<p>This is regarding the interview with the admission person in Chicago, not the alum interviews.</p>
<p>Will the admission counselor have acquainted himself with your file before he interviews you, or will he go into the interview blind?</p>
<p>I’m only guessing but I think he would go into the interview blind. First, I imagine most people’s files aren’t in yet and that adcoms start reading them only after everything is in (including the interview summaries). Second, having an idea of who you are on paper predisposes an interviewer to thinking in a certain manner about you. Your interviewer may familiarize himself/herself with a rough picture of your interests and achievements (if that info is available to him) in order to contextualize the interview or to ‘ask the right questions’ but I don’t think he/she will read any deeper than that.</p>
<p>Like silverturtle, I’d assume that the interviewer knows nothing about you.</p>
<p>The best thing you can do for your interview is to PREPARE. What do you think you’d want to do at the University of Chicago? Research it online before coming to the interview. Read up on the core, and be ready to answer some version of the question “Why do you want to come to the University of Chicago?”</p>
<p>I had an interview in June, so it might be a little different for you because they have files on (most) of us by now. But here’s how mine happened:
Made an appointment a few weeks before my trip.
Showed up in Rosenwald, “checked in”, filled out a form with some information about me (Name, Address, GPA, ACT, etc).
Waited.
Waited.
Got nervous.
Waited some more.
And then she came out, introduced herself to me and my parents, and then led me up to her office.
It was rather casual, just a discussion. She introduced herself in more detail (e.g. her major from when she was in the college).
She took like 4 pages of hand-written notes while we were talking.
We had a fabulous discussion about The Aeneid and why Vergil wanted to burn it.
She got to know me first and then let me ask some questions (which I knew the answer to, I just asked because I needed to convey my interest in the UofC to her).
Talked a little more.
Went back downstairs, waited again.
Talked with some of the student tour guides.
Took tour.</p>
<p>She didn’t seem to know a lot about me at first, just my name because I had made an appointment. It was good though.
All in all it was the best interview I’ve had and I loved it!!</p>
<p>
Does everyone come into the office with their parents? I was thinking on saving my mom the $200 for her plane ticket and just hoping onto the commuter flight in the morning, taking a tour of the campus, doing an interview, and coming home on the commuter flight at night.</p>
<p>Will it look weird if I come into the office on my own?</p>
<p>Hmm… interesting question. Everyone in the waiting room (the lobby of Rosenwald) had parents with them. But mind you this was June so that’s when people normally take their vacations and turn them into college visits… so all the kids at parents with them. But, I don’t think it would be too out of place if your parents didn’t come. As long as you can get to campus and back without too much trouble, I’d say go for it. It would be a good learning experience… I don’t think the interviewer would think too much of it if they weren’t there, because it was just the two of us in her office (they want to learn about YOU not your parents). And you might want to spend some time in Hyde Park (get coffee, go to a bookstore, etc just to get a feel for the neighborhood).</p>
<p>Not bringing your parents conveys some maturity. It is definitely not weird.</p>
<p>I would imagine that bringing parents along depends on whether you’re from Naperville and driving in for the day by yourself or from Florida and you and your family are using the college visit as an excuse to see family and friends in Chicago. My mom came with me to my interview, though if you’re the kind of person who likes the idea of flying solo, I recommend that you tell your parents to “get lost”-- and check out the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore that’s half a block from the admissions office.</p>
<p>I was wondering this too.</p>
<p>So they ask about your grades and ACT scores or is it more just to get a sense of you as a person and your interests?</p>
<p>Definitely about YOU. Not your grades. Not your scores. Not your school… ok maybe a little about your school. They can get your grades and ACT scores from your application, silly! They want to put a name with a face, and a face with a personality. The lady I interviewed with (I shall not put her name, but she was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G) took about 3 pages of handwritten notes… about ME. I didn’t even realize that anyone could write 3 pages about me, but she accomplished that feat. We talked about my interests, hobbies, activities, etc. Hope that answers your question, bourne.</p>