Interviews: What to Expect & How to Prepare

Part 5 of 5 — Build Your Best MBA Application: One Piece at a Time, a free Friday series (5:00–5:45pm ET). Submit isn't the finish line — it's the start of interview prep. We'll map what each top program actually runs: GSB's blind interview (your interviewer hasn't read your file), HBS's by-invite conversation plus a 90-minute written reflection, Wharton's team-based discussion, Sloan's structured behavioral format, Kellogg's alumni conversations — and what interviewers are really scoring in each. Then, preparation that works: building 8–12 flexible stories that each answer multiple question types (instead of memorizing 30 single-use answers), working the four question buckets — setting the stage, negative-valence, positive-valence, and "Why X" — and sharpening your "Why MBA, why now" for the AI era. Practice out loud; reading answers in your head doesn't translate. Drawn from real questions in my recent client debriefs and hundreds of mock interviews. You'll leave with a prep plan you can run in the two weeks before any invite.