Feel free to ask: 5 Questions during MBA Admissions Interviews

It’s a common practice among business school candidates to prepare for their interviews beforehand: they even put down a list of possible questions and try to guess what direction the talk would go. They tend to forget about one thing, though: not only the questions of the admissions board matter, but your own as well.

If you ask the right things, it may well influence your chances at admission, says Christine Sneva, Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management director of admissions and financial aid. She points out that if you ask questions it shows you’re interested, and entering that b-school really matters to you.

According to Christine Sneva, admissions boards like students who are open to a relationship with their new school and try to find as much information about it as they can. That’s why showing deep interest in the faculty’s research may impress the interviewers.

Still, even if you don’t know anything about particular professors from your prospective school, you can ask simpler questions. Show genuine interests about what the school has – ask about the campus, the specific features of the buildings, students’ unions and so on. It will help the interviewers get the impression that you see yourself as their school’s student and would like to belong.

According to research of admissions committees’ response to the performance of their MBA applicants , there are five questions you can’t omit during your interview.

1. Think of a question raising from what you have read on the university’s website or in their advertising brochures – it shows that you did the research on your prospective alma mater and want to know even more.
2. After you are asked why you want to study at that b-school, ask the interviewer the same question in turn. It also shows deep interest and the wish to have insight into other people’s experiences. Asking school faculty, students or alumni about the special thing they found inside the school, or it they would apply to the same school given a chance to receive education all over again makes them empathize with you.
3. A good question would be asking about the best thing of the university or a program. Give the school representative a chance to show off the special assets of their education – they will very likely appreciate it.
4. Also, try to ask the committee about what they think the school’s biggest drawbacks are. Thus, you show that while you really want to study at the university, you understand that nothing can have only positive sides. It doesn’t show you in a bad light, though, if the school representatives are reluctant to answer such a question, you might want to rethink your wish to enroll in that school.
5. If there are no time constraints during your interviews, ask for the school’s description given by the representatives. For instance, ask them if they could give three words associated with their school. Remember, though, that it should not be the first question on your list: the committee will be comfortable with it only if you already made a good first impression.
6. One of the most valuable questions for the interviewer would be to ask for some advice regarding the admission and school life in general. This will make a nice ending to your interview, and anyway, advice from somebody who works at your prospective school will be really useful. For the committee, it will leave an impression of your readiness to listen to other people and lack of arrogance.