Tuck interview

With a few hours for the Wharton R1 interview invitation deadline remaining, I've achieved a Buddha-like calm. It's my patent-pending method of coping - viewing things at a sufficiently cosmic scale so that minor setbacks (such as imminent Wharton-denials) seem insignificant in comparison. (I'm only half-kidding)

But on with the Tuck interview report -

The interview was a very informal affair with a second year MBA student. It felt to me less like an interview and more like a casual conversation with someone you'd just met.

The interview began with the usual questions about career progression. Specifically my interviewer asked about how quickly I'd progressed and in what capacities. He had some follow ups about the details of certain international experiences I'd had. Moved on to "Why MBA?" and "Why Tuck?". Usual stuff so far. I tried to focus on incorporating certain specific examples I wanted to highlight while answering.

Next question was about my most significant achievement. I was prepared for this one as well (largely the answer excerpted one of my essays). Then there was a question about "an example of a great leader" - which I wasn't prepared for. I picked a pretty standard answer but hopefully my reasoning behind my choice was convincing. In retrospect this could have been something I answered better.

Following this there was an interestingly worded question about "at the end of your first year at Tuck, what would your teammates say about you?". To me this question was really two questions wrapped in one- 1) What are your strengths? and 2) What do other people notice about you?. I think I did passably on this as well. Finally, he asked me about a detail from my extra curriculars (which I'd kind of intentionally inserted in my resume since I thought it illustrated something interesting about me)

Overall my takeaway is this -

1. Having been there, I can clearly see why Tuck stresses that "fit" is so important. You just cannot be a Type-A highly competitive person at Tuck and be successful. Such people will likely self-select out (or be screened out). Interviewers are not only trying to see if you're accomplished enough but also look for the intangibles such as humility, respect and compassion in your experiences. Thats also why Tuck interviews all applicants and encourages everyone to visit.

2. Review the questions but don't over-prepare since sometimes interviewers do go on short tangents and you don't want to sound scripted. (I did no practicing/rehearsal at all, just thought about what I'd wanted to say and think I did pretty decently)

3. Next time I will make less ambitious travel plans. Given that it's winter (which brings consequent snowstorms, freezing rain and fog) making travel plans without sufficient buffer time is essentially inviting Prof. Murphy's attention.