McCombs (UT Austin)

"Questions for the video assessment Tell us about a time when you overcommitted yourself to multiple initiatives or responsibilities and failed to deliver on some of them. How did you react to this situation? What were your next steps and what was the outcome? How does an MBA from Texas McCombs fit into your professional trajectory? Tell us about a time when you stood up for someone who you felt was being mistreated. How did you navigate this situation? How did that person respond? Please tell me about a time when you worked in a team environment with individuals who had difficulty collaborating. How did you approach the situation and what was the outcome? Tell us about a time you had to consider a lot of different information to solve a complex problem. How were you able to accomplish this and why was it important to you? Please be specific and detailed in your response. Walk us through your short-term goals after obtaining your MBA from Texas McCombs. If your goals do not materialize, what other positions or industries would you consider post-MBA employment? What drives you outside of your work or career? Explain why it motivates you."

"Questions for the video assessment: 1. How does McCombs MBA program fit into your professional journey? 2. TMAT when you had someone in your team who wasn't lifting his/her weight. What did you do? 3. TMAT when you received poor feedback for a job you felt you did well. What was your response? 4. Tell me about something you like to do outside your work (I mentioned my volunteering experience) 5. ST goals + Plan B 6. Tell me about a time when you were in a challenging situation 7. Tell me about your greatest achievement."

"The new video assessment questions: 1. TMAT when you received poor feedback/criticism for a job you felt you did well 2. TMAT when you had to motivate a shy/introvert person in your team 3. The most complex task you had to perform and the outcome of it 4. TMAT when the team morale was low and what steps did you take to overcome it 5. What are your interests and hobbies? What do you gain from it? 6. What activities will you engage in outside classroom courses at McCombs? 7. Short term goals and what is your backup plan?"

"Questions: 1. Short term goals + Plan B 2. TMAT when you had someone in your team who wasn't lifting his/her weight. What did you do? 3. TMAT your supervisor/colleague misunderstood you. What did you do? 4. TMAT when you had to innovate during a complex problem. How did you do it? Be detailed but precise. 5. TMAT when someone in your team was mistreated and what was your response? 6. How does McCombs MBA program fit into your professional journey? 7. What are your interests and hobbies? And why?"

"This was the new video assessment McCombs has introduced and will replace the conventional 'interviews by invite' system used prevalently. Everyone submitting the application has to go through one. Each question is presented by a pre-recorded video. 30 seconds for prep and 03 minutes to speak for each answer. No second chances or attempts. Questions asked (not ad verbatim): 1. What is your short term goal and why. What is your backup plan in case the short term plan and why. How do these plans fit in with your background. 2. TMAT you had to overcome challenges when working with a diverse team and practice inclusivity. How did they feel about it. What was the Outcome? 3. TMAT when you had to change your plans at the last moment and how you handled the situation. What was the result? 4. What do you do in your free time and what do you gain from it? 5. Some question revolving about why McCombs. Don't remember the specific prompt. 6. What is your biggest passion outside of work, and why? 7. What makes you unique and how will you contribute to the class and McCombs community? Please be specific in your answer. I didn't get stuck, freeze or get nervous, but I took the assessment cold, thinking wrongly that it would be completely behavioral (Don't ask why!), and ended up rambling at times and repeating points. Bombed it, by my estimate. Overall, very conventional questions. Good preparation will work wonders."

""Had an interview with current dual degree student for 35 min and then 10 min Q&A. Interview was conversational and engaging. 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. What was the major challenge you overcome to reach where you are today in your career. 3. TMAT when you have to deal with a diverse team. What did you learn from them? 4. Short-term and long-term goals. 5. Plan B? 6. Why McCombs? 7. What clubs do you plan to join? 8. Tell me about a time when someone gave you constructive feedback. 9. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your application? 10. What did you learn about yourself from your application process? 11. how do you intend to contribute to mccombs community 14. Any questions for me. The interview went pretty well and there is no need to feel nervous because the interviewer was probably in the same situation before. Waiting for the decision. Hope this helps!"

"Had an interview for 45 min and then 5-10 min Q&A. Interview was conversational. 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. TMAT where you had to solve a unique problem. What did you learn from it? 3. What was the major challenge you overcome to reach where you are today in your career. 4. Short-term and long-term goals. 5. Plan B 6. Why McCombs? 7. Which other schools did you apply for? 8. What clubs do you plan to join? 9. Tell me about a time when someone gave you constructive feedback. 10. TMAT when you have to deal with a diverse team. What did you learn from them? 11. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your application? 12. What did you learn about yourself from your application process? 13. What do you like to do outside your work? 14. Any questions for me. Hope this helps. Good luck!"

"My Interview was scheduled with 2nd year student and it lasted 45 minutes with his introduction and before he jumped into question we discussed about Diwali and Halloween. He didn't ask too many behavioural questions to me as I have seen in others debrief because we ended up discussing something else. My Interview was so smooth and conversational, I totally enjoyed it. So far the question he asked that I remember is 1. I have gone through your resume last night. Could you please walk me through it. 2. If your startup is doing very well then why do you want to do an MBA at this point? 3. Short term and long term goal and if my startup will fail what other options I'll have ? 4. How will you describe leadership? Any example of how you have led a group through an uncertain time? 5. How and why you choose McCombs? why Not others business schools? 6. 2-3 questions related to my travelling as I'm a travel blogger like what was your favourite country so far and why it is special for you? Which places you'll suggest me to visit in Asia etc. 7. What leadership roles will you take at McCombs? How do you see yourself getting involved on campus? 8. Strongest & Weakest part of the application 9. What did you learn about yourself during the application process 10. What do you do in free time( ques frame was totally different) 11 I'm sure you have lots of story to tell so anything else you want to share with me that can be valuable for your candidacy. 12. At this point I have got all the important information about you that I can provide to Adcoms. Any question you have for me ?"

"1.I looked through your resume last night and this morning. Could you walk me through your cv and highlight what skills you have developed since leaving college? 2.Walk me through an instance when encountered a unique business problem or challenge that you had to solve 3.Can you describe an example of how you have led a group through an uncertain time 4.Why have you decided to get an MBA now and why McCombs 5.How do you envision yourself getting involved here in McCombs and how do you intend to leave it better than you met it? 6.What have you learnt about yourself through this MBA application process? 7.Any questions for me?"

"I concluded my McCombs interview 15 minutes ago. I submitted my application on 5 Oct and received an invitation to interview on Thursday 21 Oct. In scheduling, I picked a yr 2 student as opposed to an alum. * Could you walk me through your cv? * How would you describe your leadership skill? * Tell me about a time you navigated through ambiguity * St And Lt goal. What other option would you embark upon if your St goal doesn’t materialise at McCombs? * Why Now? * Why MBA? * What leadership roles will you take at McCombs? / how do you see yourself getting involved on campus? * Tell me about a time when you worked in a diverse team, what you enjoyed, what was challenging * What other schools did you choose? * How would your background help contribute to the experience in your MBA? * What do you consider a weakness in your MBA application? * The most constructive feedback I have received * Fun fact about me * What are your hobbies? * Any questions for me?"

"I had my interview with a 2nd year student. Overall, it was pretty casual and friendly. The interview lasted about an hour; she asked the questions the first half and then the second half I had a chance to ask my questions. Before we started she briefly introduced herself and at the end we talked more about her MBA experience. Questions: 1. Tell me about yourself 2. What are your short term/long term goals? 3. Why an MBA? Why McCombs? 4. Tell me about a time you solved a problem at work and what did you learn? 5. Tell me about a time you worked with someone from a different background (educational, cultural, etc.) 6. How do you plan to contribute to the program/be involved? 7. What other schools did you apply to? 8. What do you like to do in your free time? 9. Where do you want to work after your MBA? (know specific companies) 10. Anything you'd like to let AdCom know? Advice: - Do your research! (programs, orgs, events, etc.) - Be able to clearly articulate WHY McCombs/UT - Talk to students/alumni about their experience - Ask specific questions and take notes Good luck everyone! :) Feel free to reach out to me if you have any other questions!"

"Interview experience was exactly the same what many candidates have written below. No other question was asked, so I am not posting the same set of questions again. It went for 40-50 minutes. I need to give same answers for a couple of questions. Overall the experience was good."

"Interviewer - Paul Peterson (2nd year Student + Veteran) Duration - 60 mins It was a great conversation with Paul, who had seen nothing but my resume. He asked me the following set of questions: 1. Introduce yourself 2. Current role explained further 3. A Time when I worked in a diverse culture. What did you learn? 4. Why MBA & Why now? 5. Why McCombs? 6. Short & Long Term goal 7. What will you contribute to McCombs 8. Clubs you wish to be associated with at McCombs 9. Which 3 specific companies I wish to work for after McCombs 10. Plan B 11. Any specific company for Plan B 12. Strongest & Weakest part of the application 13. What did you learn about yourself during the application process 14. A time when you worked in a challenging situation 15. A time when you mentored or helped someone 16. Any questions from my side Hope this helps...All the Best!"

"Interviewed with an MBA2 Admissions Ambassador. Started with his introduction. He mentioned he is gonna ask me a list of questions and will be typing my response to forward to the Ad Com. Also mentioned the interview is 45 minutes but he is okay to extend it beyond that. Q1. Tell me about your work experience and what were your motivations during that path. Q2. What made you pivot into the industry you are working in? Q3. Tell about a time you faced a n issue and resolved it through your skills? Q4. What was the most challenging moment in your career and how did you face it? Q5. What are your short term and long term goals? Q6. Why MBA? Q7. What other schools are you applying to and why McCombs? Q8. What clubs will you join at McCombs? Q9. What is your your plan B? (the framing of this question was lil different) Q10. McCombs respect diversity.................. Tell me about a time you interacted with someone from a different culture or identity in a professional space? What did you learn from it. Q11. Tell about your passions outside of work. Q12. Anything else you would like the admissions committee to know? Q13. What is the most exciting thing for you in the industry you are working in? Q14. Do you have any questions for me? Interview went for 53 minutes. There were a couple of times when he asked a question I have already answered in some other response. He was very frank about it being a pre decided list of questions and told I can chose to repeat or answer with another incidence or chose not to answer. I had a good time. We had a nice conversation in the end with my questions, which he answered very sincerely and interview ended on a good note."

"My interview was with a 2nd year. It lasted roughly 50 minutes. Some questions to be prepared for: - Discuss your work experience - Why MBA - Why McCombs - What will you bring to McCombs - Goals after graduating - Time you made someone feel included/part of a team - Difficult problem you solved at work - Biggest hurdle you have had to overcome - Any questions Good luck to everyone. You can do it!"

"I had my interview with MBA2. It lasted for about an hour. longest one so far. 1. introduce yourself. 2. talk about your work experience. 3. short term and long term goals. 4. why McCombs? 5. time when you made someone feel inclusive/part of a team. 6. what constructive criticism have you received. 7. how will you make McCombs a better place? 8. challenge you had to face to reach where you are. 9. business problem you solved at work and what did you learn? 10. changes in your roles and responsibilities after recent promotion at work. 11. what did you learn about yourself through application process? 12. what is the strongest and weakest part of your application? 13. outside work passion. 14. something you want to tell. 15. what other schools have you applied to?"

"Interview Location: ITC Grand Central, Mumbai, India. Interviewer: Sr. Adcom Director She started off with some ice breakers as to how she liked India and stuff. She had a copy of my resume and didn't know anything about my essays or stuff. 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. Leadership aspects. 3. Coachability point. (basically, some failure which I overcame) 4. Short term goals. Long term thoughts. 5. Why Mccombs? 6. The biggest takeaway from my application cycle? 7. How McCombs fit the bill? 8. Outside of CV, how does one see myself? 9. What do I do apart from work? 10. Anything not in the application that I would like them to know? 11. Any questions. Overall it was a very conversational kind of interview. I tried to be crisp when I could think the interviewer was getting digressed. Let' see what happens. All the best to all other applicants! (y)"

"It started with a technical glitch wherein I could not hear the interviewer and his video kept on freezing. He sent me a link to a Microsoft chat room and then we had the ball rolling. The interviewer was a current second year MBA student. Following was discussed (beware, I do not recall the order): 1. Something about me. 2. Walking through my resume. 3. Any constructive criticism that I received during my career and how it helped me. 4. Challenges I faced in my career. 5. A bad experience in my career. 6. Strongest and weakest part of my application. 7. Why McCombs? 8. What attracted me to McCombs in the first place? 9. How did I conduct my research for the school. 10. My short term and long term goals. 11. Why an MBA? 12. Why an MBA now? 13. White Christmas (thanks to someone). 14. My hobbies. 15. Any questions that I may have. I don't think I have forgotten anything here but I may have. The interview lasted almost an hour. I believe it was good and I hope my enthusiasm and excitement was not too much for the interviewer."

"On campus interview with a second year. She introduced herself and then we jumped into the interview. 1) Tell me about yourself. 2) Questions on one of my positions that she had relevant experience with. 3) What are some challenges that you have faced in career? 4) What are the skills you have gained? 5) Why MBA? 6) Why McCombs? 7) What is the strongest/weakest part of your application? 8) What is something you learned from your application process? 9) Anything you want to tell me? 10) Any questions for me? Overall it was very friendly."

"It was a video interview with a 2nd year student. It might depend but the 2nd year interviews are generally relaxed and you can have a good fun conversation. After introducing themselves, they started with the basics. Also, no curveballs at all. 1) Walk me through your resume 2) Follow up questions to one or two points in your job timeline or early promotions etc. (You do have to know that, right?) 3) What are some challenges that you faced in career? (Follow ups) 4) What are the skills you have gained? (Follow ups) 5) Why MBA ? 6) Why McCombs? 7) Some unique projects that you have worked on? 8) What is something you learned from your application process? 10) Any questions for me? I might be missing something here as it was 2 AM my clock when I interviewed but oh well. It was good overall. Can only keep my fingers crossed now. Let’s see!!"

"Interview was in an informal set-up. And all questions were on expected lines. It lasted around 30 mins. "Tell me about your work ex" "Any feedback you received and how did it help you" "A professional accomplishment you are proud of and required leadership" "Example of working in diverse set up" "What did you learn from the application process" "Anything that hasn't been covered in this interview or in essays" "Why McCombs" "Any questions for me""

"The interviewer had a set of questions he was choosing from. Most of the discussion revolved around my work experience and the associated behavioural questions (biggest challenge, problem solving, feedback at work, teamwork), my plans for the future and how McCombs fits into it, and a couple of questions on me as a person - strengths/weaknesses, hobbies and passions. I think most of the interview just mirrored the application. So the school research and introspection you did while completing the application should serve you well. The only thing additional was the set of major competency questions, which anyway everyone should be prepared for."

"Had my McCombs interview yesterday. I think it went okay. Overview: I met adcom in a hotel lobby. We did basic introductions and talked for a bit. Then we dove into interview questions. My interviewer had a set of questions from which he asked questions. In this way, the interview was quite structured, and wasn't like a regular conversation. My interviewer also took notes quite visibly, and it was slightly distracting because I knew that whatever he wrote would be the basis for his interview report. Types of questions: We spoke about career goals and went over a few behavioural questions related to my professional experience. I spoke about my motivations for doing an MBA and how it would help me in my short/long term goals. Then we spoke at length about the McCombs program, and how I would contribute to it. Just FYI, McCombs focuses heavily on how prospective students can give back to the community - I was asked a question about it. Finally, the interviewer asked if I had any questions about the program. This was the most unstructured part of the interview, and was quite conversational. It is best to prepare 4-5 questions I was surprised that we spent 15-20 minutes on my questions and another 15-20 minutes on discussing McCombs specific questions. I was prepared for a conversational interview and thought that we'd spend much more time talking about my background and professional experience, but this was not the case (we spent only about 8-10 minutes on this). Key takeaways: Prepare your stories well. Figure out how to repurpose your stories to answer a variety of questions. Have a clear idea of what you want to achieve through the MBA. Know your strengths and weaknesses at work, and also as an applicant. I was asked about both these points specifically. Prepare to talk about your work in a succinct and concise way. Finally, relax! My interviewer was very friendly and while the interview was in a question-answer format, he made me feel at ease. Hope this helps!"

"All the same ones you see online for mccombs really. - Introduce yourself, - run through work history, - what are your goals, - why MBA, - why McCombs, - couple of competency based questions, and - then some chit-chat"

"I had my interview with Sharon Barrett (Ad-com) at ITC Maurya, Delhi and lasted for close to 25 mins. The interview was conversational and an attempt to understand the candidate. The following questions were asked: 1. Why Mccombs 2. Any challenges you faced in your work place and how did you overcome that 3. Favorite place you have travelled to 4. One trait which you wish you had 5. What were the challenges faced as a leader in your project and how did you overcome them 6. How will you add value to the school- any specific group you would want to be a part of 7. What is that one question you wished I had asked you but I didn’t 8. If you could teach the class one thing, what would that be 9. How did you hear about McCombs 10. Any questions?"