If you have been invited to interview with your target business school, you may be wondering whether or not interviewing on-campus with a member of the admissions committee is more beneficial than interviewing off-campus with a local alumni interviewer.
Recently, mbaMission senior consultant Rachel Back addressed this question in a video for our friends at GMAT Club. During the brief video, Rachel discusses the following:
What are the major differences between on-campus and off-campus interviews?
In which situations does opting for an on-campus interview make more sense?
Does interviewing on-campus have a more positive impact on your acceptance chances?
Devi Vallabhaneni, mbaMission’s HBS Interviewer in Residence
One of the most critical steps in the MBA application process is the interview, and none is more legendary—or stress inducing—than Harvard Business School’s (HBS’s). The HBS interview is particularly fast-paced and can cover a wide range of topics, all based on your specific application and personal story. It is designed to help the admissions representative get to know the real you.
Devi Vallabhaneni, a veteran admissions interviewer with years of experience interviewing hundreds of HBS candidates and mbaMission’s HBS Interviewer in Residence, emphasizes how much preparation goes into an HBS interview. “Your submitted HBS application includes so many different elements—your essay, your short answers, your transcripts, your letters of recommendation… I review everything extensively so that during our interview, I already know your story and can push deeper into the areas that interest me. You’ve worked so hard to show HBS who you are through your application; the interview reflects this same intensity back to you.”
Although the HBS admissions interview is specialized and unpredictable, Devi asserts that preparing for it is still both important and possible, and she encourages candidates to take steps to ready themselves for this pivotal discussion. “In just 30 minutes, even though you have no control over the questions, you have to convey the kind of HBS student and future leader you will be. To prepare, make sure that you know everything you submitted in your application. This sounds elementary, but I have seen people forget details about their own experiences! Practicing ahead of time is more than worth your while.”
With that in mind, this winter, Devi will be offering intensive interview simulations online via webcam to help HBS applicants prepare for the real thing. She will also hold an HBS Interview Workshop exclusively for mbaMission Complete “Start-to-Finish” Package clients.
The live interview simulation includes
Two or three 30-minute interview experiences customized to your application. Before your first session, Devi will spend several hours reviewing your written application, following the same process she used when conducting candidate interviews for HBS. This allows her to target her questions based on what she discovers about you from your application.
Personalized feedback. After each interview session, Devi will provide you with targeted feedback, talking you through her impressions and offering strategic advice for improving your HBS interview skills.
Reflection period. You will have time between your interview sessions with Devi so that you can internalize the feedback and adjust accordingly before trying again.
Are you applying to business school this year? If so, you can enroll in one of our free business school workshops, which are offered both online and in person in major cities across the country!
This January, the event lineup includes the following sessions:
January 14 Assessing Your MBA Profile (Online) How will admissions officers weigh your MBA application? An experienced senior consultant will help prospective MBAs understand how admissions committees choose from thousands of strong candidates to fill a relatively small number of spots in their classes.
January 16 Persian Gulf MBA Applicants: Overcoming Stereotypes and Finding Your Place (Online) Candidates from the Persian Gulf represent a unique subset of the MBA applicant pool, and MBA admissions officers are at risk of stereotyping applicants from this region. Given our track record of helping many candidates, we understand what you can do to emphasize the character traits the admissions committees want to see: hard work, openness, and a clear forward vision. Join us for this one-hour session detailing how you can stand out and earn that coveted letter of acceptance.
January 22 MBA Interview Workshop (Online) What do you need to do to prepare for your business school interview? An experienced senior consultant will help prospective MBAs understand the types of questions that may be asked to best prepare for interviews.
January 23 Standing Out from the 2+2 and Deferred Admissions Pack! (Online) HBS started the 2+2/deferred admissions trend, and now every other top MBA program seems to be jumping on board or preparing to do so soon. What do you need to do to be a standout applicant for one of these programs? Because this trend is still relatively new, not enough information is available to enable us to fully characterize an ideal candidate. Nonetheless, we can offer you a sense of why some applicants tend to succeed and where others often falter. Please join us for this must-attend session prior to creating your application!
January 24 No Stone Unturned: Your 2019/2020 MBA Application Starts Now! (Online) Planning to apply to business school in 2019 or 2020? It is not too early to start planning! By taking action now, you can dramatically improve your chances of gaining admission to a top MBA program in the coming years. Indeed, it is never too soon (and certainly not too late) to take several crucial steps to shape your MBA candidacy.
To enroll in one of our free seminars, click the event title in the list above. We look forward to having you join us!
We often hear MBA applicants ask some form of the following question: “Do I need a 750 to get into a top MBA program?” Although a 750 on the GMAT can certainly be helpful, it is not a prerequisite. We wanted to dispel this myth and put some who believe it at ease. Here are a few simple reasons why this is just not true:
The average is lower. Average GMAT scores at the top MBA programs range from approximately 700 to 730. Clearly, if the high end of the GMAT average range is 730, the schools cannot expect applicants to have a 750. That would mean that every applicant would be above average, which is not possible. Still, if a candidate’s score falls below the average, this generally places a greater burden on the other components of the individual’s application—so, for example, maybe his/her work experience would need to be stronger than that of other applicants, or maybe his/her extracurriculars would need to stand out even more. The bottom line is that mathematically speaking, many people have a GMAT score below 750.
Too few applicants have a 750 or higher. The top MBA programs accept thousands of applicants each application season. Only approximately 2% of GMAT test takers earn scores of 750 or higher, and some are earned by people who do not ultimately apply to business school at all, do not apply to any of the leading schools, take the test only to become GMAT instructors, pursue an EMBA or part-time MBA instead, are rejected because other aspects of their profile render them uncompetitive… and the list goes on. Basically, the top MBA programs do not receive applications from enough applicants with 750s to entirely populate their incoming class, as evidenced by the schools’ mid-80% GMAT ranges, which are typically 660–760.
All schools accept the GRE. Applicants do not really even need to take the GMAT anymore. Of course, if you do take the GMAT, you should strive to achieve the highest score possible. However, if the GMAT is not even required, you obviously would not need to score a 750 to be accepted.
We want to be unequivocal: 750 is a great GMAT score, and anyone who earns that score should be delighted. However, if you do not fare as well on the exam, you should still be quite hopeful and keep a positive mind-set, because the admissions process is holistic.
Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on Julie Hennessy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Before students even began describing the quality of their educational experiences with Julie Hennessy to mbaMission, they noted that she “cares a lot” and “makes herself available to chat and talk about recruiting.” In addition to teaching Kellogg MBA students as a clinical professor of marketing and serving as associate chair of the Marketing Department, Hennessy teaches executive education at leading firms. Students we interviewed reported that she draws on these experiences in class but does not just tell stories. Instead, Hennessy challenges students and teases out the responses that facilitate learning. Students with whom we spoke also referred to her as “funny and energetic.”
Not surprisingly, then, Hennessy won the school’s L.G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award—which is voted on by Kellogg students—in both 2007 and 2017. In addition, she has won six student impact awards and five Chair’s Core Course Teaching Awards—most recently in 2017 and 2010–2011, respectively. And in 2016, Hennessy received the school’s Certificate for Impact Teaching Award.
Kellogg’s website notes that Hennessy focuses her writing on producing new cases for class discussion; she has completed cases on such brands as TiVo, Apple iPod, Invisalign Orthodontics, and (as separate cases) the antibiotics Biaxin and Zithromax.
For more information about Northwestern Kellogg and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides.
A first-of-its-kind, on-demand MBA application experience that delivers a personalized curriculum for you and leverages interactive tools to guide you through the entire MBA application process.
