UPDATE: This article was originally posted on October 7, 2019. It has been updated with 2024/25 information and tips below.
With its famous MAP project, Michigan Ross is a haven for collaboratively-minded leaders who love to learn by getting their hands dirty.
However, Ross has maintained consistently high rankings in the past few years, making it more difficult than ever to secure admission to this elite MBA program.
That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your Ross admissions interview to stand out. We’ve rounded up not only our best tips but have also included sample interview questions to ensure you give your Ross application your best shot.
How the Ross MBA interview works
As one of the most elite business schools in the world, landing an interview with Michigan Ross is no easy task.
Thus, if you have passed to the interview phase of the Ross application process, congratulations! This is already an exceptional achievement.
Ross interviews, since they are conducted by current students and alumni, tend to be slightly friendlier than interviews conducted by the admissions committee. Nonetheless, the interviewer is still trying to gauge how solid your motivations for wanting to pursue an MBA are, how interested you seem in the Ross program, and if you fit well with the program’s collaborative community.
Interviewers often ask many standard MBA interview questions, as well as questions designed to test your intellectual horsepower. You can also expect numerous follow-up questions.
Our clients who have interviewed with Ross in the past say that the interviewer was very friendly and demonstrated a genuine interest in their answers. For some clients, questions were far more personal in nature, covering topics like their childhood and family upbringing. Other clients reported their interview was strictly professional, so make sure you’re ready for anything when you interview with Ross.
Who will interview you?
Michigan Ross has a rich tradition of alumni and second-year students conducting admissions interviews. This year, interviews will take place both online and in person, depending on your arrangement with your interviewer.
If you do end up interviewing virtually, this will have no negative impact on your application.
Will the interviewer have read my application?
No. The Michigan Ross interview is blind, meaning the interviewer will only have access to your CV.
How long will the Ross interview last?
45-60 minutes.
Who is Ross looking for?
Source: @michiganross on Instagram
“Ross students and alumni are a highly engaged, impressive network of people.” Ross Admissions
Every year, Michigan Ross searches the globe for outstanding professionals for its annual class of 380 students. With a strong emphasis on diversity and leadership, there is no “typical” Ross student, yet the average admitted student for the Class of 2026 had a 728 GMAT score and an average of 6 years of work experience.
Source: The Michigan Ross website
NOTE: Michigan Ross is continuing to offer GMAT/GRE waivers. If you would like to be considered, an additional essay is required. Find out more information here.
Beyond the impressive statistics, though, Ross offers its students the chance to prepare themselves to lead by giving them multiple opportunities for hands-on learning.
Check out this video on the Ross student experience:
Trends in recent Michigan Ross MBA interviews
Recent feedback from candidates interviewing at Ross highlights several notable trends that you should consider when preparing for your interview:
Increased Emphasis on Leadership Resilience: Questions surrounding leadership in difficult circumstances, such as handling long-term challenges, are becoming more common.
Focus on Collaborative Leadership: Michigan Ross places a heavy emphasis on collaborative leadership, and many interviewees have reported getting questions that explore how candidates work in diverse teams or handle collaboration with strong personalities.
Ethics and Social Impact: There is an increasing focus on how candidates approach ethical challenges and their desire to have a social impact. Candidates should be prepared to discuss moments when they faced ethical dilemmas or made decisions based on their values.
Adaptability and Learning: Interviewers often want to see how candidates have grown or evolved in response to challenging situations, emphasizing adaptability as a key trait. Questions around times when candidates had to learn quickly or change course are becoming more common.
How can you prepare for your Michigan Ross interview?
Though no interview is 100% predictable, Michigan Ross interviews do tend to center around a fairly standard list of MBA interview questions. As such, we have prepared some model questions below that previous candidates have received in their past Ross interviews.
What questions are asked in the Ross MBA interview?
The questions below are drawn from our clients’ interview reports, as well as from sites like clearadmit.com. Though these are not all the potential questions you could possibly receive during your Ross interview, preparing for these (and any follow-up questions you think you might be asked) should give you a very solid foundation for your interview.
STARTING UP QUESTIONS
- Tell me about yourself. / Walk me through your resume. / What should I know about you? Expect follow-up questions like: Why did you choose your undergraduate school/major and current employer? Why did you switch industries? (if applicable)
- What do you do outside of work?
- What are your career plans?
- Why MBA?
- Why now?
- Why Ross?
- What criteria did you use to define your school search?
- What will you do if you aren’t accepted?
- What will you be involved in at Ross both inside and outside the classroom?
- How will you contribute to Ross?
TEAMWORK & LEADERSHIP
- Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult teammate.
- What would you do if you had a member of your team who wasn’t acting like a team player?
- Tell me about a time when your team faced a lot of obstacles. What did you learn?
- How do you deal with disagreement on a team?
- What would you do on a team that consisted only of strong personalities?
- Tell me about a time when you were effective in a team. Why were you effective?
- Tell me about a time when you had to step into a role or take on a responsibility that you were not initially prepared for. How did you handle it?
- How would you define your leadership style? Can you give me an example?
- How do you manage conflict?
- Tell me about a time when you showed initiative.
- Tell me about a time you worked with people from different cultures.
MISCELLANEOUS BEHAVIORAL
- Talk about a time when you experienced a professional failure. What did you learn from it?
- Tell me about a time when you received negative feedback. How did you respond?
- When was a time when you had to think outside of the box?
- Tell me about a situation where you had to make a decision that aligned with your personal values, even though it wasn’t the easiest or most popular choice.
- Give an example of a time when you had to balance achieving business goals with making a positive impact on your community or society.
- Tell me about a time when you had to pivot your strategy or approach due to unforeseen challenges. How did you handle it, and what did you learn?
- What was the most important thing you have learned in your working life?
- What is the most useful constructive criticism you have ever received?
- What accomplishment are you most proud of?
- Tell me about a time you had to convince someone of your idea.
- Tell me about a time when you showed resilience.
- How would your friends define you?
- What one unique or fun fact would your Ross classmates be interested to learn about you?
CLOSING
- Is there anything else you would like Ross to know about you? / Is there anything you wish I had asked you?
- Questions for me?
We have found that answering real interview questions on the spot is a much better means of preparation than reading lists of interview questions for most candidates.
We highly suggest you take a look at mock interview questions and sample interview responses before your interview.
Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of real interview mocks from Ross, as well as detailed guides to help you prepare for questions ranging from “Why our MBA program?” to “Tell us about a time you failed.”
The Ellin Lolis Consulting MBA Resource Center is your one-stop shop for interview success. Click to join!
If you’re still not quite confident with your interview skills, our interview experts can help you craft your answers or prepare you for the Ross interview through mock interviews tailored to your profile.
What to do if you get a question you weren’t prepared for
Despite your most diligent preparation, you will almost always receive a question you had not prepared.
First, stay calm and take a deep breath. You have already made it this far in the process, and one question will not trip you up!
Second, make sure you directly answer the question the interviewer asked you. For example, if the interviewer asks you about a time you had to deal with a difficult manager, make sure to tell a story about a difficult manager and how you handled the situation.
If you’re having trouble thinking of an answer or an example to support your answer, however, take a drink of water to give yourself a few more minutes to think. If you really can’t think of an example from your personal or professional experience, you can use a hypothetical answer about how you would act in a certain situation.
Finally, assume that the interviewer is testing how you think on your feet and respond to questions you didn’t prepare in advance. Though your answer might not be as polished as if you’d had weeks to rehearse it, smile and confidently give your answer to show you can respond to any question they throw at you.
Effectively Tell your Story During your Michigan Ross Interview
One of the most common mistakes we see in MBA interviews is that candidates fail to tell compelling, well-constructed stories about their profiles while also nailing the basics.
Striking this balance between sharing STAR-format examples that show off your background while also presenting strong answers to questions like “Why do you want an MBA?” is a challenging task that requires significant thought and preparation.
Because of this, it’s no surprise that, on average, 50% of interviewed applicants walk away without an offer.
This is why our interview preparation process here at Ellin Lolis Consulting is known as the best in the industry. We offer customized 1:1 support that ensures you’re able to turn your application’s strengths into compelling answers that show fit and sell your profile in any type of interview. That’s why 98.9% of our complete consulting clients get into at least one of their target schools.
Not only can you take advantage of our development process through multiple sessions – you can also benefit from a single session! If your budget is tight, our interview experts can focus your session on a single aspect of the preparation process, from workshopping your answers to providing mock interviews.
As our former client Pratik, who was admitted to Ross, said,
“I am extremely thankful to Ellin Lolis for helping me develop my interview skills. She started out with helping me refine my story, and understand the best way to communicate my unique perspective to the admissions committee. Ellin is really good at laser focusing on your strengths and weaknesses, and helping you develop a strong narrative around your core message. I saved a ton of time in developing my actual story, and could focus on having a more natural interview. By being rigorous in the preparation phase, I could come across more conversationally, while still communicating why I was a strong candidate. Thanks to Ellin I was accepted to all the schools I applied to.”
Forget simulation platforms or long lists of tips – our 1:1 preparation focuses on playing to your strengths and overcoming your weaknesses to turn you into an interview expert. Our interview packages sell out quickly, so make sure you sign up today!
Real MBA Essays That Got People In
School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted
