When I was director of admissions marketing and financial aid at the Lauder Institute, I would often be asked by anxious applicants how best to prepare for the Lauder interview.
If you apply to Lauder’s joint degree program with the Wharton MBA or the Penn Law JD program, you will need to do two admissions interviews. If you applied to Wharton, you’ll be invited to participate in the school’s unique TBD, or Team Based Discussion, and you’ll receive a separate invitation to interview specifically for Lauder.
The Lauder interview will follow more of a typical MBA interview format than your Wharton TBD. You’ll spend approximately 30 minutes talking one-on-one with an admissions officer, an alumnus/alumna, or – more than likely – a second-year Lauder student. This is someone who has just spent a full year in the program and can really speak to their experience. Most of the program’s interviews are conducted virtually these days, but should you find yourself on campus, I wouldn’t be surprised if you have the opportunity to chat with a student or admissions officer face-to-face.
Lauder is unique in that it offers a deeply international student experience, so you should absolutely come prepared to talk about your background and experiences, both personally and professionally, in a global context.
Read on for seven specific tips on how to ace your Lauder interview!
1. Be prepared to explain “Why Lauder?”
Lauder’s admissions committee will want to fully understand why you applied to the institute in tandem with Wharton. What will Lauder give you that you cannot gain through Wharton alone? Be ready to speak to why you wish to be part of the program and what attracts you to Lauder’s unique, globally oriented curriculum. Is it language study? Global immersions? The opportunity to do research in a topic area of your choosing? The alumni network or student experience? Come prepared with clear points and illustrative examples to answer the important “Why Lauder?” question.
2. Highlight your global experiences.
Lauder looks for applicants who have had rich experiences in a global context, beyond their personal or professional international travel. While that doesn’t mean the school necessarily expects you to have worked and/or lived outside of your home country for many years, it does mean that you should have had some significant international exposure and can discuss it in a meaningful way. Perhaps you worked for an international company on global projects or teams, or with clients around the world. Maybe you studied a second language in school and spent a year of college abroad. Or perhaps you are a “third culture kid” who grew up with parents from one part of the world, while you were raised in a second and are now living in a third. Whatever your circumstances, come to your Lauder interview prepared to speak at length about the experiences you’ve had outside your own culture, in both a personal and professional context, and illustrate those experiences with examples, including how you acquired your language abilities.
3. Have well-formed goals in mind.
Just as you must prepare to discuss your short- and long-term goals for your MBA interview – and how Wharton, for example, can help you reach those goals – you must do the same for your Lauder interview. How does the program fit with your academic and professional objectives? For example, are you hoping to work in the region of the world you’ll be studying? Or would you like to return to your home country and work on global projects? Want to start your own venture? How would Lauder help you get there? This is a nice opportunity to talk about how Lauder’s “value add” will complement the Wharton or Penn Law degree you’re also pursuing.
4. Determine what you might want to research at Lauder.
Lauder has a unique Capstone Project that you likely learned about when learning about the program. Come to your Lauder interview prepared to discuss what topic you would like to research while in the program. What you propose will certainly not be binding, so do not worry about being locked in to a topic as a result, but you’ll want to show the interviewer (and through them, the adcom) that you’ve thoroughly explored the Capstone Project and spent time thoughtfully considering a topic you’re interested in. The project is required for graduation and is a unique opportunity to do on-the-ground research, so make sure you understand how the project works, and think about what you might like to research and write about as a Lauder student. For inspiration, you can take a look at past students’ topics as you brainstorm.
5. Envision your contributions to the school’s global community.
“Lauder love” is an expression that students and alumni often use when signing their emails. That’s because Lauder fosters a close-knit, highly global community; students travel and study together for weeks a time, building close connections that last throughout their time as students and well beyond. Before your interview, think about how you’ll contribute to Lauder both inside and outside the classroom, as a result of your unique experiences and personal profile. To better understand the community you would be joining, you can read about Lauder students and review their bios here.
6. Demonstrate your time-management skills.
A joint degree program is an intensive prospect for anyone, especially an MBA student and most especially in the first year of an MBA program, when you’re focused on mastering a core curriculum, recruiting, and networking with your newfound BFFs! You should think about how you plan to manage being fully engaged in two graduate programs simultaneously. Have you had some experiences personally and professionally that you can draw from – times when you have juggled competing priorities at the same time? This is a good time to bring in those examples.
7. Have some questions in hand to ask your interviewer.
It’s common at the end of an admissions interview for the interviewer to ask whether you have any questions for them, and the temptation is often to wrap up and say, “No, I’m all set!” In this case, resist that temptation. Have some thoughtful questions prepared for your interviewer. If you’re interviewing with a second-year student (and you most likely will), this is a great opportunity to ask not only about what the program has been like for them but also what attracted them to Lauder. You might also ask what they might do differently in their first year if they had the chance, and perhaps how they have juggled two programs at once.
Think of your Lauder interview as a complement to the Wharton TBD and interview experience. It offers you a good opportunity to expand on your reasons for pursuing a degree at Lauder and at Wharton. Take your time, prepare, and most importantly, relax! Everyone is rooting for you to do well.
Lastly, if you would like some help in preparing for your Lauder interview or Wharton TBD, reach out to me at Accepted. I look forward to hearing from you!
Kara Keenan Sweeney has more than 15 years of experience in MBA admissions, having worked for some of the world’s top business school programs, including Columbia Business School, INSEAD, and The Lauder Institute’s joint degree MA/MBA program with The Wharton School and the MA/JD program with Penn Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Kara has guided, coached, and counseled thousands of MBA and EMBA applicants, reviewed innumerable applications, sat on admissions committees, and interviewed countless applicants, including while running Wharton’s Team Based Discussions both virtually and in person. Want Kara to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
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