A Talk with the Cambridge MBA Program Director
An excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: For an interview, MBA hopefuls meet with two members of faculty and often informally with students, who all send feedback to your office. Applicants also meet with you, the director of the MBA program, and others. What's the best way to prepare?
A: Relax. Ensure that you say as much about yourself as you possibly can. We're not looking for stock answers. Be as honest and straightforward as possible. We want people who are confident with themselves.

Q: Which personality types don't have luck at Cambridge?
A: People who aren't able to communicate succinctly and express themselves well.

For the full version of this Q&A

---

Comments from Student 1:
Scheduling the interview: I was assigned an interview time and date on an official Cambridge Interview Date.

Location of interview: On campus

Preparedness of Interviewer: There were two interviewers, and they had reviewed my application very thoroughly. They had narrowed my application aspects down to my weakest points as a candidate.

Interviewer University affiliation: two faculty members

Atmosphere: Although the interview was with faculty members, the environment was relaxing. The interviewers made brief small talk initially and made sure that I was relaxed. They were friendly throughout the interview.

Questions asked: Tell us about your current job.
Tell us about some of the initiatives you worked on at (your current company).
Where do you see yourself after the MBA?
Why do you want to attend Cambridge?
Why do you want to get an MBA now?
What would you do if you did not get an MBA?
What research have you done about your post-MBA career plans?
How many hotel-sized shampoo bottles are there in the world?
How would you go about answering that?


Length of interview: 30 minutes

Additional comments:
-It appeared that, due to the short nature of the interview and the fact that over 70% of interviewed applicants are accepted, that the admissions process was almost over at this stage, and the adcom had identified the weakest points of the candidate to address in the interview.
-Be prepared to be asked direct questions about any potential weaknesses. If you can defend these weaknesses or explain your choices as needed, that should be sufficient to convince them that they were right in selecting you to interview.
-My last question was one of those consulting-type questions about counting 'shampoo bottles' in the world. Keep in mind, there is no right answer, but they want to see how your mind works and how you solve problems. Just try to think of possibilities and suggest a step-by-step approach. (I was accepted to Cambridge; I was notified by email the following day.)

---

Comments from Student 2:
In my experience the process of interviewing at Cambridge was very smooth and pleasant.

I was contacted by the school –The Judge Institute of Management - about three weeks after sending my application. Cambridge does not run a staged admission process so I was offered the first available date for interview which means I had my interviewed about 8 weeks after sending my application to the Cambridge MBA Admission Office.

The interview was held at the beautiful school building in Cambridge. The Judge Institute of Management building is a refurbishment and extension of Addenbrooke's Hospital, which was first established on this site in 1766. This building has been beautifully restored and is now a superb example of post modern architecture. A guided tour of the building is offered during the interview day.

As the interview was scheduled on a Monday, my wife and I decided to spend the week end in Cambridge visiting this charming town and getting acquainted to the surroundings.

About ten - twelve candidates were invited to the interview day I attended (January 12th). We met at 09.00am and we received an introduction of the history of the institute. Dr. Learmount – deputy director – shared with us some of the main details of the MBA program.

While some of us moved on to a tour of the building, others started their interviews.

The interview was run by two faculty members. The atmosphere was pleasant and friendly but I have to admit the interview was quite a stretch. Both the interviewers appeared to be very familiar with my profile and application material.

We started with the typical questions on my background, motivations for thinking and MBA and future plan. Then the conversation took the twist of a case study were I was asked to estimate the potential market size for a hypothetical start up in China and to explain my reasoning.

I must admit having had some troubles with some aspects of these questions. After having provided my proposed solution and reasoning I was offered the chance to ask any question I wanted on the MBA program.

The length of the interview was of around one hour in total and it was followed by a lunch attended by MBA students. This was a nice occasion to ask questions to clarify logistical and practical aspects of life in Cambridge as MBA students.

In the afternoon we were offered a guided tour of the landmarks of Cambridge and its colleges. The guide, a nice lady, was very knowledgeable and the tour was really fun.

I received news on the outcome by email on the morning of the day after the interview.

I have been admitted by three top business schools and the Cambridge admission and interview process was the smoothest I experienced.