<p>oh, yea... dress code was a prob. for me as well. i was wearing jeans, and my interviewer was like, "um, yea... we have a formal dress code..." i was like, "ahhh!!" all my interviewers were guys too!!! i think that they put me to ease, they had really good humors and were all fairly young so i could connect w/ them pretty well. i have my last interviews soon... [sighs] i'm nervous, even though i've already had several interviews before</p>
<p>Bumping this thread for this year’s round, and I’ll contribute first for this season.</p>
<p>My son only had one interview that he didn’t come out feeling good about. I don’t think it had anything to do with the skill or personality of the interviewer, but just that my son didn’t really feel anything for the school during the tour. His guide was lovely and it’s a great school, he just couldn’t really see himself there.</p>
<p>My experience with interviewers was a bit different. Most tell me what they talked about with my son and what they like about him then answered my questions. One spent his time telling me what made their school special (that was nice), and another asked me the somewhat awkward question of what feedback I had gotten from other interviewers about my son. I was OK with the question, just unsure of how to answer it. This question was posed at a school that he was initially unsure of, but ended up really loving. I credit this to having tour guides who shared almost all the same interests and were super excited about attending the school. On the way home, he said, “They speak my language!”</p>
<p>Interviews are really not as scary as people make them seem!!! It’s just a conversation with another person. The key thing is to relax, and be yourself. If you are interested, there is no need to ask random questions - everything comes through. I’d done a detailed post on my interviews on some other thread, I’ll copy and paste it here later.</p>
<p>For the parents, in addition to the normal school info on websites, I really focused on the faculty and their biographies. It is an incredibly small world. I would find fellow alumni, faculty from my BS(s), faculty who’s brothers or sisters are old friends that I had forgotten about, faculty who went to school with my brother or sisters. I could go on with more but to keep it short, I found the faculty bio’s a useful tool if the opportunity presented itself.</p>
<p>DONT BE THIS KID</p>
<p>Alright, so I’m in the lobby of the Andover admission office after giving a tour, and I see this kid come back down from his interview. His hands were in his pockets, he was looking away from his interviewer, and he looked terrified. The admission officer tried to shake his hand, but the kid took a few awkward steps back. The admission officer was trying to describe the admissions process, but the kid was clearly not listening. The kid nodded and left abruptly.</p>
<p>This kid won’t get in.</p>
<p>Interesting, benevolent. I know I at least won’t be like him. I’m really not very nervous for my interview.
…
But then again, I didn’t schedule one yet.</p>
<p>I’m really wondering how casual or formal interviews are. Is there some laughing, fun, and openness, or is it light touches of humor but mostly getting information, impressing with big words and professional sentences…?
And did anyone have their interviews already? How’d it go and why do you think it went that way?</p>
<p>It depends. They aren’t too formal. Having a sense of humor is so much better than be an accomplished mathlete. Simply be yourself and be relaxed. The worst thing you could do is freeze up and freak out and act weirdly.</p>
<p>You don’t need fancy sentences. I just talked normally, and I got in everywhere. Confidence is important too. Knowledge of the school is also good. Don’t ask questions like “how many people go here”</p>
<p>Andover Dean of Admissions Jane Fried has a video on the PA Facebook page that gives an idea of what to expect on the interview. You can also check out a video of the head of school doing crew.</p>