<p>I'm scheduled to have an interview two weeks from now and I am so nervous. What kinds of questions do MIT interviewers usually ask (besides the typical "Why MIT" or "Why your major")? How much weight does the interview carry? How do you remain calm during an interview--I'm mostly worried about completely freaking out and forgetting how to speak. (My current mood = !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Imagine how bad it will be when I actually go to the interview!)</p>
<p>Don’t stress the interview. The interviewer isn’t out to get you, they’ll do their best to make the conversation as friendly as possible. In fact, the first line my interviewer said to me was “This is going to be like a conversation.” I really enjoyed my interview, the only thing that was actually asked was “Why MIT,” everything else just flowed right in. </p>
<p>Two weeks from now? Really? Now that’s unusual.</p>
<p>The interview is a conversation about your hopes and dreams and how they can be realized and accelerated through the college experience. Feel free to bring a visual aid (not necessary, hardly anyone does, but if it helps describe who you are and get over your jitters, why not?).</p>
<p>The interview is also an opportunity to find out about MIT from someone who had the experience of attending.</p>
<p>The interview likely holds little weight. Think of it as more adding shades of color to the portrait of you, and use it as an opportunity to reveal what is in the shadows and not well represented in the application. It is probably more of a tie-breaker than a solid piece of the input. It is optional, after all.</p>
<p>Relax and be yourself. Talk about your passions and your joys. There will not be any “test questions” nor any with wrong answers. Use the interview to inform the interviewer about what excites you and makes you tick, and how being at MIT will amplify that joy.</p>
<p>Good luck- enjoy the process!</p>
<p>@ItsJustSchool I know; I’m the only MIT-applicant from my grade who still hasn’t done an interview. Thanks for your advice!</p>
My interviewer actually didn’t even ask me any questions. In fact, he told me that this interview was really more of a way for me to get to know MIT as a school and so my interview just consisted of me asking him questions about his experience at MIT and how it has impacted him. It was more of a casual back-and-forth 
I’ve never done any college interviews (I’m not quite there yet!) but I have had prep school interviews and I do have a family friend who is an AO at MIT. Be confident and extroverted. They look for people who can really carry on a conversation and won’t give awkward silences. Ask questions about the school; it shows that you’re interested. Express your love for math/science/learning.
No! No! A thousand times no! And I say this as an MIT interviewer. Be yourself. If you are confident and extroverted, then be confident and extroverted. If you are naturally introverted and try to project being extroverted, then you will come across as false, and that makes for a much, much tougher interview. Express your love for math/science if you have a love of math/science. If you are good at and tolerate of math/science but don’t really love it, but you want to go to MIT to major in Urban Planning, then that is fine. Tell us that.
People ask “Can I prepare for the interview?” and the answer usually is yes. Most people are not used to talking about themselves. You can practice this. Get a friend or a family member to ask yourself about yourself? What do you really enjoy doing, and really loathe? What are favorite books/music/movies? Do you know (and you might not) what attracts you to your favorites? None of these questions are particularly hard, but the only one who can answer them is you. And don’t make stuff up. If you decide that you wish to express a fictitious love of opera to make yourself sound sophisticated, then rest assured that Murphy’s law will apply, and your assigned interviewer will only work to afford opera tickets, or will be a part time bass-baritone with his local opera society. When I ask an applicant what they do for fun, that is not a completely throw away question. MIT can be a stressful place and everyone should have a way to blow off steam, but I truly do not care if the answer is “playing squash” or “playing League of Legends”. I don’t. Be yourself. And the rest will follow.
Freaking out or panicking would be the worst thing you could do. MIT interviewers seem to have a greater range of variability than others, so do not apply personal expectations of how it should come off too seriously.
I’m with Mikalye (and used to be an MIT EC). Be yourself. Phoniness is easy to spot, and I can’t imagine it could possibly be helpful in getting in. (“Hey, Charlie, we’re down 10 in our phony quota - got any in your pile?”)
Dishonesty is easy to spot as well. It’s not like the EC will check up on whatever you say to him, but remember that the EC is in your community. If you say “I volunteer at the food bank every Wednesday”, it’s entirely possible that he will think “Hey, so do I. I wonder why I never see him.” Don’t embelish, don’t try and guess what your EC wants to hear. Be yourself.
The EC’s job is not one of a gatekeeper. The job of the EC is to convey information to MIT to help fill in the gaps in the application. I used to tell the interviewees that MIT applications start off looking pretty much alike. “Good test scores, good grades, likes math and science.” The interview is one of the ways that MIT can go beyond the numbers and to learn about the applicant. Themes can emerge in the interview, the essays and the recommendations, and these themes are helpful in understanding an applicant and what makes him or her ‘tick’.
The applicant isn’t graded. The interviewer is - based on how helpful the report is.
Mikalye’s suggestions about practicing are good ones. You might think about the sort of questions you might be asked, and while it’s not a good idea to overprepare and recite a memorized speech, you shouldn’t have a deer in the headlights look when asked an obvious (or icebreaker) question, either. You should also think about questions for the EC. Your parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and even the MIT admissions office all have an interest in where you go to college. Your EC really doesn’t have a dog in this hunt. He or she is a source of unbiased (or at worst differently biased) information. Keep in mind that the EC’s experiences are years or decades old. He or she knows a lot about the culture, and what it takes to get through MIT. He or she probably doesn’t know which dorm has the best meatloaf.
Thank you so much! @Mikalye and @MITPhysicsAlum I have sort of a weird question; do you think it would look bad if I brought notes with me to the interview? Primarily, I have a list of questions that I’d like to ask my EC about MIT. But, if it’s okay, I might also bring some notes so that I don’t forget something important that I might want to discuss.
Notes are fine. (You can take notes too) I would not (and this really happened) bring an entire PowerPoint presentation to show, however. Keep it reasonable - a page, maybe a couple, and you’ll be fine.
I would say familiarize yourself with the school and its’ programs. You don’t want to be asked a question about something and have no clue. That’s what my son did. And practice just giving your “Elevator speech”. A little bit about yourself, your interests and career aspirations I would say. Do it with a happy and engaging face. Practice in the mirror if you have to. Be prepared with a few questions of your own about the interviewer’s college experience and how he/she felt MIT prepared him for the world and his first job or something to that effect. Once you start talking, it’ll go fine. It’s the unknown that’s scaring you! My S had a fantastic 1-1/2 hour interview. He actually enjoyed talking to the guy and the guy was very engaging and honest.
I was once asked if MIT offered an accounting major.
And what did you tell them?
That MIT did not offer one… though we did have a first class business school, and offered undergraduate degrees in management.