Mar 4, 2014

Overview: Conversational interview with an Admissions Fellow on campus.
The interview ran about 40 minutes though we had actually scheduled a full hour.
The Admissions Fellow asked basic questions including:

1. Tell me about yourself

2. Why MBA?

3. Why Booth?

4. Why now?

5. Short -term and long-term goals

6. Clubs at Booth?

7. Specific classes at Booth?

8. Free time – what do you do with it?

9. What do you wish I had asked you about?

10. Any questions for me?

Mar 4, 2014

I interviewed with an alumnus of the class of 2013. The interview was blind; he had my resume a week before our meeting.

We met at a coffee shop near his office. He ran me through his background before Booth, a few thoughts on his time there, his work since then, and then introduced the format for the interview. He said he would open the floor for me to walk him through my résumé and we’d go from there. He said he’d stop me for questions as needed. I had prepared for this, so I introduced three themes that run through my work history and then started with my undergrad background. I walked him through the major steps of my background, pivoted to “why an MBA?” and then moved into “Why now?” and “Why Booth?” I had specific elements of the curriculum, concentrations, clubs, and labs in mind and mentioned those. I pivoted to my goals post-MBA and had specific industries, functions, and employers ready to talk about. This was a very standard MBA interview. He took lots of notes during this time.

I pre-empted a number of his questions by the way I structured my answers, so he didn’t have to ask directly. There were a few specific questions based on my answers, but nothing surprising. He did ask if I had visited campus, which I had. He had some thoughts about employers, and we had a 5 minute diversion talking about the strength of Booth’s recruiting and how good the 2013 jobs report was.

We moved to questions that I had for him. I had prepared one about my background and how it might fit with Booth, one about the classroom dynamic, and one about lifestyle stuff. This led us to about 15 minutes of discussion about all kinds of aspects of the culture, community, and life in Chicago.

Overall, the interview was very positive, conversational, and encouraging. He commented favorably on my work experience and suggested that recruiters would look on it well. I walked away feeling even more positively about Booth than I did going in, and I was glad I had prepared well. I’d say the interview was basic/straightforward in a good way.

To summarize, be prepared for the following and get to this without being prompted:

1. Walk me through your resume
2. Why MBA?
3. Why now?
4. Why Booth?
5. What do you want to do post-MBA? Why is that a good fit for you?
6. What questions do you have about Booth?

Mar 4, 2014

It was very conversational. Lasted about 45 minutes. She didn’t ask me the “walk me through your resume” question, but she did ask specific questions about my resume.

1. Why MBA and why now?

2. How did you became interested in Chicago?

3. How will you contribute?

4. Talk to me about some highlights during your undergrad.

5. If your friends had to describe you in three words, what would they say?

6. What attributes do you think a leader should have and which ones do you have?

7. 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses

8. Talk to me about your hobbies.

9. Talk to me about your volunteer work.

10. Questions for her

Feb 27, 2014

I had my Chicago Booth interview on campus this week with a 2nd year student.  Here were the questions asked:

Walk me through your resume/Tell me about yourself, starting with where you grew up.

If your friends had to describe you in three words, what would those words be?

An example of a failure

A decision you regretted

Greatest accomplishment

Feb 12, 2014

The interview was held off-campus (November 23, 2013), with an alumnus who graduated in 2008, in Sao Paulo / Brazil. It was part of a full day of interviews organized by the department of admissions, and lasted about 1h15min.

Questions asked:

1. Walk me through your resume (asked several questions on my CV, focusing on skills I developed in each job and career changes)

2. Tell me about a situation when you learned something from someone different from you

3. Hobbies?

4. Tell me about a situation when you failed

5. What are your short- and long-term goals?

6. What are your passions?

7. Why Booth?

8. Why MBA now?

9. Questions for him

Feb 11, 2014

This interview was very casual overall, similar to my Ross and Kellogg interviews. I was asked typical questions about “Why MBA,” “Why Booth,” and “Why now” right after going over my resume.

The interviewer had me walk through my resume and through each one of my experiences asked follow up questions on what I had learned, any project or group work I did, and times of leadership.

He asked me specifically about time management and how I planned on balancing my commitments in the future.

The student overall was very friendly and was working off a grid of questions to make sure he hit key areas like leadership, teamwork, and school fit. He also talked a lot about the classes, professors, and rigor of the program.

My overall opinion on the interview was the student was much more concerned about my fit to Booth than the depth of my answers.

Dec 10, 2013

I had the interview in a coffee shop near the area where alumnus lives. The atmosphere was very relaxed and casual. The alumnus had graduated this year and had up to date knowledge about the school curriculum and activities.

The interview started from the typical “walk me through your resume” questions. (I sent him my resume two days before the interview). Then, he asked me to elaborate on some of the experiences that I described. The next parts were “why do you need Booth” and “why Booth needs you”. He also asked to describe in detail my short- and long-term goals. No grilling or particularly challenging behaviour questions.

At the end, I asked questions about his experiences in school and career choices. I wanted to finalize the interview after three questions, but he encouraged to ask more, so I came up with a few additional ones.

Overall, he seemed to be very friendly and even supportive. He told to let him know about the final results of the admission process.

The whole interview took slightly less than an hour.

Dec 10, 2013

My interview was on-campus with a second-year student (Admissions Fellow). It was 45 minutes long and blind, although the interviewer had reviewed my resume and made a few notes beforehand. The questions were pretty consistent with what other applicants have reported on this and other sites:

1) Why did you choose your undergraduate major?

2) How did you decide to work in the field you’re working in (different from what I studied)?

3) What made you move from Role X to Y (when I changed jobs)?

4) What are your long-term career goals?

5) Why do you feel you need an MBA now?

6) Why Chicago Booth?

7) Tell me about a situation when you had to navigate/resolve conflicts while working in a team setting?

The interview was conversational – not intimidating at all; other interviewees reported similar experiences. The questions were fair and while they were not unexpected, it didn’t feel like the interviewer was simply going through a list (unlike at another peer school I’ve interviewed at). The school/interviewers made a conscious effort to put candidates at ease before the interviews (the school had current students in the waiting area at all times, to chat with interviewees; most interviewers chatted about random stuff with candidates on their way to the rooms) – a nice touch.

Overall, a positive interview experience. Three things I would give the school specific props on: Organization, opportunity (to make your case), environment (a pleasant environment makes it harder to gauge what assessments are being made during the interview, but the lack of pressure does help most candidates avoid anxiety and put their best foot forward – a net positive in my book).

Nov 26, 2013

The interview was held off-campus, in a company building owned by an alumnus, in Sao Paulo / Brazil. It was part of a full day of interviews organized by the department of admissions, and lasted about 50 minutes.

My interviewer was an alumnus that graduated more than two years ago. He created a friendly atmosphere and conducted a very conversational interview. He began by providing me with some of his background and experiences. I was asked just a few basic questions, to which he added some comments and personal remarks. The questions asked were as follows:

1. Walk me me through your resume

2. Why MBA? Why now?

3. Why Booth?

4. Hobbies?

5. Questions for him

Nov 21, 2013

The interview was held on campus. It was with a second year student and lasted for about 50 minutes. I was surprised by how friendly the interviewer was and this led to a very conversational interview. The interviewer began by providing me with some of his background and experiences. As it turned out, we shared a number of similar interests and the conversation developed from here. I was only asked four standard questions and got the impression the interviewer just wanted to get these out of the way so that we could continue with the conversation. The questions asked were as follows:

1. Talk me through your resume? (He probed a little here, mainly based on an overlap of interests)

2. Why do you want to do an MBA?

3. Why Booth?

4. Questions for him

Overall, it was completely different and much more relaxed that I expected.

Nov 13, 2013

It was very conversational. The questions were:

Walk me through your resume?

What are your short- and long-term goals?

Why MBA?

Why Booth?

Any failures?

Extra-curriculars activities ? {This one was good.}

Any questions for me?

Overall, it lasted for 27 minutes. It was really good.

May 2, 2013

I had an great experience. Students were every open about their Booth experience. Walking into the Harper Center, you immediately go to the Admissions office and are welcomed by several 1st yrs who are there solely to calm you down and have a conversation with about their time at Chicago.

Before arriving, I contacted several students from clubs I was interested in and was able to have lunch with them to understand their experience. This also acted as a informal interview so I could beter hone in on what questions I would be asked. Be prepared to answer the “Why Booth” question and have several reasons why because fit is VERY important at Chicago. Since I’m from NYC, they want to know why I was interested in coming to the mid-west. If you are a R3 candidate (which I am), they will want to know what schools you have applied and been accepted to. I have already been accepted at several top schools and decided to apply to Booth R3 so I was able to speak intelligently about this. Be prepared. Furthermore, students will challenge you on your choices/ideas, which makes sense because students do the same in class. Its a very engaging environment but not for the faint of heart.

My actual interview was very conversational and friendly. The 2nd yr started with asking me to walk through my resume. Then he asked me about my leadership experience and how I deal with conflict, disappointment, failure, convincing others of my ideas and motivational tactics. Make sure you can tell a story about each experience and have concrete points to make. In this case I utilized the Clear Admit interview packet and it was a HUGE asset. I didn’t purchase the packet for a a different school and I was WL’ed and I definitely think it was because of my interview.

The only thing that surprised was how easy the conversation went. Overall I loved my Booth interview experience and hopefully I will attend Chicago in the fall.

Apr 1, 2013

I’m a round two applicant. I attended the Booth Live event on Friday. The event was awesome! I recommend that every applicant attend this event–before completing the app if possible. It gives you much better insight into the Booth culture, admissions process and committee members, and student personalities. Try your best to engage with as many of the Booth students and admission members as possible–they may remember you and fight for you during their review process.

I had my interview the following day at 1pm. There was a first-year student or two hanging around the lobby talking to interviewees and trying to keep the atmosphere light. My interview was with a second-year admissions fellow (student). He had my résumé and what appeared to be question review document that listed specific questions and ratings. The interview was casual; however it was clear that he had to ask specific questions and was on a timeline. Below are the questions that I remember, in the order that they were asked.

-Give me your story; overview of your résumé.

-What are your short- and long-term goals?

-Why do you want an MBA?

-Why do you want to go into that type of industry?

-Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult situation during which you were unsuccessful. What did you learn from it?

-Tell me about a time where you had to influence those above you.

-What are you going to do if you don’t get the job you want after graduating from Booth?

-Why Booth?

-Tell me about a time where you had to resolve conflict between two different people.

-How will you contribute to the Booth community?

-What do you do or plan to do outside of work/academics?

-Do you have any questions for me?

Apr 1, 2013

I interviewed on 03/09 on campus. It was a Saturday, so the admissions office was closed. There was a seperate room set up for interviews. When I arrived, I checked in and recieved a name tag that also had the name of my interviewer (of course, I googled him right away just so I could see if we had any common interests – which we didn’t!)

There were several first year students in the ‘waiting room’ that were available to answer questions and calm our nerves! When it was my time to interview, my interviewer came out, called my name, and took me into a smaller office. He told me that he read through my resume and was excited to get to know me more. The atmoshphere was incredibly casual and very conversational. He didn’t ask many structured questions – as I walked through my resume, he asked questions genuinely wanting to learn about what I did and what companies I worked for, etc. He did as me about my goals and why Booth.

Then we talked about the culture a bit. Asked me one behavioral question about a challenge that I faced and how I handled it (I chose a different scenario than the one I wrote about in my challenge short answer essay for the application).

Overall, it was a super casual and conversational interivew. I had a great experience – and just found out this week that I have been admitted! Good luck!

Mar 8, 2013

The interview was very conversational. I completed it a couple of weeks ago. First year students were in the lounge to answer any queries. The interview lasted for 45 minutes. Interview atmosphere was really congenial. It was a blind interview. The most surprising part was the structure of the interview.

I was told that the interview will be divided into four parts:-

a) Professional stuff
b) Behavioral questions
c) Personal questions from resume
d) Questions

Traditional Section a) Walk me through your resume? What are your goals? Why MBA? What will you bring to Booth? Why Booth? {Lasted for 10-15 minutes}

Section b) Tell me about a time when you failed? Tell me about a time when you thought that you should have made a decision X but didn’t. Why do you think about such a decision? In a team-based environment, what are your priorities? What are 2-3 qualities of a leader? What qualities do you think your friends would describe about you? Why do you think so about friends’ opinion?

Section C) detailed questions from resume (mainly on hobbies.) I think that the goal was to make sure that I have done them. For a moment, I felt as if the interviewer shared one of my hobbies. The interviewer knew a lot about it. I was really surprised.

Section D) Questions?

Mar 8, 2013

Arrived to a very friendly atmosphere in the business school. Being one of their ‘Super Saturday’ interview rounds, the main office was closed. On venturing upstairs, I was welcomed to a clearly gregarious crowd. Having arrived an hour early, I checked in and received the name tag. Several first and second year students were stationed in the lobby to chat with crowds of interviewees. My name was called, and onward to the interview.

After some small talk, we were seated in a small interview room at a desk with two chairs. The topics were light, including “Walk me through your resume” and “What do you see as your long term goals.” Very casual interview, no unexpected questions.

Mar 7, 2013

The interview took place in a coffee shop. The interviewer was an alum who apart from asking me questions, gave me some advice on how to sort the usual obstacles of the MBA experience.

He asked me:

• Walk me through your resume
• Why an MBA? Why now? Why Booth?
• Tell me about about your leadership skills.
• What will you contribute to Booth?
• Where do you see yourself 10 years into the future?

I was told I should be very clear as to why I thought that Booth was a good place for me.

Dec 31, 2012

I had my Chicago interview on Friday.  As expected, only traditional questions were asked: “walk me through your resume, why MBA, why Booth, what can you offer to Booth, tell me about a time you went through a challenging team experience, do you have any questions for me”?

Nov 27, 2012

My interview was conducted by an alum at his office. It was quite a formal conversation. He introduced himself and told me a little bit about his background (post-MBA experience and what he’s doing right now). He said the interview would last not more than 30 minutes and then dived straight into the questions (not necessarily in the same sequence):

1. Walk me through your resume

2. Why MBA? Why Booth?

3. What would you like to do at Booth outside of the classroom?

4. Don’t you think some post-MBA experience in operations would help before you go for a startup?

5. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career? Tell me a little about about the experience

6. How would the economics work out in your startup idea?

7. In your experience with startups, what advice would you give to entrepreneurs?

8. As a re-applicant, what’s changed since the last time you applied?

9. Time for questions – you have 2 minutes

Took exactly 30 mins as he’d mentioned in the beginning!

Nov 27, 2012

I had a very standard 45 min interview.

• Why MBA
• Most notable accomplishment on resume
• What groups I would want to be a part of
• What i would miss most about NYC
• Failure
• Team example
• leadership style

It was mostly conversational and ide say we had a pretty organic conversation. she spent a lot of time talking about her experience, why she went to booth, and what she was involved in. Through some googling, i found some interests we had in common and made sure to bring them up

Nov 16, 2012

I was invited for an interview with an alumnus in my local city in India. The alumnus invited me to her office for the interview. She started by introducing herself and walking me through her career. Then she asked me about myself. I was expecting 4-5 questions in total from her, but she ended up asking a lot of questions from me. She had a sample questionnaire with her (probably sent to her by Booth) and she kept on asking questions, and taking notes. Majority of questions were behavioral in nature. Though I do not remember all the questions that she asked, following are some of the questions:

• Walk me through your life since school highlighting the key instances when you took significant decisions that have shaped you today
• Tell me about a time when you had to resolve a conflict
• Tell me about a time when you had to prioritize things at work
• What its your leadership style
• Give me three words that your superior will use to describe you
• Give me three words that your subordinates will use to describe you
• Give me three words how you will describe yourself
• Tell me a time when you had to motivate a team
• Goals
• What is the most important thing that you have present in your career so far?
• What go you think are your key strengths?
• What go you think are your key weaknesses
• How has your thinking changed during you’re work experience. Give an example to elaborate.
• Tell me about a time when you failed and were not able to make up again
• Is there anything else that were have not covered and you want to highlight
• You have mentioned in your resume that traveling and reading are your hobby. Where all have you traveled and what books do you like to read
• Why Booth
• How will you contribute to the Booth community

Then she gave me sometime to ask her questions. In total the interview lasted for one hour.

Jun 29, 2012

I had my interview off campus with a first year out Booth Alum. We met at a local Starbucks which I think made me more comfortable for the interview than if I had done it in the formal on campus admissions office setting. Her questions were similar to the others posted here, outline as follows:

• Please give me your elevator pitch (I felt this was a slightly tough starter, as it was not clear whether she was talking about my resume, me, my desire to go to Booth or all of the above!).
• Why an MBA now
• Where do I want to be in 5 to 10 years – follow up was why do I need an MBA for it
• Why Booth? (This question I think is what warmed the interview into more of a conversational dialogue – I think being able to talk to specifics about the school that my interviewer could shed more light on for me was helpful)
• What other schools did I apply to
• If I did not get accepted to Booth, what would I do.

I did do some research on the interview questions before the interview (spent a few hours). It helps to know some specifics about the school and practice some general answers to the common interview questions (Ie – why booth, why mba now). Interestingly my interviewer did not seek specific examples from my work  background in order to demonstrate leadership, team work or other qualities as I had anticipated. It was focussed on why booth, why now and my future plans.

I felt very nervous post interview, but I am now a happy 2014 Booth admit. So you never know! Best of luck, hope this helps.