Create a story bank.
Most MBA programs have behavioral interviews where you have to tell a story about an event in your professional or personal life to answer the question. It’s a good idea to have a range of stories illustrating challenges, successes, leadership and teamwork.
Be authentic!
Nobody wants to have a conversation with a perfectly scripted robot. Interviewers are looking to understand who YOU are and what makes you unique so don’t be afraid to be yourself and let your personality shine.
Don’t underestimate the power of mock interviews.
Mock interviews are a great chance to get comfortable sharing your story. Grab a friend or partner who is willing to give you some feedback on how you are presenting yourself and the effectiveness of your answers.
Additional Resources:
3 MBA Interview Tips to Stand Out from the Crowd
How To Answer Common MBA Interview Questions With Confidence