A Talk with Carlson's Admissions Director
An Excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: What kinds of interview questions are they likely to hear?
A: It varies, but all applicants can expect to be asked about their work experience, reasons for wanting to pursue an MBA, for their interest in the Carlson School, and their short and long-term career goals.

Q: Would you share an example of a terrible interview?
A: Applicants who clearly had not prepared. While we expect and encourage applicants to ask us questions about the program, they should be high-level questions, not ones that can be easily answered by visiting our Web site. Students should be ready to tell their story.

If you haven't thought about why you're applying for an MBA program, or what you plan to do once you graduate, you aren't ready to enroll in our program.

Q: A lot of applicants fret over the perfect balance between saying positive things about themselves and showing self-awareness by pointing out their weaknesses. What's the right balance?
A: Highlight your accomplishments and attributes that will help you become an effective business leader. At the same time, realize that we're not looking for perfection. The best way to address a weakness is to note the deficiency and explain how you plan to work toward improving in that area during our program.

For the full version of this Q&A

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Comments from Student 1:
Scheduling the Interview: I received information about scheduling an interview from the school's website and direct mail pieces

Location of Interview: Initially, I scheduled my interview for the same day as the GMAC MBA fair in September. Somehow, I thought that I would be superwoman that day, and I scheduled an interview with three other schools in a two hour timeframe. Not smart. I had two interviews in the Marriott, and two interviews in the Hilton, where the conference was taking place. I thought that the Carlson interview was in the Marriott, but it was in the Hilton, so I totally missed it. When I found the Director of Admissions at the fair, he apologized for me missing him because he thought that he was in the wrong place, and he told me to reschedule. I decided the best way to do this was to travel to Minnesota, visit the school, attend a class and have the interview on that day in person. I eventually had my admissions interview at the school in early November.

Preparedness of Interviewer: I felt that the interviewer was very prepared to meet with me and remembered who I was because I missed our initial interview in New York. This program conducts the interview before they receive the application. It's important to know the rules about these things because some schools interview by invitation only.

Interviewer University affiliation: Dustin Cornwell, Director of Admissions

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was very relaxed. He didn't hold it against me that I botched our first attempt to meet.

Questions asked: Since the atmosphere was relaxed we spoke about random things such as the weather, living in New York and the contrast that it would be to move from NYC to the Twin Cities. Since he didn't have any part of my application, the whole interview was based on my resume which had to be sent to him when I made the appointment for the interview. He asked detailed questions about my work experience and made notes, making the interview feel more like a job interview than one for a graduate program. He never asked "Why Carlson?" or "Why are you applying to business school?" Questions like those are reserved for the actual application. After he summarized my work experience he asked what job I hoped to attain based on my work experience. He spoke about life in Minnesota and why it was a great place to live, and then the interview was over.

Length of interview: The interview was 45 minutes.

Additional comments:
I suggest…
1. You have to know if you should ask for an interview or wait to be invited for one. If you have to ask for an interview before the application materials are received, then take care of that as soon as possible, even if you're not certain that you will definitely apply to the school. It's free, and necessary so just get it out of the way. I realized that the interview works both ways. Just as you're selling yourself to the admissions officer, they're trying to sell the school to you also. This may give a different perspective about the school that may change your mind about applying there, or encourage your decision to apply there.

2. If you're going to try and arrange an interview with a popular school around an MBA fair, call early because those slots fill up early.

3. I preferred an interview on the campus after I visited the school. That way I was able to ask questions about the environment or culture of the school based on what I saw that day.

4. Do your homework. Interviewers like to see that you know the program inside and out when it's your turn to ask questions. Don't be too nervous, and try not to give rehearsed answers. These people have to sit in front of hundreds of students who all want the same thing, so don't bore them with the first paragraph of your essay, especially if it wasn't asked.