Last Updated on January 29, 2023 by MBA Gateway Team
We have compiled a list of popular interview questions that candidates for business schools will likely encounter. I have broken them into five categories. We recognize that some questions can fall into multiple categories, but for the sake of simplicity, we have them organized into one group. These questions do not purport to be exhaustive in the interview question domain. It is more a collection of fundamental questions that every candidate should be ready to face regardless of their unique circumstance and experience. Use these questions as a starting point but I encourage you to also look closely at your own story to assess whether there are gaps or flags that are likely to solicit inquiry in an interview.
1. General
• Walk me through your resume.
• What will you do if you don’t get into business school?
• What will you contribute to our MBA program?
• What do you think will be your biggest challenge in our program?
• Why did you select the recommenders?
• What programs did you apply to?
• What is your first-choice school?
• Why should we admit you given the steep competition?
• Why are you interested in our program?
• Is there anything else you wish to tell me about yourself?
• What do you want to be known for in life?
• What else do you wish I had asked you about your candidacy?
2. Professional
- What are your short- and long-term career goals?
- Why do you want an MBA?
- Describe your career decisions to date and highlight your greatest impact.
• Why did you select the firms where you have worked?
• How has your leadership style evolved over your career?
• How would your supervisor (colleagues) describe you?
• What do you think your boss would say are your biggest weaknesses (strengths)?
• When did you work in a team and what impact or role did you have?
• What was your most exciting project at your firm?
• Describe your international experience.
• Describe a professional failure you have had and what you did to overcome it.
• In your career, when have you made a mistake? What did you learn from it?
• What drives you to seek new challenges and opportunities? In your career, when did you take an unusual path or make a decision that was not popular?
• Tell me about a time when you created a product or process that added value to your firm.
• When have you worked in a demanding team and how did you overcome the challenge?
• What do you believe constitutes a great manager and are you one?
• What do you like or dislike about your job?
3. Personal
- Tell me about yourself.
- What motivates you to succeed?
- Who do you admire the most and why?
- How would your former classmates describe you?
- What three adjectives best describe who you are?
- What would you change about yourself and why?
- How do you handle change?
- What is your favorite book, and what do you find interesting about it?
- What has been your biggest self-discovery?
- What is the challenge you’ve sought that scared you the most?
- What accomplishment are you most proud of and why?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- If you could live anywhere in the world besides where you live currently, where would it be and why?
- If you could be a superhero, which one would you be and what would you do with your special powers?
- What talent do you wish you had and why?
- Describe an ethical dilemma you faced and how you addressed it.
4. Extracurricular
- What do you do for fun and how do you spend your free time?
- What leadership impact have you had outside of work?
- What community service organizations are you involved in, and how have you created value there?
- What clubs do you plan to join if you are admitted?
- How do you lead differently in your career versus in your community?
5. Education
- Describe your academic experience in college.
- Why did you choose your major/school?
- How did you perform academically?
- Which awards did you receive?
- What decisions do you regret making during college?
- If you could change one thing about your education, what would it be and why?
