Does the thought of systematically reasoning through the product potential of mango flavored potato chips leave you confused and caught off guard? It does for many first-year students, but luckily, the second-years, wise from rounds of internship interviews and a substantial full-time job search, came to the rescue with MILE.

MILE stands for Marketing Integrated Learning Experience, and it’s a six-week course that prepares first-years for the marketing recruiting and interview process.

MILE walks first-year students through a series of behavioral questions and hypothetical business situations that typically come up in intense MBA interviews. Classes this year focused on crafting your own personal story and preparing for questions regarding creativity and innovation, new product launches, market sizing, and branding. The small class size, about 20 students per session, with 3 sessions offered per week, allowed for a lot of participation and an interactive experience that incorporated feedback from the presenters. Meeting only an hour a week was a small price to pay for feeling prepared to face those upcoming January interviews. With classes, clubs, and leadership activities sometimes taking up all of a first-year’s time, it was only because of MILE that some students were able to stay on track and create a plan to perfect the skills they learned.

With such a successful MILE program that included a mock interview finale with top companies like Kraft and Johnson & Johnson, there’s a great chance we will have some newly seasoned second-year teachers next year for the upcoming class.