<p>For all of you out there who conduct alumni interviews of applicants for your alma mater - what types of questions do you ask? I'd like some ideas, for this will be by far the busiest interviewing year I have had in 20+ years, judging from the pile of requests on my desk, and I get tired of asking the same old questions. THANKS!</p>
<p>I ask what they want to study in college, what extracurricular stuff they like best. If they bring up (but not otherwise) the election, I ask them who I should vote for. It's hard to be original without freaking them out.</p>
<p>As a student, the best and worst questions I was asked were, respectively,</p>
<p>"What do you want, ideally, to be? What's your dream job."- I mentioned that my most supreme dream but cast it off out of hand and his response was "Why couldn't you?". Despite my great background, no one had ever put that question to me.</p>
<p>Worst question: "What do you think of diversity on campus?" My answer was "I don't." I understand the compelling reasons for diversity on campus, but ultimately I don't care about it. The question obviously meant racial diversity (I come from a nearly all white, but very liberal, town, and the interviewer was a friend's mother), and thats not really important in itself. I love having a diverse student body, but I just felt the question was canned and stupid- I probably gave the "wrong answer" to the question, but I didn't care.</p>
<p>The dream job is a good question!</p>
<p>I ask what they would say if they had to write a paragraph describing their ideal roommate and knew the paragraph would be used for roommate matching. I have gotten some really bizarre answers to that question. </p>
<p>I ask which activities they would like to do in college--which may/may not be things they are doing now. </p>
<p>I ask which teachers' classes they have enjoyed most and why. I ask which 3things, if any, they would change about their high school. (I've also gotten some really revealing answers to that one.)</p>
<p>I ask what they read regularly. It's amazing how many people who claim they want to major in international relations or political science never read a newspaper or news magazine! </p>
<p>I try to probe how much they know about the college. I do take points off if the honest answer is "not much." </p>
<p>I try hard to come up with a question, any question, which the candidate is not expecting.</p>
<p>I start out with saying something like "This interview is a chance for the college to learn things about you that they couldn't learn from your application, so it would be best if you talked about things that you weren't able to go in depth into on your application. So, please tell me about yourself." I also tell them that it's not a modesty test, so they needn't be shy about talking about what they are involved with or interested in.</p>
<p>And then I wait for them to answer, which sometimes takes some long moments for them to begin. I wait because I get a much better idea of who students are and what's important to them if I let them start the interview instead of starting off by responding to a specific question from me. </p>
<p>In response to what they say and what they brought (I always ask for them to bring in a resume or activity sheet, and I invite students to bring their artwork, a school assignment or something they think displays their talents or interests), I ask follow-up questions, giving them a chance, too, to ask me things before the interview ends.</p>
<p>Other than the above, I don't have set questions. I really do an open ended interview giving them lots of opportunities to expand on their interests and background so that I can rate them on the things that college requires.</p>
<p>"Worst question: "What do you think of diversity on campus?" My answer was "I don't." I understand the compelling reasons for diversity on campus,"</p>
<p>If I had been the interviewer, I would have been very disappointed in your answer because of how you shut your mind to the various types of diversity that can exist and the opportunities that result from that kind of diversity. You could have chosen to respond to the question related to, for instance, difference in viewpoints, hometowns, religions, etc. Instead, you seem to have had shut off any opportunity for thought or discussion. That's what I would have found disappointing.</p>
<p>I also think it's too bad that you were interviewed by a friend's mom. I don't think that most colleges want alum interviews conducted by people whom one already knows. It's actually a big advantage to be interviewed by a stranger. One isn't as likely to feel that one knows what's likely to impress or not impress them. One also is more likely to be able to be really open with a person who one isn't likely to have to see again.</p>
<p>After my own college interview, when the alum asked me what I thought of God (and it was not a religious school)...I try to only ask easy questions!!!! (My college doesn't put much weight on the interview anyway). I also do the "is there anything you want me to tell the admissions office about you that you think might not be obvious from your application?"</p>
<p>some real thought provokers: </p>
<p>"this scholarship's core values are leadership, scholarship, and citizenship. how do you plan to integrate those into your life down the road?"</p>
<p>"i see that you're a waitress during the summer--what have you learned about other people through that job?"</p>
<p>"if i were talking to your best friend or your mom, what do you think she would tell me about you?"</p>
<p>"what has been the most stressful part of applying to colleges or for scholarships?"</p>
<p>"tell me about your favorite memory from last summer."</p>
<p>"what do you think is the best way for someone to manage their time?"</p>
<p>i was asked most of these in the same interview, and the committee was impressed that i could answer each without too much thought. but then again, i've always felt extremely comfortable in interview settings!</p>
<p>I like to ask them what they are hoping to get out of college that they aren't getting out of high school. </p>
<p>I like to hear them talk about their activities, and gear my questions around those. For example, I always ask theater kids what their favorite role was, and why. Newspaper kids I ask about articles they've written. I tend not to ask generic questions, and instead try to be tailor my questions to the student and his/her interests. I don't like answering questions like "what is my dream job" and "where do I see myself in 5, 10 years" so I don't ask those.</p>