Meet USC's MBA Admissions Directors
An excerpt from the Q&A:

Q: What percentage of applicants will be interviewed in 2004?
A: Last year, we interviewed roughly 95% of the admitted students. This year, we'll have interviewed about 85% of the students who will enroll in our program. We still encourage applicants to interview on campus and may phone those who are unable to travel. However, in some cases we've used strong recommendations from active alumni in place of an on-campus interviews.

Q: What questions can MBA applicants expect to hear in their USC interviews?
A: Applicants should be prepared to let us know about the things that have motivated them to be successful. Who has been an influence in their lives? What inspires them? What are they passionate about?

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: The right balance is to demonstrate a level of self-confidence and awareness. If they've done a self-assessment, they should be able to find at least one real weakness and then be able to demonstrate that that's one of the reasons an MBA will be helpful to them.

For the full version of this Q&A

---

Comments from Student 1:
I first contacted Marshall in mid-January 2003 via email and received a reply from Monica Ferrell, Assistant Director of Admissions. We traded a few emails then we spoke on the telephone. Monica spent 30 minutes discussing the program with me and signed me up for the EMBA information session on February 1. When I arrived at USC on February 1, I spent about 30 minutes talking with Monica. After attending an outstanding information session, I had lunch with Evan Bouffides, Director of Admissions, Dr. Diane Badame, Marketing professor and Associate Dean, and Brigitte Engel, Administrative Director. There was ample opportunity to ask questions and become acquainted. This was my first "informal" interview. (At lunch every visitor had either administrative or faculty members at their table.) At the end of the day I spent another 15 minutes or so with Evan. We spoke about the program and my background. Another "informal" interview.

On February 19 I had my official interview with Evan Bouffides at Popovich Hall on the USC campus. Because of our discussions at the information session, Evan knew who I was and why I was very interested in the EMBA program. The interview lasted a little over an hour. He seemed intrigued by my childhood, which is a great conversation piece since I was born in Scotland and immigrated to the U.S. with my family when I was young. Then we walked through my professional career. I tried my best to follow the chronology of my resume. Evan asked insightful questions about certain positions I have held. At the close of the interview he shared some candid observations about the EMBA program...what was strong and what could be improved.

The interview was very casual, comfortable, and conversational. I didn't have to field any zingers like "if you were a legume what one would you be." I prepared by knowing every aspect of my resume backward and forward. I had taken the time to mentally review what wasn't covered in my resume, which proved helpful when we went off on tangents. I was thankful to have thought through the issue of "why I was a good fit" for the Marshall EMBA program which we addressed very naturally during our conversation.

I felt fortunate that Evan, Monica, and Brigitte were already familiar with me when my official interview time arrived. The information session and telephone conversations had provided excellent opportunities to build acquaintances and possibly, an advantage. The more a school knows about you the better. Face time is an obvious benefit and Marshall's EMBA information session is perfectly structured to allow this to happen. All the right players are there.

My official interview was simply the culmination of five weeks worth of contact with the players at Marshall. The Ad Com had my application, my essays, my transcripts, my letters of recommendation, and hopefully positive impressions from Evan, Monica, Dr. Badame, and Brigitte.

---

Comments from Student 2:
[I was] invited to interview. I was sent an email and given very short notice that I was to interview in Los Angeles at USC sometime in the next three weeks. Luckily my job was flexible. I interviewed with an admissions officer who said that he had not read my file. Apparently two officers read the file and another officer [conducts] the interview, then they get together to talk. All of the questions were standard, "Why B-school?", "Why Marshall?", run through your resume and explain how you decided to apply, etc. It was a short interview, about 20 minutes, and he left a good amount of time for me to ask questions and was very open about the answers. [It was] a very comfortable atmosphere for an interview.