If you’re one of those “last 50″ interviews (invited a month after invites went out) does that mean your chances of getting in are better?  Obviously they spent even more time debating your application and decided to extend an invitation to you, is that an “we decided we like you, you’re in if you don’t blow it” situation or is it more like “ok, let’s try to give you a shot and see what you’re about”?

hmmm, not really either, you can speculate on this 12-ways to Sunday.  About 20 of those last 50 invites are falling fruit from bigfoots shaking the tree (e.g. bigshots calling up and saying take a close look at this kid), the rest are more random than you think, and a bunch could just be logistical (someone was late handing in stuff). The adcom likes to nurse the delusion that they are reading folders night and day, right to the end,  and going over every last folder 3, 6, 9 times to make sure that no poor soul has slipped thru the cracks, so you imagine that every folder gets an independent rejection from 4 different readers, and every day, some new, last, ‘never-say-die’  reader finds an interview-making piece of DNA in YOUR folder that every other of the 3, 4 5 prior readers has overlooked, like the innocence project on TV, and then the call goes to the governor to stop the execution at one-minute to midnight. The reality is, after first wave of invites went out, there may have been some reserve pile of  200-300 folders which they just put off, for one reason or another, and at that point, ALL THE OTHER NON-INVITES WERE BASICALLY SENT TO SIBERIA NEVER TO BE LOOKED AT AGAIN. Of those remaining 200-300 folders, HRH Leopold just keeps some running, macro mental track of how round 1 replies are shaping up, in terms of kids accepting etc., what emerging demographics are, etc. How Accepted Week-End for Round One Went, etc. After that,  everyone likes to be mercurial a bit  (calling Derrick Bolton!!), so over the next x weeks,  when she wants to give herself some cheap thrills, she ( or some bunch of inner adcoms) just read over some bunch of   folders, and keeping in mind the running tallies & the micro theme de jour/ de week, she/they  find a few they  like, and reach  out and give quite an exciting email  goose to  some lucky, formerly doomed person.  Another way it works is that HRH or some other Officer level adcom read a story in New York Times etc. about X (some new initiative, industry trend, organization), and say, “Dont we have some kid like that  in the 300-limbo folders ?” And just to test their memory and office  search capabilities, they locate the folder, re-read it, and all of a sudden, it is just a bit more interesting.  Poof, another zombie brought back from the dead. Maybe. 

But whatever triggered your escape from the Limbo 300, it was not really some compelling, lost jewel of overlooked accomplishment, it was just some demographic or topical hook, or 2nd look, or even late look,  and after your Interview, you are just in the Big Ol Interview Pile O’Kids.  I’d be surprised if accept rate of the Last 50 was diff than first Wave.

Janus wrote:

Has anyone (Sandy the HBS Guru, I’m looking in your direction!) ever attempted to compile a list of who had “tough” and “easy” interviews and if there is any correlation between that and admission?

yeah, I have compiled this list, and many others, based on the ~300 mock interivews I have done over the past 3 years: conclusion=NO PATTERN. Superstars sometimes get hard interviews (and blow them) while marginal kids get walk me thru your resume interviews, with no tuff guy questions about
1. WHY WE SHOULD TAKE YOU? LET’S HEAR YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH!
2. WHAT WILL BE HARDEST FOR YOU HERE, GIVEN X AND Y ON YOUR RECORD?
3. WE GET LOTS OF KIDS FROM YOUR BACKGROUND, MANY WITH BETTER SCORES, ETC. WHAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL?
4. IF YOU WERE HEAD OF TOYOTA NOW, WHAT SIX THINGS WOULD YOU DO?
5. TELL ME 3 MORE MISTAKES?
6. DESCRIBE SOMETHING COMPLEX TO ME IN REGULAR PERSON TERMS (A FAVORITE Q OF HRH LEOPOLD)
7. DESCRIBE A TIME WHEN YOUR VALUES WERE COMPROMISED AT WORK?
8. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST RISK WE TAKE IN ACCEPTING YOU?
All of the above tuff questions, which you think they might hit the marginal candidate with, but they don’t. Folks who get questions like that, and more stressful interviews are JUST NOT LUCKY. There is no rhyme or reason for stress/difficult questions–but if you get hit w. a barrage of them, and get confused or demoralized, it can damage your chances.
ALL THAT SAID, MOST INTERVIEWS AND INTERVIEWERS ARE SUPER NICE AND DONT REALLY STRESS YOU OUT, BUT IT HAPPENS. 

DOUBLING DOWN W. DEE LEOPOLD, WHAT DOES IT MEAN????

 I heard having an interview with Leopold means ur chance of admission is doubling down…
not becoz of u, but i guess it’s becoz she’s esp. harsh in selecting students…
but good luck to you!!!!

hmmmmmm, ‘doubling down’ w. Her Majesty is my phrase, originally used on my blog and Biz Week boards, and what I mean is that if you interview w. Dee Leopold (HRH) and she likes you, you are in, if she dont like you, you are not in, the decision sorta gets made in her head right there, unlike any other adcom, where they write a report, and then it gets considered holistically w. your app and everyone else, of course, Dee is doing that too, but in some unpluged way. It is possble to have so-so interview w. reg adcom and get in, based on whole story, but if you have so-so interview w. Dee, and it leaves bad aftertaste, Buy-bye, similarly, if you have boffo interview w. reg. adcom, that could get devalued in reg. admission process, but if Dee flips for you, well, good chance you will be in. Of course, you are thinking YOU will be the one she will flip for, soooooooooooo, many out there hoping to get Dee. Hmmmmmm, IMHO, she is a gal who has seen a lot of applicants and heard a lot of stories, and seen how a lot of boffo stories have turned out (some not so boffo)–so chances of sweeping her off her feet, not as likely as you might imagine, altho, sure it does happen. ON DA OTHER HAND, while being totally professional, etc. etc. she is, ahem, ahem, unlike funny and patient and lovely person you may have seen at Forums etc. someone w. both a trigger wit and a trigger response to little annoying things you might say, soooooooooo chances of setting off an internalized spike of INSTANT DING ANGER, are out there. All that said, in most cases with her, you neither sweep her off her feet, nor cause an explosion, and she is a warm and sensibile interviewer who does not throw curve balls and let’s you sorta reach your own level, and the only gaffs, are those you cause yourself. She dont pressure you. So not a bad person to draw for the interview, but BEWARE of Instant Dingma Gonna Get You minefield.

   WHY GET A MOCK INTERVIEW FROM  SANDY–WELL, HERE IS ONE HAPPY CUSTOMER (NOT PICTURED ABOVE BUT YOU GET THE IDEA)

Sandy,
Just finished my Wharton interview. 

After you bitch-slapped me during the mock interview earlier this week, I canned the notes/list and simply started preparing questions in my head.  There were zero “robotic” responses as a result.   I also took your advice in telling stories about extras/community service, and passions outside work to combat the Finance-geek impression that you could get from reading my app.  Feel that strategy paid off, as non-work areas were where she focused.   
Questions:

- Walk me through resume. 
Kept it real crisp, then transitioned naturally into cultural rediscovery story –which she loved. 

- Why MBA, why now, why Wharton. 
Took why Wharton a step further to how I would contribute to Wharton. Emphasized how I wanted to strengthen the career dimension of the program’s SE Asian components (i.e. Global Immersion Program), snd changing the perspective that SE Asia club/tour is more of a fun party event (which I’d heard was the case from current students, and which she laughed, and confirmed was her impression as well) 
- ST/LT goals
- Tell me about a leadership challenge you faced. 
Talked about my struggles being a leader….while I was the youngest person in a culture where age is viewed as prerequisite for decision-making power.  I followed your advice and added as much self-awareness in my response as possible… i.e., admitting that I made my share of snafus initially as I was learning the cultural ropes.  She responded with empathy, citing a simular situation she had faced while working in dif country.

- Tell me about a leader you admire and why.  Talked about one of my recommenders… brought in skill in managing conflict in cross-cultural teams, and then how I have tried to emulate that in my own experience. Talked about how he succeeding coming from a disadvantaged past and how he took advantage of all his opportunities to succeed… then brought that make to me and stated examples of how I have done the same in my life.
- Considering your age, why do you feel you would fit into a learning team where most people are a few years older? Went to our prep. Talked about how maturity was one of my strenghs, and how I both enjoy and work really well with people older than me.

Mentioned ethnic  professional community I started in NYC, and how I was able to inspire other members of the group (doctors, lawyers, etc. whose average age was 30+) while I was just 23.  Also mentioned how I was able to thrive in —– despite being the youngest employee at IB.She responded by saying that that was a great answer.

- What are some of your passions outside work.  Talked about how I love to play ____, and worked in my interest in Psychology and how that was an effort to be well-rounded academically. Then I moved on to ____.  Mentioned how I have been ____ for over five years (hopefully that dispelled any remaining impression of being a typical Finance-geek), . she was able to visualize this as she had lived in NYC for two years.  Then I worked in how I could continue to pursue both of these interests at Wharton through x and y.

I am confident that I have added another ally to my cause, and have my fingers crossed for the decsion.  Thank you for being so cruel to me during the mock interview.  At the time, I thought you were being too harsh (even bordering on being a jerk), but it turned out being exactly what I needed.    

CAN A STUDENT AT STANFORD HELP YOU GET AN INTERVIEW????

HBS ROUND TWO INTERVIEW JUNKET SCHEDULE. INTERVIEWS TO HAPPEN MARCH 1-19–BUT NO OFFICIAL WORD WHEN INVITES WILL BE SENT, THAT WILL BE HANDED DOWN FROM THE PALACE LATER (THIS WEEK, ACCORDING TO HRH POST). THE OFFICIAL DATES THOSE INTERVIEWS  ARE COMIMG OUT WILL BE RELEASED IN A FUTURE WEB-A-SODE OF ‘HER MAJESTY BLOGS’–’NEXT WEEK’ SHE SAID ON JAN 15TH (TECHNICALLY LAST WEEK!) .  BUT WITH HRH ALREADY COMMITING TO MOST INTERVIEWS BEING DONE WEEKS OF MARCH 1-19, AND THE NEED FOR ADCOM JUNKETEERS TO MAKE RESERVATIONS AND BUY FODER GUIDES, ETC. AND THE FACT THAT INVITES FIRST  CAME OUT IN ROUND ONE 16 DAYS AFTER DEADLINE. WELL, D-DAY FOR INVITES COULD BE FEB 3RD OR SO, IF THOSE HIBERNATING ADCOMS CAN WAKE UP AND ACTUALLY GET BACK TO WORK THAT FAST, OR MAYBE A BIT LATER, GIVEN THAT LOGISTICALLY, THEY COULD SEND OUT INVITES WEEK OF FEB 8- 14TH, AND STILL HAVE THINGS WORK PRETTY SEAMLESSLY. ANYWAY STAY TUNED. SOME OF THIS DEPENDS ON HOW MANY APPS THEY GET ROUND 2.

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/blog.html

Round 2 Interviews — Where and When?

This is where we plan to interview in Round 2:

London
Paris
Mumbai
Dubai
Shanghai
Tokyo
Sao Paolo
Palo Alto
San Francisco
NYC
Chicago

Candidates are always able to schedule a campus interview. If you are coming to campus to interview, we have reserved space in our first year classrooms for interviewees to observe a class. We also offer a lunch program with current students.

The majority of interviews will take place during the weeks of March 1 - March 19.

There will also be a small number of interviews conducted by phone, in case you are unable to travel to any of the above locations.

I’ll do a separate post next week about when and how we expect to release interview invitations.

Where do Stanford interviewees stand after the interview.

pretty much where they stood before the interview. Unless you tell interviewer to hurry up because you need to get home in time to catch Glenn Beck, or ask about Obama’s so-called birth certificate, Stan interviews are rarely much of a factor. Bolton once admitted as much but then back peddled. It is mostly pub. relations for the school, a way to keep under-employed alums happy and purposeful, and LATELY, after they ASK and find out you were also interviewd by HBS, a slightly oily sales job.

MILITARY INTERVIEWS AT HBS

A MILITARY GUY ASKS:

but I think I’ll be drilled especially hard on “why MBA”, “what are your career goals”, etc.

What are your thoughts on how a military applicant should prepare and handle an HBS interview?

below is typical mil interview report

Sandy,

Had my HBS interiew yesterday on campus with ————, assistant admissions director.  It was actually much more straight forward than I thought.  She began by telling me that she and several other people had read my application and that her notes would go into my file for the final decision.  Standard intro.  Throughout the interview, it was apparent that she was very familiar with my story. She had a list of 3-4 questions that she said she wanted to talk about.  All specific things I mentioned in my essays and admin data.  Here’s the breakdown of the more general questions:

- Tell me about your _ job in college

- Why   army / why  service academy

- What can I contribute to the class

- Did I go to a class. -

Tell me about how did x in Iraq

- Tell me about your current job

- Challenges transitioning

- Tell me about what you learned from a mentor (personable leadership and the importance of communicating with your subordinates, leadership by walking around)

- Ever had a bad leader.  Did you learn anything

- Why HBS (

- How are you preparing for b school

- Anything else you’d like me to know

Interview was right at 30 min.  Maybe a couple min short of.   Only other thing, she never asked me about leadership.  I’m guessing she knew I had it.  Finally, she did ask me about my thoughts on the Petraus report.  I dodged saying that there are always things to improve and that it’s good that we’re having a conversation about it. 

Hi Sandy,

For Wharton, do you suggest an On Campus or an Alumni interview?  Do you think it matters (I know they say it doesn’t).

ALUMS OFTEN 1. ARE INEXPERIENCED, 2.TAKE THE THING TOO SERIOUSLY, 3. DONT HAVE LARGE DATA BASE TO COMAPARE YOU TO,SO THEIR INTERNAL MODEL OF WHAT A GOOD INT/ANSWER IS CAN BE WILDLY EXAGGERATED–THEY EXPECT HOLLYWOOD LEVEL PRODUCTION VALUES IN ANSWERS AND OFTEN YOUR OWN LOOKS (DESPITE NOT LOOKING IN MIRROR RECENTLY). ETC.  SO ALUMS ARE JUST UNPREDICTABLE, AND WHILE FOR THE MOST PART, YOU GET A FAIR SHAKE, AND SOME ALUMS ARE OLD HANDS (SLAP HAPPY AND UNDER-EMPLOYED) IT IS PZZBLE TO GET AN ALUM ON A HECTIC DAY, BAD WEEK, ETC. ETC. ANOTHER WILD CARD FACTOR.

I ADVISE ADCOM/CAMPUS INTERVIEWS FOR ALL THOSE REASONS, ALTHO IT IS NOT A SUPER DUPER DIFFERENCE, IT IS PZZBLE TO GET A NUTCASE ALUM AND THAT CAN IMPACT OUTCOME. HOW OFTEN? DUNNO?

THERE ARE ALSO PLENTY OF STORIES ABOUT JERK ‘STUDENT-ADCOM’ INTERVIEWS AT WHARTON, BUT THAT DOES NOT LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD IMHO. 

Just went to Wharton info session.  Admission person said they interviewed 30% of applicants last year and didn’t elaborate. 

From the website the total applicants for class of 2011 is 7493… 30% interviewed would be 2250… 16% accepted would be approximately 1225 and their posted yield was 70% so 862 enrolled.

This 30% interviewed (or 2250) is quite different from the 3000 you quoted for class of 2010…

Perhaps they just threw me a generic 30% number so 30-39% means “30%”  or maybe last year they just interviewed fewer and accepted more from the interviewed pool???

hmmm , dunno, numbers I gave out were fr. Wharton event, altho cudda been class of 09. They are famous for interviewing lots of kids. Maybe they got tired of it. Used to be rule of thumb they inter. fifty percent and took twenty-five percent of that. So now it looks like they interview 30 percent and take 1225/2250 or 54 pct. in line, sorta w. H and S. as a percent of post interview accepts.