Kellogg Visit and Interview

So here's the recap from my Kellogg visit:

First off, let me just repeat myself from the last post- Chicago is really REALLY cold. I knew it was going to be quite chilly, but I definitely did not anticipate the my-ears-are-going-to-fall-off-my-head coldness. I wish the weather was a bit more bearable, because Evanston seemed like it was a cute little city with a lot of charm. I would've liked to walk around the streets and do some sightseeing to get a better feel for the area.

But anyways, my visit to the Kellogg school itself was a great experience. It's an older building, but that didn't mean much to me. They had everything an MBA student really needs- large studying areas, a central eating area, free printing, lockers, cafes, etc.

Unlike my other interviews, Kellogg's on-campus interview was by a member of the Admissions committee. This was an interesting change as I had to think of other questions to ask besides the "in your experience at Kellogg" type questions.

The Admissions Director was a very nice lady who put me at ease right away. She really just wanted to get to know me and we went through my resume in detail as she asked me some follow-up questions. Here are the questions I remember:

- Walk through your resume (went into details and specifics about each of my previous jobs and responsibilities)
- So how was your experience hiring and managing your own team?
- Give an example of a type of project you led at your current workplace.
- What type of involvement did you have in your extracurricular activities?
- What role would you play in a team?
- If you were admitted, what will you bring to Kellogg?

I also sat in on a class and got to sit with a bunch of 1st year students for lunch. The group of people at Kellogg were very friendly and genuinely nice. I spent a good amount of time talking to a first year student who was interested in brand management like me. She is also part of the committee who is putting together DAK (Day at Kellogg- the admitted students weekend at Kellogg), so I'm hoping to see her again very soon!

And last but definitely not least, a couple photos from my visit to top off the post:





So this concludes my rounds of school visits and interviews. It was definitely quite a lot of work with the traveling and all, but it was very worth it to see the schools in person and to talk with the people there directly. R1 decisions are coming up very soon... in just a matter of weeks, I will know the fate of my Duke and Wharton applications. Well, at least I'll be catching up on all the work I missed this past week so I won't have too much free time to think about the wait for the decisions. I hope to receive that congrats call and to see many positive blog entries from other applicants very soon!

Wharton Visit and Interview

I just came back from my long and winding travels to Wharton and Kellogg. Let me just say, coming from Southern California, I completely underestimated the weather out there in Chicago. I mean, I thought Philly was bearable, but Chicago... man oh man, twas a different story.

But first things first, Wharton. My interviewer was a 2nd year student who was very nice and friendly, which made it easier for me to interview with him. He mentioned that Wharton students really don't have the "jerk" factor and people don't have their noses in the air just because they're at Wharton. I really liked that because I wouldn't want to be in an environment full of big-headed people.

I absolutely loved the campus and the small college town surrounding the university. Philly is such a small but cute city... I can totally see myself here next year (i hope!). My Wharton interview went pretty well and I'm feeling good about how everything turned out. I believe this week was the last week of interviews for round 1, so all we need to do now is wait and see the results in a couple weeks.

Here are the questions I was asked:

- Walk through career path
- Why MBA/Why Now?
- Why Wharton?
- More detail about extracurriculars
- What do you want to learn/gain through Wharton?
- Anything not covered in interview/application?
- Any questions for me?


Nothing too surprising or out of the norm. I actually thought it was a breeze compared to my ill-prepared Duke interview. I guess practice does make perfect in this case.

Well here are some photos from my Philly/Wharton visit:












I'll put together my Kellogg recap together in another post. Best of luck to all Wharton R1 applicants waiting along with me!!

Duke Interview and Visit Recap

Though it's been almost a month since my Fuqua interview, I thought I'd share some of my experiences and insights on this blog for 1) future interviewees who may benefit from my experience and 2) to sort out my thoughts as I prepare for my upcoming interviews.

So I had my on-campus visit/interview with a 2nd year student in early November. I told myself at the beginning of this application process that I would go visit every school during the interview phase and Duke was no exception. I flew from LA all the way out to NY for a biz trip, then took a short flight out to NC.

First things first, the whole on-campus visit experience was so organized and friendly. I was pleasantly surprised at how they had a 2nd year student greet me at the admissions office and prepared a folder for me with agenda of the events that I had signed up for that day. I first went on a tour of the school with a bunch of other prospects. Let me just say- I absolutely loved the facilities. They had recently renovated and expanded the place so everything looks new and clean. And I could really tell that they go out of their way to make sure that things are very convenient for the students. For example, each study room has a motion sensor that detects whether the room is being used or not, and there are TV monitors out on the hallways that tell you which rooms are vacant vs. occupied. This way, students don't have to waste time peeking into each study room to find a free spot.

But more importantly, the environment was very laid back and friendly. I could tell right away that this was truly a supportive and collaborative learning environment. There were lots of interactions in the hallways and everyone was so happy to see other as they were grabbing their lunches and mingling in the cafeteria. It was definitely a pleasant surprise compared to my experience at Columbia (which I may write another post about later).

Anyways, so this was my first interview for b-school so I felt a bit ill-prepared and nervous. The interviewer was a 2nd year student and the interview took about 45 minutes tops. Here are the questions I recall:

- What are your short term and long term goals?
- How are you and Fuqua a proper fit for each other?
- Tell me about an ethical issue you had to face.
- What does "leader of consequence" mean to you?
- What is your weakness?
- How will your friends describe you (3 adjectives)?
- If you had your own company, what type of people would you want to hire?
- What is a criticism you received that you didn't like?
- Tell me about a situation where you had a difficulty motivating an individual.
- Give me an international business problem that you want to solve.
- Tell me more about your extracurricular activities.
- What was the most challenging part about working in [non-profit A]?
- Any questions for me?

I don't know if it's just me, but I thought some of my interview questions were a bit out of the norm. I stumbled a little bit on a couple questions, but all in all, I hope I did enough to show the interviewer that I was very interested and excited about their program.

I regret not taking pictures of Fuqua's beautiful facilities. I will try to take some pictures on my next set of school visits.

So up next- Wharton and Kellogg interview next week! If any of you have already completed their Wharton or Kellogg interviews, feel free to provide me with some tips and advice... I would greatly appreciate it~