I GOT INTO UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS!

So, last Thursday, I got great news.  I got into the UT evening MBA program!  I had missed a call from Sharon, the woman I had interviewed with and saw at brunch.  I called her back and it went to voicemail.  I started chatting coworkers and asking what they would be calling about. No one knew really, but all guesses were something about admissions.  She called me back around 11AM.  “Well, I am calling with good news! You should be receiving notification any day that you are into the program.” I thanked her and was almost in tears about it.  She gave me some details about the program, told me to join the Facebook page for the class, and that I needed to submit a $2000 deposit to the university.

I am so freaking happy! I called my mum and my dad.  My dad was just thrilled.  And my dad does not drop f-bombs, but his exact words were, “out-fucking-standing.” My mum said, I gave her goose bumps.  I told my sister Friday.  And, like all other people my age would, I posted it on my Facebook wall.  The results were awesome.  People came up to me all day at the office to high five me and gives me hugs.

I got to celebrate that night, during Austin’s Startup Pubcrawl.  Startup companies open their doors to anyone who wants to come in and have a drink.  So, that was really fun!

My friend Justin was chatting with me on Friday.  And he reminded me how awesome getting in is.

Man, what a relief! It was such an awesome feelings and I will be soaking up this feeling for a long time to come.  I am a Longhorn, baby, I am a Longhorn!

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UT Interview Questions

I had my interview with UT last Friday. I think it went well. You always walk away, wishing you had done some things differently.  I definitely wish I was more specific in some of my experiences.  It’s hard to think of work experiences and life experiences and relating them to the questions.  But overall, it was a very casual interview.  The woman I met with was kind and warm and tentative.  I definitely appreciated her demeanor.  I mean, it was 330 on a Friday. I’m sure we both just wanted to have a cocktail during this absolutely beautiful day – it was gorgeous out.  When we wrapped up, I told her I would be going to an information brunch session the following Saturday and she said, she would be there as well. So, it’ll be nice to see her outside of the interview.  She seemed like an interesting person.

Anyways, I wanted to post the questions I could recall from the interview, as help to anyone else.  My interviewer was asking the questions off the top of her (no list), so this isn’t like an exact list of what you’ll get or anything, but it helps to know what kind of questions are typically asked.

• Walk me through your resume.
• Who is someone you look up to?
• What do you want to do while getting your MBA?  What do you want to immediately afterwards?
• Name a situation of when you solved a problem in the workplace.
• What are some of your hobbies and interests outside of work?
• How do you deal with stress?
• What would your supervisors say about you?
• What is your biggest career accomplishment?
• Did you not like Finance?
• Have you ever worked on a team with someone who doesn’t pull their weight?  How did you deal with it?
• What are you hoping to gain from your classmates?
• What will your classmates gain from you?
• What do your work hours look like?
• Are there are courses that stood out to you as interesting?
• What did you want to be when you were a kid?
• Do you have any questions for me?
• Did you attend UT?
• Have you always lived in Austin?
• What has your career been like?

So, hopefully that is kind of helpful.  I didn’t get any of the crazy questions that I was stressing out about.  I’m, of course, eagerly awaiting results, but it’ll be some time, so I just need to focus on other things until then.  Not hard to do with a busy schedule. =)

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UT Interview

Look what showed up in my inbox last week!

I was thrilled! I forwarded the email to everyone who has been supporting me.  I set up an interview for this Friday. I took the day off to clear my head and focus on the major goal of the day – rockin’ that interview. 

In order to prep, I reached out to two of my coworkers that were accepted into the university in the fall.  I asked if they would mind me picking their brain a bit about the interview and getting their perspective on it.  Both gentlemen were very gracious and agreed meet (enticing them with free coffee / lunch ).

In addition, my friend Jeremy said he would gladly do a mock interview, to help me prep, which everyone has recommended me do.  I think that’ll be a great way to practice my answers and create a solid image of who I am, during this hour long interview.  I’ve also been sent a bunch of typical interview questions asked by b-schools.  Reviewing these and thinking about answers, again, will be a great way to create my image.

Super excited, guys! Sitting here typing this, I have a huge smile plastered across my face.  It’s just so exciting to think this is all hopefully getting ready to fall into place. =)

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One Success on my Business School Application

One of the requests for my business school application was to create a Pinterest board, labeled “Why the Texas MBA is For Me.”  I needed to pin photos of why I wanted to go to the University of Texas Austin’s business school.  I think this is supposed to exhibit creativity and thoughtfulness.  Let’s be honest, there isn’t a whole lot to make yourself stand out on a ton on these applications, so I am happy to create a Pinterest board for these guys – more than happy to.  I actually enjoy using Pinterest.  It’s my little cookbook / travel agent / stalk what’s going on in Target.  I thought this board would be a really awesome time to shine. 

The other day, I received a notification from Pinterest that I thought was pretty darn exciting!

Hopefully, that’s a few brownie points right?!  Love it!