AMNBAKER85 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Has anybody received a notification from the Bush School at Texas A & M? The interviews should be held sometime in March, and as of now my application still says Complete and "in review". Just checking to see if anybody else is sharing in my experience. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futureMPSA Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Got my notification about two weeks ago for an MPSA interview. International affairs is two weekends after the MPSA interview round so I'm assuming they would be sending out those notices soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMNBAKER85 Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Ok Thanks a lot. I am International Affairs so I'll just continue to hold tight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMNBAKER85 Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Just got notified Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumble Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Had my interview today, for those who have interviewed, how did you feel about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX2015 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) Had my interview today, for those who have interviewed, how did you feel about it? I am attending the MIA interview conference this Friday! Very nervous. Not sure what to expect for the interview. @Mumble- how did you feel about it? Any tips for what I should prepare to answer? Thanks in advance. I know it must have been daunting. I hope your interview went well! Edited February 25, 2015 by TX2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumble Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I am attending the MIA interview conference this Friday! Very nervous. Not sure what to expect for the interview. @Mumble- how did you feel about it? Any tips for what I should prepare to answer? Thanks in advance. I know it must have been daunting. I hope your interview went well! I felt like it wasn't too bad. The two professors interviewing me were really nice and personable. Just know why you want to go to A&M, what you like about the school, how it fits into your plans ect. I didn't think it was too bad, but I'm happy to answer more questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMNBAKER85 Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 I had mine today as well. The interview was very Thorough, to say the least. Make sure you are familiar with your personal statement, and international experience essay. Also make sure you are prepared to discuss current global policys and answer hypothetical situations...I was asked "If you were the president how would you respond to the current ukraine crisis." After I answered that question I was asked "Where do you see china in 20 years". I was kind of caught off guard by the depth of the questions asked, after all, I would like to come to the Bush School to learn about Global policy, if I already knew it all then the school would be irrelevant. Nevertheless, I understand that their job was to make sure I was a qualified candidate, and I feel that was accomplished. I hope all the other interviews went well, Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX2015 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I felt like it wasn't too bad. The two professors interviewing me were really nice and personable. Just know why you want to go to A&M, what you like about the school, how it fits into your plans ect. I didn't think it was too bad, but I'm happy to answer more questions. I had mine today as well. The interview was very Thorough, to say the least. Make sure you are familiar with your personal statement, and international experience essay. Also make sure you are prepared to discuss current global policys and answer hypothetical situations...I was asked "If you were the president how would you respond to the current ukraine crisis." After I answered that question I was asked "Where do you see china in 20 years". I was kind of caught off guard by the depth of the questions asked, after all, I would like to come to the Bush School to learn about Global policy, if I already knew it all then the school would be irrelevant. Nevertheless, I understand that their job was to make sure I was a qualified candidate, and I feel that was accomplished. I hope all the other interviews went well, Good Luck. Oh man. Remembering that this is such an important interview is making me freak out haha. I don't think you all will read this in time, but how long was the interview? I have mine today later in the afternoon. I didn't think they would ask current global policy questions, but I should've known considering I am going to be interviewed by two professors. @AMNBAKER85, I know what you mean about being caught off guard by the depth of questions because you're going to the Bush School to learn about Global Policy. Any tips to stay calm? If all else fails I suppose I still have next year to try again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMNBAKER85 Posted February 28, 2015 Author Share Posted February 28, 2015 Do you have Dr. Shrifinson doing the interview? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMNBAKER85 Posted February 28, 2015 Author Share Posted February 28, 2015 Some advice; know foreign policy, know your statement of purpose like the back of your hand, know ALOT about your program at BUSH SCHOOL, and they will expect you to kiss their ass, I didn't do it, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX2015 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I have Prof. Richard McNamee and Prof. Jasen Castillo. I noticed some people are getting interviews with career services personnel and MIA assistants. I wish I had gotten at least one of those. Just checked out Dr. Shrifinson's profile on the Bush School website though. Seems intimidating. Thanks for the advice @AMNBAKER85. Foreign policy is the topic I am most worried about, just because there are so many possible topics they can bring up and my focus was Latin America while in undergrad. And kissing up huh? Oh man. That's never fun. Not that I don't like A&M, but there are definitely some things that I don't like about the program (how young it is, lack of diversity, etc). Thanks for the help though. I really do appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMNBAKER85 Posted February 28, 2015 Author Share Posted February 28, 2015 Not a problem! I hope by sharing "my less than ideal" experience with you, you will be able have a better understanding of what you are getting into. After your interview, can you please report back? I am curious if all interviewers are as shrewd as mine were, or if I was just "unlucky". Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX2015 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Not a problem! I hope by sharing "my less than ideal" experience with you, you will be able have a better understanding of what you are getting into. After your interview, can you please report back? I am curious if all interviewers are as shrewd as mine were, or if I was just "unlucky". Thanks! Of course! I will be as detailed as I possibly can. My phone interview is in about two hours (bad weather prevented me from driving up to College Station for the physical interview), so I'm trying to connect my personal statement with the concentrations I am interested in. My career goals make sense in my head, but I am afraid the professors won't feel the same way. I feel that your interview was much more in depth than for others. You were the first to say that you got foreign policy questions. I was looking through some past Bush School blogs in 2009 and 2012 and they said they were mostly asked questions on why they applied to the Bush School and what their career goals were. The professor that interviewed you seems to have been testing you on current events! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX2015 Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Not a problem! I hope by sharing "my less than ideal" experience with you, you will be able have a better understanding of what you are getting into. After your interview, can you please report back? I am curious if all interviewers are as shrewd as mine were, or if I was just "unlucky". Thanks! So, I think I may have been a bit more unlucky than you, @AMNBAKER85. Prof. Mcnamee's questions caught me completely off guard, which I should have known would happen as soon as he said "I will not be doing the conventional interview". For starters, he asked me to do a 30 second elevator speech about myself without mentioning the things I had on my resume, personal statement, transcripts, etc. (he said 'I already read through all that'). Fair question, but I just sat there blabbering about my life like a moron. It was not a perfect answer to his question, but it was not terribly horrible. Then everything just went downhill from there. My neighbor's dog was let out and was barking like a maniac, and he kept telling me he could not hear me due to the dog. Cue nervous breakdown. He then asks me to name a Head of State, a dictator, a person I admire (could be anyone), and someone else that I forgot, and tell him what I would ask them. Should have been easy right? Well, I was stumped. I don't know if it was just because the dog was barking or because I was already very nervous, but I completely blanked out. In the end I managed to mutter 4 names, after being asked to repeat myself about four times because he could not hear me through the dog's barks. He asked me a few other questions that I wish I could remember but I could hardly hear him on the other line. I think he just gave up on trying to hear me and asked me what questions I had. He seemed very unhappy with my responses, and as upset as I was I do not blame him for thinking I was a complete dimwit. I sure seemed like one. Needless to say, I do not think I will be accepted into A&M after that professor shares my terrible interview skills with his colleagues. Though I was very upset with my horrible performance on my first interview and contemplated just not answering the phone as it rang for my next interview, I thought to myself it can't get much worse than that first interview and picked up. My second interview was better. I asked my neighbor to put his dog away so that helped. Prof. Castillo asked me what I was interested in studying at the Bush School, what other schools I was applying, why I didn't apply to UT Austin's LBJ school as it has a much better Latin American studies program, what I knew about the concentration I wanted to pursue, what I knew about the Bush School. He asked me my GPA and majors. He spent a lot of time asking me why I wanted to come to A&M if I was interested in Latin America. I don't think I convinced him because at the end he told me he still didn't understand why I'd applied to A&M. I can't believe I had such a difficult time explaining why I wanted to attend A&M. I thought I had good reasons. He then let me ask him questions. I felt much more comfortable with him, but I don't think he considered me to be a good fit for the Bush School. Overall, I do not think I will be accepted to A&M. My GPA, GRE scores, background, and language skills (I feel) are competitive, but based on those interviews, I consider my chance of admittance 1%. BUT my loss is y'alls gain and I do hope you get in, AMNBAKER85 and others. I hope my experiences make other applicants feel a little better about their performance. I don't mind you guys laughing at me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMNBAKER85 Posted February 28, 2015 Author Share Posted February 28, 2015 Wow, I'm sorry to hear that you had so much trouble. I was really hoping that I just was unlucky to have my interviewer I never would have guessed in a million years that the Interview process at The Bush School would have been so tedious. But, hopefully you and I, and any others that may be reading this post who felt their performance was less than perfect, will nevertheless be successful and gain admission. Did they happen to mention when the decisions will be made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX2015 Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 It's all right, I will take it as a sign from the universe that I was not ready for graduate school. Yes, I actually do remember asking. One said early March (so, I'm guessing the second week of March). That seems to fit the timeline that others have had their decisions in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReinventOneself Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) It's all right, I will take it as a sign from the universe that I was not ready for graduate school. Yes, I actually do remember asking. One said early March (so, I'm guessing the second week of March). That seems to fit the timeline that others have had their decisions in the past. I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I hope somehow things might turn out well based on your GPA and test scores despite the fact that the interview didn't go as well as you thought. Sometimes life kicks us in the teeth. I hope another, even better option turns out for you if Bush doesn't. Edited March 1, 2015 by ReinventOneself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX2015 Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I hope somehow things might turn out well based on your GPA and test scores despite the fact that the interview didn't go as well as you thought. Sometimes life kicks us in the teeth. I hope another, even better option turns out for you if Bush doesn't. Thanks @ReinventOneself, I do appreciate the kind words. They definitely make me feel better. I hope you get into where you want to go! I see you're applying to really great schools. Best of luck!! ReinventOneself 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXinDC Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Do you have Dr. Shrifinson doing the interview? I was at the MIA interview conference and I had Dr. Shifrinson as my 2nd interviewer. While waiting outside his room some of the current students warned me that he liked to be intimidating and liked poking holes in your statements. They were definitely not wrong. He would ask me soft questions then continue to poke at the things I said over and over. He asked one question and I had no answer to it so I had to say that I have nothing more to add to the statements I've already made. He was definitely one of the toughest interviewers but I hope that I was able to defend my answers well enough for him. Good luck to all who applied and we'll find our decisions hopefully next monday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMNBAKER85 Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 Wow, well I hope you did well! It was definitely a bit intimidating, I wish I could have known! oh well. @J-admire you were at the interview conference? I could not make it. If you dont mind kind of explaining how it was in general? Moreover, why was their 90 minute "writing" block? Did they explain why they wanted another writing assessment? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXinDC Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Wow, well I hope you did well! It was definitely a bit intimidating, I wish I could have known! oh well. @J-admire you were at the interview conference? I could not make it. If you dont mind kind of explaining how it was in general? Moreover, why was their 90 minute "writing" block? Did they explain why they wanted another writing assessment? Thanks They said that this writing sample was to see how you write, like not from a prepared writing sample that you have written in the past. Also the topic was in regards to research methods and I believe they will also look at how you answered the prompt. Edited March 1, 2015 by J.Admire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMNBAKER85 Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 Ok. Overall would you say that you enjoyed your experience during the interview conference? Were any of the professors/staff inviting and personable or was it strictly down to business? If admitted, would you consider? I only ask because my experience left me wondering my true motives. On the one hand I want to go to the Bush Schooll, however, on the other hand, after experiencing my interview, which was strictly business, I found myself wondering if I really want to go to a place that attempts to intimidate prospective students and has such little trust, require an in person writing assessment (as if the GRE writing section, and 2 personal essays was not enough proof). Who knows, perhaps the tactics in which the Bush school uses are common? TX2015 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXinDC Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) I really enjoyed the interview conference, I got to meet many candidates both from A&M and from many other universities. Talking to the current students was really helpful with how their interview conferences went and what to expect if you are accepted and enroll in the Bush School. Getting to meet the faculty in person was a big bonus because most of the time they were joking around with us and poking fun at each other. I think that was the biggest drawback to not being able to attend the conference is you only interact with the professors as interviewers, which is all business. Also I learned alot more about the school than I could from researching it online Edited March 1, 2015 by J.Admire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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