MBA Mock Interview: This Combat Vet Hit Some Landmines

This U.S. Army commander has powerful stats and a compelling narrative. A graduate of West Point where he racked up an impressive 3.89 GPA, James has served seven years in the service of his country. He’s an aviation officer flies the newest version of the Apache attack helicopter and has been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, and South Korea. What’s more, he sports a jumbo GMAT score of 760.

Looking to transition to civilian life with an MBA, he is targeting many of the very best business schools in the world: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Chicago Booth, and Columbia Business School. With his powerful stats and stellar military record, he seems a virtual shoo-in.

In this Friday’s with Sandy episode, featuring HBSGuru.com founder Sandy Kreisberg, James asked for a mock interview. The exercise turned out to be something of a boot camp, a challenging yet highly valuable experience filled with big lessons for anyone about to walk into an admissions interview.

DON’T MISS PREVIOUS FRIDAYS WITH SANDY EPISODES

DO FEMALE INDIAN TECHIES HAVE AN EASIER TIME?  

CAN THIS INDIAN IT MALE GET INTO HBS WITH A 3.4 GPA BUT A 750 GMAT?

WHERE RETAIL BUYERS & BRAND SPECIALISTS GET MBAs

CAN THIS EX-AIR FORCE OFFICER-TURNED-SOFTWARE-ENGINEER CRACK THE MBA CODE?

CAN THIS TARGET STAFFER GET INTO HARVARD OR STANFORD?

HOW PETRO ENGINEERS CAN GET INTO A TOP MBA PROGRAM

LONG DISTANCE CALL: HOW DOES AN AUSSIE TELECOM GUY GET INTO STANFORD?

IS THIS 30-YEAR-OLD ENERGY GUY HEADED FOR HBS?

GETTING IN IF YOUR STATS ARE BELOW THE MEDIAN

WHAT GMAT DOES THIS LATINA GOVERNMENT ANALYST NEED?

REAL GOOD ODDS FOR THIS INDIAN DO-GOODER. HERE’S WHY

MILITARY-BANKER-HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL?

HOW TO AVOID LANDMINES IN YOUR 2+2 INTERVIEW

THE REAL HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 2+2 INTERVIEW

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.