<p>So, I just got an email from a member of Duke's alumni asking for an interview. </p>
<p>I was wondering, what should I wear (I'm a guy)? The interviewer did not provides details on the interview. </p>
<p>What questions are generally asked during the interview?</p>
<p>How long does the interview generally last?</p>
<p>We're meeting at a coffee house.</p>
<p>I would dress up with a nice pair of slacks, a nice button down shirt, and a tie. I wore a suit to my interview 3 years ago, but I think that’s overdoing it. They usually ask about your high school activities and your reasons for wanting to attend Duke, but each interviewer has his/her own style. The interview will probably last no longer than 40 min. Good luck!</p>
<p>Since the interview is ‘casual’, I wore a polo and khakis to mine in early November…she asked me 'tell me about yourself", “what do you do over the summers”, and other questions about your goals and why you want to attend Duke. She even asked me why I want to go to college, not even mentioning Duke. I met her in a coffee shop as well, so its a nice calm environment. It lasted about 45min-1 hour. If your interviewer orders anything, you should too, but don’t forget to pay for his/her drink/food!!!</p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC App</p>
<p>I personally would not recommend a tie, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing. Simply nice slacks/khakis and a button down is sufficient. Just be prepared to talk about your extracurriculars, why you think you’d be a good fit for Duke, what your goals are, what you do for fun, and have a few questions to ask. You don’t need to feel obligated to buy anything, and I’d say if anybody should pay for the drinks, it should be your interviewer, not you. If your interviewer actually accepts your offer to pay for drinks, then there’s something wrong with him or her, ha. If you get there before your interviewer, I’d probably get a drink and then sit down, but if he/she is there first and the place is busy enough, then I don’t see anything wrong with not getting anything. Just relax and be yourself. They’re trying to get another insight into your application and gauge intellectual curiosity, personality, and what you’d bring to the Duke community, but in the end, it’s typically not a make or break type thing. It just serves as another “recommendation” (which will hopefully be positive) on top of your teachers’/counselor’s recs.</p>
<p>why is your name StanfordCS if you are applying to duke? just wondering</p>
<p>well, my guess is that his top school is stanford but he is applying to a bunch of top schools regardless</p>
<p>Yes, exactly what Seahawks506 said.</p>
<p>So, I picked out a black suit, white shirt, and will be wearing a tie. Is that okay? I’d rather be overdressed than too casual. </p>
<p>I’ll also bring $40 to cover for both of us at the coffee house. Should I bring more or less money?</p>
<p>Also, will the interviewer talk about my academics like my course rigor, test scores, GPA, etc… Or, are they not allowed to ask about that, since Duke has all of that information?</p>
<p>Thanks again for all of your help! :)</p>
<p>I think that is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too dressy. Khakis, button down shirt and tie or dress slacks, shirt and tie at the most. Who goes to sit a coffee shop in a suit? No one. My interviewer had on nice jeans, shirt, sweater, and dressier shoes. You wouldn’t want to be sitting there with him if you were in a suit. That would be awk. $40.00 is plenty. Darn where do you live? Starbucks where I live is no more than $5.00 for the biggest/fanciest drink you can order. My interviewer never mentioned my course rigor, GPA, test scores or anything like that. I don’t think they discuss topics that they already have the answers to from your app. And everything bluedog said is what my interviewer talked to me about and it was very obvious by his questions that he wanted to know about me intellectually (outside of what I had to learn in my HS classes) and wanted to know what I would contribute to Duke if I attended. Overall, my interviewer was way cool and chill. And also we didn’t drink or eat anything.</p>
<p>Definitely way too formal for a coffee shop interview. I had mine interview at the interview’s office and I opted to wear shirt and tie, which seemed perfectly appropriate. I’d suggest you do the same.</p>
<p>I wore dark jeans, nike sneakers, fitted dress-shirt, and skinny tie. Urban teen stylish, yet business casual 
my interview was dressed pretty casually for a female, like a sweater and a scarf or something.</p>
<p>Damn, mine was in a doctor’s office lol. I want to go to starbucks.</p>
<p>And remember to bring up the selling points of your application cuz those are the areas where you (and your interviewer) can probably have a in depth convo (huge plus). </p>
<p>Also don’t make it all about you. I made sure to ask him questions about his experiences at Duke and his application process.</p>
<p>Don’t ask about your interviewer’s application process because most likely he/she a) won’t remember it b) may consider the question too personal c) or may consider it irrelevant as the application process has changed drastically even compared to a few years ago. </p>
<p>How do ask about the interviewer’s own experiences at Duke and even after Duke, especially if you shared interests or goals.</p>
<p>My interview for Duke went something like this:</p>
<p>I wore dress shoes, khakis, a nice shirt, and a blazer. We met in the lobby of a hotel and sat in the lounge area. The interviewer was nice, very friendly, and started off by explaining a little bit about what his role as an interviewer was and that sort of thing. </p>
<p>Helpful tip: bring a bottle of water. If you’re in a place that serves beverages (and you’re in a coffee house, so this applies), try to arrive early and ask the bartender or waiter for a water. You’re going to be nervous and your throat will dry up. Taking a sip also gives you a second to think about what you’re going to say. Plus, it’s totally refreshing. Wins all around.</p>
<p>Mine was essentially a conversation instead of a series of questions. While I let my interviewer steer the conversation, it was important for me to speak up and make sure I was heard. My Stanford interview, on the other hand, was much more of a question-based interview, where it seemed more “scripted”. The Duke interview, in my opinion, was much more organic. (Just a heads-up, since your username is StanfordCS.)</p>
<p>Dean Guttentag has often said that the admissions process is a chance for you to get to know Duke as well as it knows you. This is especially true during the interview. Make sure you bring a list of questions that you’d like to ask, and it’s not uncommon for people to bring a notepad or that sort of thing to jot down a few notes. Make sure you ask questions, but don’t ask just for the sake of asking. What do you genuinely want to know about Duke that you can’t glean from a website or the Chronicle? It’s a good chance to ask about student life at Duke. How accessible are the professors? What’s the social culture like? What would they change about the university? </p>
<p>Obviously, things will have changed at the university since your interviewer was there; however, questions like that are welcomed more than more standard ones.</p>
<p>My biggest advice would be to prepare for the “Tell me about yourself” question. That sort of caught me off-guard because it’s so open-ended. Try to think about what you would add to the Duke community because of who you are. That was really the only “question” that he asked, per se. </p>
<p>Overall, be polite, friendly, and, above all, genuine. Know about Duke, but more importantly, know about yourself. Handshakes and eye contact. </p>
<p>Also, RELAX. The interview won’t sink you completely; it’s really just a chance for admissions to put a face to a piece of paper and answer your questions. </p>
<p>Think about why you want to go to Duke above a superficial level of USWNR rankings or sweet basketball tickets. How will Duke change you as a person? As a scholar? Your objective, in my opinion, is to express this desire to let Duke impact you and vice versa to your interviewer.</p>
<p>@ OP: I agree with Jen. I would strongly recommend not wearing a suit. It is overdoing it. I look back to my Duke interview, and it makes me feel awkward that I was the only one wearing a suit at the entire Starbucks. Even my interviewer was less dressed up than I was (jeans and a button-down shirt). I also agree that $50 is way too much to bring. I suggest bringing $15 max, and you shouldn’t be offering to buy a drink for the interviewer (they should be offering you).</p>
<p>I disagree with many posters here saying a jacket is “overdoing it.” In a formal interview (which this is), there is no such thing as overdressing. At worst, the interviewer finds it funny and jokes it off. Either way, they will certainly appreciate the effort, and you want to make the best first impression as possible. However, under dressing certainly is real, and although the chances are slim, showing up only in a polo and jeans <em>could</em> send the message that you really aren’t that interested.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most people posting here are high school kids, who are all deathly afraid of standing out or appearing out of place. The reason Silk Nik gave for not wearing a suit is immature. Do not worry about it, give yourself all advantages possible, and dress nicely. It can only be a positive.</p>
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<p>FWIW, Duke explicitly tells its interviewers to tell interviewees that this is an “informal and relaxed” interview. It’s *not *a job interview. I agree with you that you shouldn’t wear jeans, though, as every interviewer has different standards, and it’s always better to overdress than underdress. But slacks/khakis and a button down or blouse is perfectly fine.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I will be wearing the suit. And , I doubt he will give me a bad recommendation for trying to look my best.</p>
<p>My S wore shorts and a polo to two different interviews, one he wore sandals, the other he wore everyday tennis shoes. The first one (with sandals) was because it was hot and summer and meeting at Starbucks. The other was on a college campus, part of an organized event and while he packed his suit jacket, tie, shirt, socks, shoes… he forgot his pants, so shorts was what his option was :-)</p>
<p>In your situation Stanford, you’ll be ok in a suit, however a pair of khakis and a button down shirt, with or without tie, and with or without sweater would be appropriate and acceptable.</p>
<p>@ Alex15: You can call my reasons immature, but I am speaking from experience as a Duke junior and as a Duke Admissions tour guide and volunteer. I am not a “high school kid.”</p>
<p>Anyway, I am not saying not to look nice. But, in my opinion, there are many other ways to dress up nicely without wearing a suit. Wearing a suit and wearing a jacket are quite different; I think wearing a jacket with a nice pair of slacks would be great. However, in the grand scheme of things, it’s just important to dress well. As Bluedog stated, Duke views this as a relaxed, casual conversation with applicants; this is not a job interview. Wearing a suit is fine, but I am just speaking from experience saying that it wasn’t necessary.</p>
<p>I would also really like to mention that guys that wear khakis/dresspants with long sleeve shirts and a tie look “not quite right”, more like guys who come in to fix the office copy machine (not to put down the profession, but you know what I mean). You may choose a tie with a blazer for a more formal look or dress down a suit or blazer without a tie, but never wear tie without a blazer. Obviously when you’re wearing a full suit/tie thing and its hot and you may take off your blazer/jacket. However Ive seen too many guys going on interviews, and this carries on to internship interviews, in the shirt/tie no jacket look, and its just wrong. Especially when guys put on a solid dark shirt with a tie. Oh and of course, never wear sneakers with khakis/ dress pants.</p>