Carlson MBA Interview
With 55,000+ alumni in 95 countries, joining the Carlson School means instantly expanding your network. You’ll also get access to one-on-one support from faculty ranked no. 3 for intellectual contributions in business among U.S public universities.
97% of 2016 graduates received employment offers within 90 days of graduation. The Carlson School of Management at University of Minnesota–Twin Cities (Carlson) offers these departments and concentrations: accounting, consulting, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, finance, general management, health care administration, human resources management, international business, marketing, management information systems, production/operations management, organizational behavior, portfolio management, public policy, supply chain management/logistics, quantitative analysis/statistics and operations research, and technology. With so many options, Carlson is a great college to apply at.
Who will interview you, and how long will the interview last?
Like most business schools, the Carlson interview is taken by a Career Management Team. The interview is usually done by one member from the team. The interview typically lasts for 25-30 minutes or may extend to 35-40 minutes in some instances.
Will the interviewer have read my application?
It is always safer to assume that the Panel members have access to your complete application. In most instances, they would have read it completely. Unless the school specifically says that it will be an blind interview. Mostly North American Business schools in US and Canada have an Blind interviews, European and SE Asian schools conduct interviews via Alums or panels which have full access to your entire application.
How can you prepare for your interview?
Like most MBA Interviews, your interview will mainly revolve around a pretty similar set of MBA interview questions. You can never predict what questions will be asked, but with enough research, you can predict what are the most commonly asked questions in these interviews. We have created a short FAQ list below to get you a jump start, and we also have a free guide linked below to help you prepare for these commonly asked interview questions.
Carlson MBA Frequently Asked Interview Questions
Professional experience-related questions
- Tell me something about yourself, or Walk me through your resume.
- What are your short-term and long-term goals?
- Why MBA? or Why now? or Why an MBA at this stage of your career?
- Why Carlson?
- What is your Plan B? in case your primary goal does not happen?
Personal qualities-related questions
- What are your key strengths? Can you give some examples, please?
- What are your key weaknesses? Can you give some examples, please?
- How can you add value to the Class? or Why should we take you?
- Any reasons why we should not select you?
- Interests and Hobbies related questions – why do you do it, what have you achieved/learned?
Frequently Asked Situational & Behavioral Questions
- What is your leadership style? Can you give an example of a project you led?
- What would you describe are your greatest achievement to date?
- Give me an example of a time you failed.
- Give me an example of a time you faced a conflict. How did you handle that?
- Give me an example of a time when you did not meet a client’s expectations. What happened, and how did you attempt to rectify the situation?
The last one – Do you have any questions for us?
- Can you please tell me how international exchange students and schools are assigned?
- How club leadership is selected?
- Any other questions you may have in regards to the program.
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 1
Hi all,
I had interview with Natalie Dillon , She was Associate Director of Admissions. The interview lasted for 30 mins, with questions mostly as shared in the thread.
But there were few surprises too. sharing all the Q’s asked to me.
- Started of with walk me through your resume
- Why MBA.
- Why Now
- LT and ST Q’s
- Why Carlson.
6.What other schools have you applied or thinking of and why in those.
- Most difficult decision you have taken
- Risk you have taken and why
- How you handled yourself in difficult Scenarios ( I quoted an example to explain her)
- What is your thought on Leadership
After this there was 10 min conversation where i asked her Q’s (Make sure to ask innovative Q’s)
To tell you all, be frank with answers, and try to minimize gaps in resume. The more the gaps in your resume expect lot of questions in terms of your past experience
and they will correlate with your essay.
But not to worry much. Essays will come handy as most questions will be from that only.
All the Best for upcoming interviews.
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 2
I had a Skype interview with Brigette Marty. The interview lasted for around 30 minutes. She asked me around 10-12 questions. Most of them were general MBA questions. Some of the questions were:
- Walk me through your resume.
- Tell me more about your work experience?
- Why MBA?
- Why MBA right now?
- Why Carlson?
- Behavioral questions for following scenarios: a. Leadership b. Conflict management c. Diverse experience
- Do you have any companies in mind you want to work for after your MBA? Would you want to work in the states after MBA or go back to India?
- Strengths as a team member.
In the end, there for time to discuss any questions for her.
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Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 3
I had my interview with Kathryn Andersen from the Admissions Team. The interview itself was conversational (although she had an exact list of questions to ask) and she was quite friendly so that eased the pressure a bit.
- Started off with explanaing my professional background
- How does an MBA fit into this?
- Why Carlson
- ST and LT goals
- Anything I am particularly proud of
- A risk I have taken and what was my rationale behind takin that risk.
- Leadership style
This was followed by my questions for about 7-8 mins where we discussed about the city and the cold weather a bit. As a whole it lasted 30 mins sharp.
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 4
I will share my interview experience for R2. Very similar to what other users have said previously. It was a blind interview, meaning the interviewer had only briefly looked at my resume and had not read my essays.
The interviewer asked me to go over my resume and experience, explain what jobs I have held, take her through a day at one of them, impact I have had at them, etc.
Next is was the standard b-school interview questions – Why Carlson? Why an MBA? What are your short and long-term career goals? How will an MBA from Carlson help you achieve those?
We also spoke about what enterprise I was interested in at Carlson. I was also asked about if my career plan didn’t work out, what kind of backup plan did I have and how would Carlson fit into that.
The final thing is they ask you to do a 2 minute speech on any topic that you choose. They just want to see how you communicate on the fly, so keep in mind a topic you might like to use.
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 4
I will share my interview experience for R2. Very similar to what other users have said previously. It was a blind interview, meaning the interviewer had only briefly looked at my resume and had not read my essays.
The interviewer asked me to go over my resume and experience, explain what jobs I have held, take her through a day at one of them, impact I have had at them, etc.
Next is was the standard b-school interview questions – Why Carlson? Why an MBA? What are your short and long-term career goals? How will an MBA from Carlson help you achieve those?
We also spoke about what enterprise I was interested in at Carlson. I was also asked about if my career plan didn’t work out, what kind of backup plan did I have and how would Carlson fit into that.
The final thing is they ask you to do a 2 minute speech on any topic that you choose. They just want to see how you communicate on the fly, so keep in mind a topic you might like to use.
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 5
Let me share my experience so that it may help all future applicants 🙂
The interview was very conversational. It revolved around the general questions- Why MBA? Why now? Short Term and Long Term Goals? Why Carlson?
There were follow up questions related to the challenges faced in profession, leadership style and experience in diverse teams.
Then comes the last part – 2 minutes improptu speech on any topic you like. They might give an example to help you decide a topic as well.
My advice: Be confident. Be thorough with your essays and resume. Do your research on the school and also convey during the interview you have done that <Shows your interest in the school>.
I hope this helps.
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 6
Hi everyone, I had my interview with Dana Daniele a couple of days back. She is very cool and kept the interview as friendly as possible (We both smiled multiple times as we moved ahead with the interview ;-)). It was for around 45 minutes.
Started with “Walk me through your resume”, followed by a few traditional questions:
Why MBA?
Why Carlson?
Why now?
Strengths and weaknesses
Then it went on some specific aspects of my profile. First and foremost thing is that you should know what all you have mentioned about self in your SOP, resume/CV, optional essay. By knowing I mean, they want to see if you actually are the person whom you have projected as in your profile and essays. So, be prepared with good number of situations where in you have proved yourself,
As a leader
As a team member
As an eligible candidate for a B school etc,.
Don’t miss out on any single quality or word you have mentioned in the essays and resume.
Expect one question, where they would give you a scenario and you will be asked to face it your way.
Be very clear and specific on your post MBA goals, both short term and long term.
Finally I was asked to talk for 2 minutes on any of my favorite topics.
Once it is done, be prepared with some set of questions for interviewer.
Altogether it was a great experience for me, this being my first admission interview.
Bit tensed about result though. Should wait till Jan 15th.
Be confident and you will do it.
All the best 🙂
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 7
Interviewed with Dana recently. It was a pleasant experience overall.
Interview Length: 55 mins
Interview Date: 14/12/2016
Questions:
Run me through your resume?
Follow-up questions on work profile?
Short term & long term goal?
Why now?
How can an MBA help you?
Why Carlson?
Leadership Style?
Strengths and Weaknesses in a team setting?
2-3 situational questions on team building/setting
What other schools did you apply to and why?
Sell a product/idea of your choice in 2 minutes ( A situation was given)
Time for my questions
In the end, she told that the results will be announced by Jan 15 2017. Good luck to everyone !!
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 8
Hi dudes,
I did my interview with Tedi Mason at Carlson School. She was a perfect lady with a smiling face all of the time during interview. The interview went well and took approximately 28 minutes(seems to be low but it was as long as she told me at the start of the conversation) and very basic questions after a detailed CV followup.
Why MBA and why now?
Why Carlson?
Extempore topic chosen by you. Actually she gave me a minute to prepare but i already knew the topic and prepared before so she was very kind when i tell that i already prepared myself for such a question. She smiled also :)) and after all she asked me If i have questions to her. I asked 2 questions and she promised me to interact with a current student and took my name down on her notes.
Actually a wonderful experience for me and I think it was clear. Hope to have an admit with a good scholarship. Wish u good luck guys. I would be happy to answer If you send PMs to me about this.
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 9
Hello guys. I had an online interview through Zoom that lasted about 25 minutes. The interview was conducted by a member of the Admissions Committee (AdCom). She was friendly and accommodating throughout the interview. Here’s a summary of the questions asked during the interview:
- Tell me about yourself. After that, she shared her background and professional experience.
- Why do you want to pursue an MBA? What factors are important to you when choosing a business school?
- What are your goals after completing your MBA?
- How do you define diversity and inclusivity, and how have these values influenced your personal and professional life?
- Can you tell me about when you faced failure and what you learned from that experience?
- Share an example of when you utilized your strengths to help a team or a teammate succeed.
- Is there anything else you want to add that you still need to mention in your application or during our conversation today?
- Lastly, do you have any questions for me?
Overall, it was a friendly conversation.
Carlson MBA Interview Questions – 10
I recently had a Zoom interview that lasted roughly 30 minutes. The interview was conducted by a member of the Admissions Committee (AdCom), and she was friendly and accommodating throughout the conversation. Here are the questions she asked me during the interview:
- Can you briefly tell me about your work experience? Take about 2-3 minutes.
- Why do you want to pursue an MBA, and why is now the right time for you?
- Can you explain why this is a good time for you to pursue an MBA? This question caught me off guard since I hadn’t prepared for it.
- What are your long-term and short-term goals?
- In your leadership experience, what kind of value did you create?
- If we were to ask your clients or coworkers what strengths would they mention about you? 7. In your opinion, what are your strengths?
- What motivates you to do what you do, and what are your aspirations for the future?
- Do you have any questions for the AdCom, or is there any additional information you would like to share?
I hope I did well in the interview and got accepted!
