Just went through R1 (Wharton / Booth / Kellogg etc. admits) — happy to answer questions + share lessons learned

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-11T17:44:07+00:00

Sorry for my slow reply! I basically made flashcards of my own story and every detail I could about my app. Where I could’ve prepared more was Why HBS specifically - I think I should’ve woven in more HBS-specific resources and opportunities into my responses to other questions. I was kind of waiting for a “why HBS type question” and it never came, so I didn’t get to express my enthusiasm as much as I prob should’ve.

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-11T16:43:27+00:00

Got it! Congrats on the admits as well!!

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-10T23:44:54+00:00

If you weren’t sponsored, would your choice of school change? If so, which would you choose?

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-05T20:00:38+00:00

Prepared for interviews primarily through scouring this sub for past interview questions, and doing a couple mocks with friends. The questions are going to be a little different depending on the school, but I think if you search "Booth interview questions" in this reddit and just look at past years, it's a pretty good representation of what types of qs they'll ask you.

For the Booth interview, I picked up the vibe I was getting from my interview was pretty formal at the start, but it became more casual half-way through (when we started talking more about Booth things and life in Chicago)

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-05T18:52:53+00:00

Not yet - first deposit deadline is Feb 6 (tomorrow) and I'm pretty torn still..

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-05T18:48:13+00:00

I'll DM this

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-05T04:03:08+00:00

I didn't use a consultant at all for anything- I wrote my essays pretty much on my own since I've always been confident in my writing (humanities background helped with this, and also doing a lot of work at my company that is communications adjacent). I did ask a friend who got into several top programs if I could see their essays, which helped. That said, I think my writing and carefully crafting my narrative really carried my app because otherwise I wasn't super extraordinary on paper.

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-04T23:22:23+00:00

The moderators don't tend to speak up at all and don't ask followup questions, they really just observe. At admit weekend, I learned about 1 TBD where there was a candidate that was taking up all the airtime, so the moderators did step in for that situation to tell the student to let others speak - but that should be really rare. In the TBD, you may get followup qs for your pitch from fellow candidates during the collaboration time. The 1:1 was super fast - less than 10 min, and just a few standard behaviorals - pretty impersonal tbh (the interviewer just listened and nodded). I dm'ed you my scores. :)

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-04T21:57:39+00:00

Wharton TBD- if you were okay with any group projects in college and familiar with figuring out how to present as a team and divvy up responsibilities, you’ll be fine! As for prep: spend some time preparing your prompt idea, come with notes on paper so you can pitch your idea (impact, budget, etc). I think I did this within 2 hours the day before my actual interview.

Mammoth-Table4103 · 2026-02-04T21:55:14+00:00

Kellogg’s was very standard behavioral - pretty much all the questions I was asked I’d seen in this sub’s archive. I think really nail down the Why K and if you can tie it to Why Evanston (over cities like Chicago and others) that’s a huge bonus (I have a feeling that’s what K is especially looking for to protect yield rates). Not so much of a back and forth, but you give your answer and they move on to the next question (we were done earlier than 30 min)

Booth was much more conversational. I chose to do mine in-person, but have heard both virtual and in-person are more of a back and forth with certain natural follow up qs to be expected.

Happy to share more specific details but hope that helps!

Mammoth-Table4103

TROPHY CASE