Three down, two to go

Well, my HBS interview is over and done with, and I had a great time. That makes three down, with Michigan and London Business School to go. I really don't know if I did well or not with HBS, but I had fun anyway. I had to get up at 4:30 AM on Sunday to make the 8-hour drive back from my in-laws to catch my plane to Boston. Unfortunately, they oversold the flight. I got my seat assignment, but to my surprise, someone was already in it. The flight attendant told me to just sit in any empty seat, but within 5 minutes there were none. So... rungee got to fly to Boston in first class. :) It's not a very long flight, but I still enjoyed it.

I took the T (Boston's subway) over to Harvard on Monday morning and walked through the Square and over the bridge to the HBS campus. I forgot how beautiful the campus is. The weather was also gorgeous yesterday, so I sat on the benches between events. I arrived at Dillon, where the MBA Admissions Office is located, about 30 minutes ahead of time. There was a man and a woman in the waiting room, who were also there for interviews. The woman quickly left to go find her interviewer, who was in another building (so you may have to navigate some additional buildings if your interviewer doesn't sit in Dillon). My interviewer was punctual and brought me up to her office. I got the logistics run-down (i.e., I've read your application, we'll talk for 30 minutes, I won't really leave time for questions unless you having something pressing), and we started.

Like Cornfed's HBS interview, my questions were quite specific to my application but not quite in the way I had imagined. My interviewer used what I had in my essays as a springboard to delve further into certain aspects of my candidacy, but she didn't reference any of the items I had written about at any point. In fact, she asked that I stay away from those examples and provide new ones during the course of our discussion (which was a little difficult even though I had thought about it). We covered what I wanted to do in the long term and what I would do when I got there (i.e., what big-picture issues I wanted to take on). We talked A LOT about leadership - another leadership example from work, how my leadership style had evolved, what others thought of my leadership style, what I would do if I were running my current company (I got a little push back from my interviewer on my answer, but I really felt what I proposed was the right thing to do, so I stuck by my answer and explained it more thoroughly). Lastly, she asked me if I had anything else I wanted to discuss (I said I didn't, but now I can think of a few other items I should have said here). A few times, she asked me basically the same question but in a different way, which made me think I had not answered it appropriately the first time she asked. We didn't cover why HBS or even why an MBA... I have to hope that was so obvious from my essays that she didn't feel the need to discuss those topics. She wrote notes the entire time I talked. Usually, I can tell if I'm on track or going in the wrong direction just by the body language or responses from the interviewer, but I really didn't know how I was doing and still don't know if I created confidence in my strengths or confirmed HBS's worst fears about my weaknesses. Guess I will find out on 1/17!

While I was there, I met a friend for lunch in Spangler. I actually saw a few other people I knew there as well. It was fun (food is pretty good too)! I also went to a class, which was awesome. The section representative picked us up... she was really nice... she walked us into the class, found seats for us, and introduced us to everyone. I know I'm a huge dork for saying this, but I really wanted to participate in the discussion. I had heard that people clapped when someone gave a particularly insightful response, but that doesn't really do it justice... it was more like thunderous applause, a standing ovation, and wave! There was definitely a good mix of nationalities and ages in the class, too. The professor had the students vote for how they would solve the problem presented in the case using these electronic buttons in the seating panels at the beginning of class. She didn't have to cold call anyone b/c there were many volunteers (and different people spoke throughout the class). All in all, a good trip!

Now it is time to refocus for my other interviews, which are rapidly approaching!

London Calling...

I rec'd my London Business School invite yesterday! I was quite excited. I got it right before heading off to a late meeting, and I just came into the meeting w/ a big smile on my face. I don't know when it will be yet, as they are coordinating it with local alumni. The London Bus. School interview is known to be longer than the norm (I heard about 60 min.) and they ask you to analyze an issue and make a short presentation on it. I feel like that is actually going to be fun... sorta like a debate (well, no one is debating you on the other side, necessarily, but you still have to create a structured argument and present your position). I am really excited about the possibility of studying, living, and working overseas, so this is big!

And... it's Friday. Yessssss.

Good Things Come in Threes

Well, I've finished my Wharton interview. I think it went pretty well. It ended up being more of a conversation than an interview... the interviewer really did a great job of putting me at ease right away (he asked me about my trip... I relayed some snafus... he commiserated). I interviewed with a 2nd year student on Wharton's campus. The interview is blind... they only have your resume (which you provide when you get there). Below are the questions I was asked:

- What led you to your current job?
- Why do you need an MBA?
- When I told him what I wanted to do post-MBA, he followed up with Why do you want to go into that field? He also happened to know something about that field, so he asked me what were the pressing issues I saw for the near-term
- Why Wharton?
- Tell me about a defining leadership moment
- What makes a good leader?
- How do you deal with a difficult team mate?
- What extracurriculars would you like to get involved in at Wharton? Why those?
- What role would youp lay on your learning team?
- What will you need to do to be successful at Wharton?
- Is there anything you want to add? Any weaknesses you'd like to address?

He scribbled notes as we went. The interview lasted about the 30 minutes allotted (maybe a minute or two over). So, they seem to run a pretty tight ship to keep on schedule. Anyway, I really enjoyed the whole experience. The main Wharton building just pulses with energy when all the students are running around... I liked the environment.

Just thinking that my interview went well was enough to make my happy, but I checked my email and found two more reasons to celebrate (this is definitely a good day). I got interview invitations from both Harvard AND Michigan!!! :D

HBS gave me a date and time for an on-campus interview. While I'm thrilled to get the chance to go back to Boston, the date could be better as the plane tickets cost an arm and a leg (it's flanking the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so there are almost no available seats left!) The Michigan invitation gave me the options of interviewing with a local alum, interviewing with Adcom up in Ann Arbor, or interviewing over the phone. There wasn't much to think about - I need to see the school, so to Ann Arbor I will go. Thankfully, that ticket won't be nearly as expensive.

I admit - I'm feeling very lucky. Not only did I get these interviews, but I got them fairly early in the process, so I don't need to keep biting my fingernails day in and day out (will resume doing that between the end of interviews and the decision release date). I just hope some of these interview invites also turn into acceptances. Good luck to all those who are still waiting out there in the blogosphere ... I know your invites will come through as well. :)

False Alarm

So, I return from hours of meetings (if anyone out there wants to be a consultant, I hope you like meetings) and I see one of the emails in my inbox is from Harvard Admissions. I am like "NO FREAKING WAY," thinking presumptuously that HBS might have granted me an interview invite. It didn't help that the word "Interview" was in the subject line. Sadly, it was just that - truly presumptuous of me. The email was from the College regarding my role as interviewer (yes, it's mildly ironic that I am interviewing kids for admission into Harvard College while I am waiting to get an interview from HBS... and no, they are not tied together in any way, shape, or form, so there's no conflict of interest... I asked).

The agony of the wait is rough. So, I kill time by anticipating when I might hear my next bit of news... here is what I have in store.

Early Nov. - HBS starts releasing invites. This is scheduled to extend up through early- or even mid-January. My guess is that most invites go out late November through late December, but that is pure speculation on my part.
Nov. 13 - Receive decision as to whether I am invited to Duke's Weekend for Women.
Nov. 13 - 17 - Interview at Wharton.
Nov. 17 - LBS releases their interview decisions. I find out if I am invited to interview or a victim of DWI.
Dec. 19 - If I'm still in the running for LBS, I will receive my admit/WL/reject decision.
Dec. 19 - Receive the Duke admit/WL/reject decision.
Dec. 21 - Receive the Wharton admit/WL/reject decision.
Jan. 15 - If I'm still in the running for Ross, I will receive the Michigan admit/WL/reject decision. [Note, I have no idea when they start/stop releasing invitations to interview].
Jan. 18 - If I'm still in the running for HBS, I will receive the HBS admit/WL/reject decision.

My friends, that is a lot of waiting. I am not patient. In fact, when my manager asked what I thought my weaknesses were, I put that somewhere near the top. Of course, if I am fortunate enough to receive more interview invites, I'll be able to add in activities to prepare for those. I am currently brushing up on my Wharton application and gathering lists of questions from ClearAdmit.com and Accepted.com to prepare for my interview at W. Plus, somewhere in this extended period of time are one or two more R2 applications, but I'm not worried about those yet.

I have decided to put a positive spin on this period of time by considering it a semi-transition back into normal life (i.e., a chance to leave my obsession behind). I plan to catch up on some movies, go to a few weddings and holiday parties, and I have planned a weekend trip with my husband and some friends to get away for awhile. I haven't really been doing those things b/c every weekend has involved me getting up, going to Starbucks, and writing applications for the majority of the day. While I definitely have done other, non-app things, they usually are restricted to a few hours rather than a whole day or weekend.