Understanding the MBA Admissions Interview – Part I

There are several types of interviews including

• Open
• Invited
• Blind
• Non-blind
• Resume-based
• Behavioral-based,
• Team-based

Open Interviews Versus Invited Interviews

At Dartmouth Tuck, Kellogg’s Northwestern School of Management, Emory’s Goizueta School, Duke’s Fuqua School and UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School applicants get to choose to interview. Just schedule a date, pack your bags and go.

At Tuck, every applicant has the opportunity to visit campus, not only for an interview but to sit in on a class with a current student, attend an information session with an admissions officer, take a student-led tour and have lunch with current students. Other schools also make their campuses, classrooms and students accessible to prospective applicants who want a firsthand glimpse. 

But the open interview only lasts until the open-interview period ends at a given school or capacity is met. Each school then switches to invitation-only interviews, in which selected candidates are invited to interview.

At Kellogg, offering interviews to any applicant who wants one has been a longstanding philosophy, and it will seek to interview everyone who applies, and also uses alumni interviewers around the world. 

It is interesting to note that Kellogg’s open invitation offer is only for those who do apply. The other schools mentioned in fact allow anyone to interview, even before submitting an application. The latter policy allows schools to potentially cast an even wider net in the applicant pool, although it is obviously more resource intensive, especially given that some of those who interview may ultimately not decide to apply.