While most highly competitive MBA programs require personal interviews with candidates, do not consider it the end of the line if you are not offered an interview. The admissions team uses the process to get to know the candidate further than what they already know.  

Before diving in, it is important to research each school’s interview policies in terms of who is conducting the interview, how much they know about candidates, and the overall structure. For example, At the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), applicants may be invited to a 35-minute team-based discussion with 5-6 other applicants, then a 10-minute reflection with an admissions member. The University of Virginia (Darden) conducts its interviews either via an admissions committee member or second-year student—and the interviewer will not have read applicants’ materials, including resumes.

MBA admissions experts say that regardless of the school or admissions process, the interview is about conveying authenticity and communicating who you are and what your goals are. Interviews can last anywhere from 30 minutes to multiple hours, and a range of questions will be covered. Here are six of the most common types of questions to prepare for during the interview process.

Getting to know the candidate

Interviews will generally start out with questions that help the school’s admissions committee get to know the candidate, like:

• Tell me about yourself
• Walk me through your resume
• What are your short- and long-term goals?

These prompts give prospective students the opportunity to introduce themselves and provide more details about their résumé and career highlights. Don’t be afraid to get personal, recommends Eli David, co-founder and managing partner of Ivy MBA Consulting and an alumnus of Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. 

“Many people work for McKinsey or Google or Morgan Stanley,” David says. “If you want to stand out, it’s your interests or hobbies that can help you do that. Volunteer experience and interests are really an opportunity for candidates to differentiate themselves.”

It is also important to do more than read out your experiences; interviewees should spotlight specific examples of how they tie into career goals.

Why X?

Candidates should be prepared to answer obvious, but complicated questions centered around why you are sitting in the interview in the first place:

• Why do you want to pursue an MBA?
• Why is X school the right fit?
• How will you contribute to X school?

Highlighting a potential course, concentration, or club that strikes your interest can go a long way in helping you differentiate your application by demonstrating you did your research and truly believe you would make a good fit in the program.

Technical questions and translating experience into eligibility

As you go deeper into your résumé and job experience, it is important that you explain your work in a clear and straightforward way. Candidates should be able to translate their technical work—such as computer coding or product development—into business impact, relating it to their company’s overall mission, says Devi Vallabhaneni, MBA admissions executive director at mbaMission. She’s also a Harvard Business School interviewer in residence and has almost two decades of experience interviewing and evaluating HBS candidates.

“Verbalization is important. It shows if you are able to communicate effectively,” Vallabhaneni says. “Can this person tell their story?”

An example would be a Procter & Gamble employee explaining his or her job developing Tide products in steps—highlighting job duties, like analyzing ingredients and taking responsibility for defects in the product, Vallabhaneni says. This type of question is also meant to gauge how well you make the point that your roles have prepared you for the MBA program and business leadership more generally.

Scenario questions

As with any job interview, candidates will be asked questions about various situations they’ve faced in their career and personal lives. Possible questions include:

• When is a time you failed?
• Who is the most difficult person you have worked with?
• Why did you move from one job to another?
• What’s an example of a time you’ve worked with a diverse team?

These types of questions give the candidate the opportunity to show they have reflected on their experiences and are capable of learning and growth. “You can tell how they process their emotions and how they process a situation,” Vallabhaneni says.

Preparing for the future

Candidates should think about how the MBA program they are interviewing for will help them achieve their goals. On top of questions about goals, interviewers may ask candidates questions like:

• What is your dream job?
• What is your plan B/back-up if X school rejects you?
• Where would you like to work in X years?
• How will the specific program aid you in reaching your goals?

Schools want to see that you have done your research, but you should also be humble enough to realize that goals don’t always work out.

“They want to make sure that you’re personable and human and able to relate to other people and are ready for the challenge, but you’re not supposed to have everything figured out,” explains Mia Gradelski, a current NYU (Stern) MBA student. 

The candidate’s turn

At the end of the interview session, candidates will typically have the chance to ask interviewers any questions they have about the school, and David says there are important ground rules to follow. Candidates should not ask any questions that can be answered by reading the school’s website, and time should not be wasted on procedural questions like, “What’s next in the process?” or “When will I hear about my admission?” Any questions should be genuine and specific to the program.

David also emphasizes the importance of body language, dressing professionally, and putting in the time to research the program and prepare for the interview.

“Practice, practice, practice,” David says. “People need to understand this is a very big commitment and a lot of work. The reward, for most of them, is pretty significant.”

Overall, prepare to be authentic and humble. If the interview does not go as great as you expected, remember that your interviewer speaks to a lot of candidates, and don’t lose sight that the interview is just one part of your application journey.

Frequently asked questions