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2014 Admissions Results: Management


fourteenstix

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Institution Name: University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)

Concentration: OB

Date of Notification: 2/7/2014

Type of Notification: Email

Notification: Interview

Posted on GradCafe? Yes

 

I was waiting for this one for sooooo long!!!!! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy

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Among other things, I was wondering if anyone had heard from :

- Berkeley Haas

- Toronto Rotman

- McGill

I didn't see any OB interview requests, neither here nor on GC.

 

Kudos to all of you interviewing, waiting and/or sweating.

 

 

I only applied to Haas from this list, but nothing so far!

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Among other things, I was wondering if anyone had heard from :

- Berkeley Haas

- Toronto Rotman

- McGill

I didn't see any OB interview requests, neither here nor on GC.

 

I applied to McGill (strategy and organization) and Rotman (strategic management) and have not heard anything from either. Didn't apply to Berkeley.

 

In other news, I declined an interview offer for York University today (Stgic Management), and intend to withdraw my application from a couple of my lower schools over the weekend. I know it's early but I know where I'm leaning right now, and I really only have a couple of schools that would make me think twice so it's an easy decision. Hopefully it will free up some space for others :encouragement:.

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I applied to McGill (strategy and organization) and Rotman (strategic management) and have not heard anything from either. Didn't apply to Berkeley.

 

In other news, I declined an interview offer for York University today (Stgic Management), and intend to withdraw my application from a couple of my lower schools over the weekend. I know it's early but I know where I'm leaning right now, and I really only have a couple of schools that would make me think twice so it's an easy decision. Hopefully it will free up some space for others :encouragement:.

 

Thanks for sharing, I was actually wondering what is the best approach in this type of situation.

Is it better to have the interview and wait for the decision before politely declining or is it better to send an email up front (if you are planning to go to another program)?

I would feel awkward saying "no" to an interview, and would rather wait for the decision or something. They might not want me after all which will make it easier on me. Thoughts?

Also do you tell them that you got another offer and would like to decline or do you just withdraw your application without telling them where you are going?

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Thanks for sharing, I was actually wondering what is the best approach in this type of situation.

Is it better to have the interview and wait for the decision before politely declining or is it better to send an email up front (if you are planning to go to another program)?

I would feel awkward saying "no" to an interview, and would rather wait for the decision or something. They might not want me after all which will make it easier on me. Thoughts?

Also do you tell them that you got another offer and would like to decline or do you just withdraw your application without telling them where you are going?

 

I debated about this for a while, and had the same sort of hesitations as you. And although I did feel awkward about declining an interview offer, the Program director was very understanding, and in the end, I hope that by being up front I can save people time. The conclusion I came to is that if I had no intention of accepting an offer from there, it would, in my mind, be disingenuous of me to take the interview. This is a personal choice so I think everyone will think about it differently; that's just where I ended up.

 

And it's exactly for that reason that I want to withdraw some of my other applications in case someone is considering me for an interview; that way the whole thing can be avoided.

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I debated about this for a while, and had the same sort of hesitations as you. And although I did feel awkward about declining an interview offer, the Program director was very understanding, and in the end, I hope that by being up front I can save people time. The conclusion I came to is that if I had no intention of accepting an offer from there, it would, in my mind, be disingenuous of me to take the interview. This is a personal choice so I think everyone will think about it differently; that's just where I ended up.

 

And it's exactly for that reason that I want to withdraw some of my other applications in case someone is considering me for an interview; that way the whole thing can be avoided.

 

Yeah, it makes sense! At this point I'm just waiting for my first offer. So far only interviews...

Once you have an offer, your approach sounds the best for everyone.

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Institution Name: Harvard Business School

Concentration: Management DBA

Date of Notification: 2/7/2014

Type of Notification: Email

Notification: Admit

Posted on GradCafe? No. I will, though.

 

Still in shock. I'm overwhelmed!

 

 

CONGRATS!!!!!! This is AWESOME!!!!!!

Did you have an interview?

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CONGRATS!!!!!! This is AWESOME!!!!!!

Did you have an interview?

 

Yes. Actually six different interviews! I have to say, it was a very unique (and surprisingly enjoyable) experience. I interviewed with everyone I named in my SOP, and it was the furthest thing from the "structured" type interview I've had at a few other schools. They were deeply interested in my research ideas, and we discussed them in great depth.

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Yes. Actually six different interviews! I have to say, it was a very unique (and surprisingly enjoyable) experience. I interviewed with everyone I named in my SOP, and it was the furthest thing from the "structured" type interview I've had at a few other schools. They were deeply interested in my research ideas, and we discussed them in great depth.

 

This is awesome! Congrats again! :)

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Institution Name: Harvard Business School

Concentration: Management DBA

Date of Notification: 2/7/2014

Type of Notification: Email

Notification: Admit

Posted on GradCafe? No. I will, though.

 

Still in shock. I'm overwhelmed!

 

Fantastic! Congratulations; especially gratifying that there's so much interest in your research (6 interviews!) wow!

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Hi all, I am an applicant for Strategy.

 

Does anyone have an idea if following schools give Admission or Interview?

 

OSU / Toronto / Indiana (strategy) / Washington Seattle / Rice / UCLA / Washington Olin / UIUC / NYU / UT Austin / Maryland / UNC / Minnesota / Texas A&M / Western Ontario / Duke / ASU

 

Thank you :)

Edited by alver
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Institution Name: Harvard Business School

Concentration: Management DBA

Date of Notification: 2/7/2014

Type of Notification: Email

Notification: Admit

Posted on GradCafe? No. I will, though.

 

Still in shock. I'm overwhelmed!

 

 

myndfood, you did it buddy! So happy for you, big congrats, especially that you have a family and kids unlike many applicants... savor the moment, and enjoy the overwhelming feeling! I believe that HBS likes mature people like yourself who have demonstrated real interest in research by taking on research projects head-on...

 

Now, I am wondering if you could possibly share with us the most frequently asked questions that you came across in your interviews as most of us are still waiting to hear from programs. Also, what are some concrete steps that you followed in preparing? To what extent did you read papers of faculty?

 

Anyways, you get the idea, anything that would help your fellow colleagues here would be beneficial...

 

Congrats again!

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Hi all, I am an applicant for Strategy.

 

Does anyone have an idea if following schools give Admission or Interview?

 

OSU / Toronto / Indiana (strategy) / Washington Seattle / Rice / UCLA / Washington Olin / UIUC / NYU / UT Austin / Maryland / UNC / Minnesota / Texas A&M / Western Ontario / Duke / ASU

 

Thank you :)

 

I've dealt with more than half, if not most of the schools on the list, and all of the ones here I've had experiences with do phone interviews or flyouts, so you will hear from them before admit.

 

I know there were a couple of schools that admit blind, but those are very few. UCI comes to mind, but I know there were a couple more.

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myndfood, you did it buddy! So happy for you, big congrats, especially that you have a family and kids unlike many applicants... savor the moment, and enjoy the overwhelming feeling! I believe that HBS likes mature people like yourself who have demonstrated real interest in research by taking on research projects head-on...

 

Now, I am wondering if you could possibly share with us the most frequently asked questions that you came across in your interviews as most of us are still waiting to hear from programs. Also, what are some concrete steps that you followed in preparing? To what extent did you read papers of faculty?

 

Anyways, you get the idea, anything that would help your fellow colleagues here would be beneficial...

 

Congrats again!

 

StayStrong: thanks for the kind words!

 

I'd categorize my interviews as either extremely structured or "research conversations". One school followed the protocol described a few times in various threads here--the exact questions you'd expect (why a PhD, why here, what research interests, who do you want to work with). In fact, they told me that they were asking these same questions of every interviewee. During this interview, there was almost no dialogue. I felt I did well, but there were no real verbal (or non-verbal) cues at all. In fact, it was them asking a questions and me answering while they took notes.

 

All of my other interviews (including HBS) have been far more conversational. They all clearly wanted to get answers to those same questions, but they weren't "clinical" in their approach to the questions. Furthermore, in every other interview, the interviewers were very interested in talking about my research experiences and interests. In all of these interviews, the conversations stretched on quite a while, with the interviewers (in every case) asking about various phenomena I want to test, and in many cases, tossing out some ideas. Main point here was that, in each of these cases, it was clear that the research interests were a "hook", and that the faculty members were genuinely interested in my research focus.

 

In some cases, interviewers offered up some of their research interests, and were pretty explicit in how they saw my interests intersecting with theirs. In other cases, they didn't offer it up, but I did. In every case where faculty interests came up, we talked quite extensively about the intersection of interests, about how we might be able to work together, etc...

 

I was never grilled on anyone's research, but I have (in every case) prepared obsessively. I read a few key papers, and made sure that I had a decent sense of their interests. One note: I think it's good to read recent papers, but also pay attention to their statement of research interests. In a few cases, I found that while various faculty are publishing on one topic, their current interests have moved on a bit (a function of the time it takes to publish, I guess). Main point here: it was good that I had an understanding of their work, but nobody grilled me--either about faculty research or about technical issues.

 

I think that the biggest takeaway for me is that it's clear (in hindsight) that the interviewers are really wanting to see if there's enough overlap in research interests, and enough of a personality/working style "fit", for them to want to work with you. One interviewer was explicit in that he didn't really mind that my interests weren't exactly the same as his--just as long as there's an intersection of some sort, and he could see himself working with me.

 

I was also concerned with my quantitative training and GMAT Q score. When asked by one interviewer what I thought challenges would be, I mentioned that I might be challenged by some of the more quantitatively intense methods stuff early on. He told me I'd be fine.

 

Final thought: I think you should be yourself, and not try too hard. My first interview, I was definitely "trying"; I don't think it served me well at all. In being myself, I think interviewers felt far more comfortable just having a conversation, and I think that was a good thing.

 

I dunno if that's any help at all!

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Institution Name: Harvard Business School

Concentration: Management DBA

Date of Notification: 2/7/2014

Type of Notification: Email

Notification: Admit

Posted on GradCafe? No. I will, though.

 

Still in shock. I'm overwhelmed!

 

Congrats! That's amazing!

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StayStrong: thanks for the kind words!

 

I'd categorize my interviews as either extremely structured or "research conversations". One school followed the protocol described a few times in various threads here--the exact questions you'd expect (why a PhD, why here, what research interests, who do you want to work with). In fact, they told me that they were asking these same questions of every interviewee. During this interview, there was almost no dialogue. I felt I did well, but there were no real verbal (or non-verbal) cues at all. In fact, it was them asking a questions and me answering while they took notes.

 

All of my other interviews (including HBS) have been far more conversational. They all clearly wanted to get answers to those same questions, but they weren't "clinical" in their approach to the questions. Furthermore, in every other interview, the interviewers were very interested in talking about my research experiences and interests. In all of these interviews, the conversations stretched on quite a while, with the interviewers (in every case) asking about various phenomena I want to test, and in many cases, tossing out some ideas. Main point here was that, in each of these cases, it was clear that the research interests were a "hook", and that the faculty members were genuinely interested in my research focus.

 

In some cases, interviewers offered up some of their research interests, and were pretty explicit in how they saw my interests intersecting with theirs. In other cases, they didn't offer it up, but I did. In every case where faculty interests came up, we talked quite extensively about the intersection of interests, about how we might be able to work together, etc...

 

I was never grilled on anyone's research, but I have (in every case) prepared obsessively. I read a few key papers, and made sure that I had a decent sense of their interests. One note: I think it's good to read recent papers, but also pay attention to their statement of research interests. In a few cases, I found that while various faculty are publishing on one topic, their current interests have moved on a bit (a function of the time it takes to publish, I guess). Main point here: it was good that I had an understanding of their work, but nobody grilled me--either about faculty research or about technical issues.

 

I think that the biggest takeaway for me is that it's clear (in hindsight) that the interviewers are really wanting to see if there's enough overlap in research interests, and enough of a personality/working style "fit", for them to want to work with you. One interviewer was explicit in that he didn't really mind that my interests weren't exactly the same as his--just as long as there's an intersection of some sort, and he could see himself working with me.

 

I was also concerned with my quantitative training and GMAT Q score. When asked by one interviewer what I thought challenges would be, I mentioned that I might be challenged by some of the more quantitatively intense methods stuff early on. He told me I'd be fine.

 

Final thought: I think you should be yourself, and not try too hard. My first interview, I was definitely "trying"; I don't think it served me well at all. In being myself, I think interviewers felt far more comfortable just having a conversation, and I think that was a good thing.

 

I dunno if that's any help at all!

 

Very helpful feedback, thanks... especially your final thought! I guess it is good to prepare, but to let things be natural as well... I hope we all get some interviews soon..It appears that HBS and Wharton start early to alleviate the anxiety of applicants, and to get first dips, but for many other programs it is just a LOOONG wait

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I finally got an offer. So thrilled. I had a very friendly conversation with one of the professors on Friday. He was super nice. And I just received my offer letter in email today. I am so happy. Anyone else got it from Carlson?
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I finally got an offer. So thrilled. I had a very friendly conversation with one of the professors on Friday. He was super nice. And I just received my offer letter in email today. I am so happy. Anyone else got it from Carlson?

 

CONGRATS OBHR!!!!!!!! This is great! So far only interviews... no offers for me...

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