<p>Yeah, I was wondering the same thing as you norolimasfaloth...
Is being given an interview a good sign?</p>
<p>The goal is to interview 100% of applicants (alumni are recognized for high percentage of applicants interviewed and are chastised if the percentage is too low -- OK, chastised might be too strong a word -- how about 'questioned'). All the interviewers know about the applicants is their name, address, high school, academic areas of interest and main extracurricular activities. If there is no alumni in your geographic area, phone interviews can be arranged. But again, there will always be a percentage of students who are not interviewed, and that isn't held against you. And students can turn down interviews -- I've known some who've done that.</p>
<p>i just got my interview email an hour ago. i'm from nj, close to trenton and princeton. honestly, at first, i was completely dreading the interviews because i thought they'd be incredibly uptight and critical, but after reading this, i'm kinda looking forward to it (still nervous though). did you guys bring a list of questions or anything like that? any further recommendations or tips? thanks</p>
<p>I didn't bring any questions with me (which was strange). I did ask him what his major was, though. Most of the questions I asked him were just follow-ups on what he told me in the interview about his experience at Brown. </p>
<p>What didn't help was having caffeine during the interview. While I wasn't nervous at all to begin with, I got jittery sitting there. My advice is hot chocolate.</p>
<p>haha i'm not a big coffee guy anyway, so i'll prob go with hot chocolate (<3) lol. ok, so building off his ideas is a good idea, but i may come with a few questions in mind, or on paper. i'm just hoping our ice gets broken really quickly, so it's not awkward. my interviewer is class of 1977, so he's probably like 50 (which isn't a bad thing, but he won't be young like some of the people i'm hearing about). also, what are you supposed to wear? shirt, tie? sports jacket? and is it standard routine to pay for your own, or is he supposed to pay? thanks</p>
<p>It's a really good idea to come prepared with questions -- but make sure they are questions that can't easily be found on the website.</p>
<p>Some of the questions I have enjoyed answering are "What is an example of something Brown students have done that makes the school quirky/creative?" and "what's your fondest memory of your four years." </p>
<p>You should dress like a student, but be neat and clean. Judge it partly on where you are meeting and what you will be comfortable in. Tie and sports jacket are really not necessary; neither would be a skirt/dress. (If you are comfortable in those clothes, then it's OK to wear them, though.) Khakis, nice jeans, cords; button-down shirt or nice collared sports shirt all work. Nothing too tight, too short, too low.</p>
<p>Some advice: don't be a conversation killer. Think of anecdotes and stories about your activities and interests and classes that you can talk about -- you want to be able to carry on a conversation and make sure there isn't lots of silence. Be upbeat. Convey why you are interested in what you do. Here's an example of what not to do: When I asked a student about his summer job, an internship I thought sounded exciting, he said, "Oh, it was really boring, just filing papers." </p>
<p>This is also your opportunity to talk about anything that you couldn't cover sufficiently in your application.</p>
<p>I wore nice jeans, a cute shirt (with an Obama pin--a calculated risk that turned out to be the perfect ice-breaker!), and some pop accessories. I looked nice; something that you could wear to a Catholic mass (if you understand that context); "dressy casual."</p>
<p>I paid for my own, although he made a motion to pay for mine. I hate it when people buy me food and drinks, so that was a no-brainer for me.</p>
<p>oh wow, that helped a lot, fireandrain. thanks</p>
<p>I have my interview next Wednesday! I'm excited, and freaked out a little. How formal might I dress to hold my interview in a doctor's office?</p>
<p>This is such good info. Thanks!</p>
<p>I haven't gotten the email yet, but I'm expecting it pretty soon. I'm thinking that maybe a lot of people from my area are applying (I pretty much live 20 minutes from Providence) so maybe that's why it's a bit of a delay? I'm getting excited though...</p>
<p>same - i live in LA so I'm guessing I haven't gotten my email because the alumni are busy now. I'm soooo excited for it though - I feel this could be the make/break moment for me.</p>
<p>Mandolive, the interview is not a make or break moment, sorry to say. If your application isn't strong, a strong interview won't help you one bit. Even people who have "bad" interviews get accepted.</p>
<p>Oh right sorry that came off wrong - I just meant that it feels that way.
I like that colleges are able to understand our personalities better from interviews :)</p>
<p>I'm not saying that i will definitely reject the interview offer, but if i were to do so, would that look bad, be not polite, have negative effects, etc.? what would be the polite way to say no (she sent me an email)? again, i'm just considering this idea...</p>
<p>why in the world would you turn down an interview?</p>
<p>i'd take it!</p>
<p>Yeah, you should probably take it... It's a good chance to ask all of your specific questions and also you can explain anything that you didn't get a chance to talk about on your app....
Most people say that their interview went fine and was even kind of fun, so don't worry too much about it, go! :)</p>
<p>People do turn down interviews. I know someone who did and still got accepted.</p>
<p>i just had my interview, and it went REALLY well. thanks a lot for the tips.
i highly recommend having an interview especially if you're sure you want to go to brown (i.e., if you're applying ed). you'd be able to make a case for yourself and pretty much get another recommendation</p>
<p>Ooh yay I'm glad it went well :)
What were you asked?/What did you ask your interviewer?</p>