Georgetown McDonough MBA Interviews
According to the Georgetown McDonough MBA admissions director –
“Treat the interview like a job interview. This includes wearing a suit and bringing an up-to-date copy of your résumé. Candidates should practice interviewing with someone they trust to give candid feedback and take their feedback into consideration.
Finally, a successful candidate will show their interviewer that they have prepared for the interview and will come with thoughtful questions about the program.
The interview is a great time for candidates to stand out as an applicant. Don’t be afraid to show a little bit of your personality in the interview. When candidates are stressed out or too formal, they don’t perform well in the interview and that is a real missed opportunity.”
Who will interview you, and how long will the interview last?
Like most business schools, the McDonough 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.
Georgetown McDonough 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 Georgetown Mcdonough?
- 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.
McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 1
The interview was taken by an Adcom member over Skype. It was a friendly and conversational interview. The interview was blind and she had not read my essays. It lasted for 30 min. Overall, the interviewer genuinely tried to know more about me.
Here are the list of questions in that order:
- How do you keep yourself updated? Which publications/magazines due you follow?
- What is an issue/topic of particular importance to you? Tell me about something you read recently?
- Why do you want an MBA?
- Talk about a time when you were part of a team and there was a conflict. How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a time when you took leadership role? What were the challenges? How did you handle it? She asked further questions on the example I gave.
- Talk about a time when you were challenged in a cross-cultural environment. What did you do?
- What are your strengths? Give example.
- What are your short term, long term goals?
- Any questions for her?
McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 2
Questions Asked:
- Tell me about yourself
- Tell me about a time you made an unpopular decision
- Tell about the time you worked with a global team
- Career goals – short and long term
- Why MBA now?
- Why Georgetown?
- Where else are you interviewing?
My interviewer didn’t know anything about my application or even have my resume. I handed it to him right as the interview started, and he spent a few minutes reading it. The interviewer was also very focused on the clock and the 30 minute time frame. During the interview, he took notes.
McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 3
The interview was very conversational. We step by step walked through my résumé. The questions were as follows:
- Why you choose your school and about your college experience.
- What I do in my currently role and how I made the transition into my current role.
- Why an MBA?
- Why McDonough?
There were other questions dispersed throughout the conversation that were specific to responses that I gave, but this was the general flow.
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McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 4
The interview was conversational. It started on time and lasted for 35 minutes. The interviewer started from reading my résumé.
Questions included:
- Tell me about the background and why MBA.
- Why now?
- Leadership story.
- Have been to the campus?
- What schools have you applied to?
- Do you want to stay in DC?
- 6 questions for her( 10 minutes)
During the interview, the interviewer took a lot of notes. She would also responded to my answers by stating that she had had similar experiences.
Interviewer is friendly. No challenge questions.
McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 5
The interview lasted about 35 minutes. The woman was really nice, but she was asking some odd questions about where I was applying towards the end–I think trying to awkwardly gauge whether I would in fact attend Georgetown if they admitted me.
1) Walk me through your résumé.
2) Why an MBA?
3) Why Georgetown?
4) Tell me about a time you had difficulty with a team/team member, and what you did to improve that relationship.
5) What are your post-MBA goals in five years?
6) Where else are you applying?
I hesitated a little on where else I was applying, since Georgetown is a safety (in terms of ranking, though I love the school and don’t consider it a ‘safety’ by any means). Interviewer was incredibly nice though.
McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 6
My interview at McDonough was very relaxed and straight-forward. My interviewer was a second-year student who was very nice, though she was an international student so I felt there was a bit of a language barrier.
The questions were pretty typical:
– Tell me about yourself and your experiences (I walked her through my resume)
– Why an MBA? Why Georgetown?
– Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership
– Tell me about a time you faced a challenging project.
– Tell me about a time you solved a problem using analytical skills.
– What do you think will be your greatest challenge in an MBA program?
– What other schools have you applied to?
Overall – very enjoyable experience.
McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 7
I finished my McDonough interview about an hour ago, and it went well! My interviewer was a first-year student, and the interview lasted approximately 35 minutes.
Most of the questions focused on the following topics:
- Can you walk me through your resume and highlight your experiences?
- Since both of us had backgrounds in marketing, we discussed how I transitioned from a technical role to a marketing role and how I chose my team.
- How has your leadership style evolved?
- What would you say is your most significant accomplishment to date? (I shared an example related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, which the interviewer appreciated.)
- What is the most crucial constructive feedback you have received thus far?
- What are your short-term and long-term goals, and do you have a backup plan (Plan B) in case they don’t work out?
- Why do you want to pursue an MBA now, and what explicitly attracts you to McDonough?
- Do you have any questions for me?
Since our post-MBA goals aligned, the interviewer paid close attention and showed genuine interest. Overall, the interview was relaxed, and the interviewer was friendly and polite.
McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 8
I had a 45-minute interview with a second-year student. Compared to my previous interviews, this one felt different. It was more like a conversation rather than a formal interview. The interviewer provided feedback and asked follow-up questions for all of my answers. We had a natural flow; it didn’t feel like a rigid question-and-answer session. Here are some of his questions: He started by asking me to tell him about myself. We reviewed my resume, and he asked me to walk him through it. He wanted to know when I experienced failure and how I learned from that experience. He asked about my most outstanding achievement so far. We discussed my short-term and long-term goals. He inquired why I chose McDonough specifically. He was curious about how I would decide which school to attend and how vital a scholarship was to me. Towards the end, he allowed me to ask any questions I had for him. Overall, it was a positive experience, and I enjoyed the conversational nature of the interview.
McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 9
I had a 45-minute interview with a Georgetown admissions committee member. Here are their questions: They started by asking me to tell them about myself. They wanted to know why I specifically chose Georgetown. They asked about my reasons for pursuing an MBA and why I felt now was the right time. They inquired about my short-term and long-term goals. They were interested in the role I typically play in a team. They asked what my teammates would say about me. Finally, they allowed me to ask any questions I had for them. The interview was straightforward, and the questions were standard. It lasted exactly 45 minutes.
McDonough MBA Interview Questions – 10
I had a friendly and conversational interview with a current student. The interview lasted about 30 minutes, and I had an additional 15 minutes to ask questions. Here are the questions: They started by asking me to tell them about myself. They wanted to know about my short-term and long-term goals. They asked why I wanted to pursue an MBA and why now was the right time. They were curious about why I specifically chose Georgetown. They asked me to share a time when I faced failure and what I learned from that experience. They wanted to hear about a situation where I had to take a step back and what the outcomes and impact were. They inquired about when I encountered challenges while working with a diverse team. They asked about a specific instance where I had to meet a deadline. They were interested in knowing what factors I would consider in selecting Georgetown if I were admitted, and they had a follow-up question based on my response. Finally, they allowed me to ask any questions I had for them. Overall, it was a friendly and enjoyable conversation.
