I wrapped up my UIUC interview on Thursday, January 29, 2026 (US time) from Korea.

The 6am slot (Korea time) was a bit intimidating, but honestly? It turned out to be a pretty casual meeting.

The admission team and I talked through the usual suspects:

• why I want to do an MBA

• why UIUC specifically

• My academic record

• Recent learnings about cultural context

• AI-related stuff

• what I could contribute to the program...

you know, the classics.

UIUC's interview process was refreshingly casual.

Really positive atmosphere, and despite what must've been a long day for them, they were genuinely engaged and responsive.

The only hiccup was that I had the flu, so my voice was... not great.
Also, I'd prepared scripts for a ton of potential questions, but the interview ended up being less probing than I expected. A bit anticlimactic, actually.
(Apparently MBA programs avoid overly personal questions to maintain fairness across candidates)

Once it was all over, the adrenaline crashed. And then the spiral began
Did I do okay...? Were my answers good enough...? All the thoughts came flooding in lol

I think I answered everything I'd prepared for decently... now I'm just hoping for good news.