<p>Hi! I have an Oberlin interview with an alumni in two weeks and I was wondering what I should expect during this interview? How formal will it most likely be? Also, what kinds of questions do the interviewers most often ask? Thanks so much!</p>
<p>@speedysa500 - Remembering back to my (very long ago… almost 7 years ago!) alumni interview… I met with a '65 grad over breakfast, where we talked about what I liked, what I was excited about in general, and what I was excited about in regards to Oberlin. I asked him a lot of questions about what Oberlin had to offer and what sort of things he did while he was at Oberlin (he was there right before my dad was, so it filled in some historical gaps that I always wondered about; and I learned that Martin Luther King, Jr. was his commencement speaker!).</p>
<p>My dad was previously an alumni interviewer as well, and he conducted them in a similar way; basically, the hope is that an Oberlin alumni can answer your questions and get a feel for how you will fit at Oberlin.</p>
<p>The short version: my interview was extremely informal (I think I wore jeans and a button up shirt?) and the whole point was to get a feel for what Obies are like, both of a prospective student of an alum and their relationship to the school and of an alum of a prospective Oberlin student.</p>
<p>Good luck! Have a great time!</p>
<p>(Elizabeth Houston may be able to give a bit more detail about the importance and weight of an alumni interview in the application process – it’s not required and it will not affect your application if it goes “badly” [hard to do, if you think about it, because it’s a chat to let you get to know more about Oberlin and Oberlin to know more about you, rather than a make-it-or-break-it part of your application] – this was a post to tell you to not worry and give you a brief look into what I remember from mine.)</p>
<p>maayanplaut-</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all the information!! It is a huge relief to know that the interview is not as cut-throat as I thought it would be!</p>