<p>Hi --</p>
<p>I just got an e-mail for an interview
and I want to ask for any advices/tips on how to do the interview for Chicago?</p>
<p>I've heard numerous times HOW to do an interview but is Chicago different in any way? Any common theme that comes up? Any unusual question they might ask?</p>
<p>I didn't do so well on an interview for my ED school --
I need help. please.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Is this an alumni or on-campus interview?</p>
<p>My interviewer was very laidback (he's a current grad student at the university).</p>
<p>It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. We talked about my favorite classes, extracurricular activities, my hobbies, quirks, job, favorite books, musicians, facebook, blogging, hillarynutcracker. com, the definition of "diverse", phallic symbols & Freud, and just a ton of other random things. Be prepared to answer the typical "why Chicago" stuff. He also asked me what I wanted to get out of the whole college experience.</p>
<p>We got off on a tangent and started talking about how we could reform the educational system (or just the college admissions process in general).</p>
<p>it is an alumni interview.</p>
<p>Thank you MSHP, that really helps.</p>
<p>ANything else anyone?</p>
<p>I think everybody has a very different interview experience, and it depends on the individual interviewing you rather than the school.</p>
<p>I would also suggest that you make your "why Chicago" as developed as possible, as "it's in a city and it's ranked highly" might fly with your parents or guidance counselor, but it's not specific to the U of C.</p>
<p>If you're up for some real extra credit, you can check out this speech, which I think is pure win (it's long):
The</a> Aims of Education Address (for the class of 2006)</p>
<p>Do a little hunting on department websites for the fields you may be interested in.</p>
<p>Try not to say that your favorite thing to do in your free time is sleep. I would probably say that, as it's true, but come up with something... going to the gym, hanging out with friends, reading romance novels.... anything sounds better than sleep!</p>
<p>dude, I loved my interview
My interviewer was a PoliSci major who went on to work for the UofC's admissions committee
she asked me questions TOTALLY not related to anything about a normal interview. I had questions like, "If you could bring back three people from the dead, who would they be, and what would they discuss?"</p>
<p>it made me love the u of c even more :)</p>
<p>Interviewers in general want to know more about you and about why you want to go to their school. Then they can give you good advice. For example, they have lots of contacts and can tell you (I find that they really like to tell you) about their experiences at the college and what life is like at the college.</p>
<p>With that said, I found that the UChicago interview I had was very much like the interviews for other schools. If it's an alumni interview, make sure you're prepared to talk. I've had two alumni interviews, and in both cases they didn't have questions to ask. </p>
<p>First they say the usual, it's really just for the colleges to know more about you beyond the rest of your application speech. Then they say, Okay, so what classes are you taking, or Do you have any questions?</p>
<p>Then you have your conversation and it just goes on from there.</p>
<p>I especially liked my UChicago interview because my interviewer was a math major and I am very interested in mathematics, so we basically just talked about math at a Starbucks for a while. The conversation really wasn't about UChicago. But it really does depend on the interviewer. I think my UChicago interviewer cared much more about math than UChicago, and so he talked a lot about math, much more than he did about the actual University. At the interview for Carleton, though, the interviewer loved Carleton so much that that was basically all we talked about. But I learned a lot about Carleton from the interview, because he had so many experiences that he wanted to share. In that sense, it's a really good idea to do interviews because they give you information that you won't get from a brochure. And it's fun too.</p>
<p>So just relax. Have some questions about the school and have solid reasons why you want to go to that school. That helps carry the conversation. For instance, for UChicago interview, I mentioned the Directed Reading Program, which is for those interested in math research. We had a conversation about that and my interviewer talked about how much fun he had. So it's really not a personal interview, like "What events shaped your life?" The interviewers, in my experience, like to share their experiences and help you be more informed about the colleges you're applying to.</p>
<p>My interviewer and I talked for 2 hours, and then I had to go teach at Hebrew School. We emailed back and forth a few more times. I liked him. :)</p>
<p>He basically told me that from the ECs I'd mentioned in the interview and simply from my personality, I had a great shot, but that the interview didn't count for much. He asked a few of those typical questions (why do you want to go to this school, what can you bring to the table, blah blah blah) and then we just chatted for a while about my ECs, his job, UChicago in general. I brought a ****load of questions with me and asked a bunch of those, too. And I got in EA. :)</p>
<p>As Libby Pearson, a college admissions officer at Uchicago, once said, "It's just a conversation."</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. We talked about ... phallic symbols & Freud
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>:eek: How did the conversation end up there?</p>
<p>My S was told that it was too late for an interview several weeks ago....how did you get one?</p>
<p>I believe you had to turn in your application by a certain deadline in order to qualify for an alumnus interview. I know at Duke, for example, the whole application had to be postmarked by Dec 10 for one to be eligible for an interview.</p>
<p>Nope JTKay. You have to request an interview by a certain date in December to get an interview. You can definitely turn in your application after you request the interview. I did and had a great interview. back to the OP's question. Mine was about 2 hours long too and ironically it was my best interview so far because we didn't talk about my ECs but still our conversation communicated a very good sense of my interests and my philosophy about learning and why I wanted to go to UofC. Oh and my interviewer was super nice and encouraging and even though he had questions, the conversation just flowed on its own.</p>
<p>Where do you live that you got an e-mail for an interview? I still have not heard about my interview. I read on the website that they are no longer scheduling interviews. They are optional, so how did you get one? when did you request it? Thanks</p>
<p>How is it determined whether you get an alumni interview or an on-campus interview? Is one more sought after by applicants?</p>
<p>It depends-- Chicago-area applicants and those who can visit are going to be encouraged to do on-campus interviews; those who can't visit are limited to the alumni network resources.</p>
<p>The admissions office is aware that not all of their 12,000 applicants have the opportunity to be interviewed.</p>
<p>So if you lived in Boston, this was your first choice, and you had the cash to spend on an airline ticket, you'd probably want to do an on-campus interview?</p>
<p>My bad. Thanks for clarifying that, LaxPortland. :)</p>
<p>Honestly, I didn't even know that Chicago had interviews. I never did one.</p>