<p>My D has a coffee shop interview. Do I need to give her money and how should she dress? Do they simply talk over a cup of joe?</p>
<p>She should be prepared to pay for her own cup of coffee. She should dress neatly but casually. Nice slacks or skirt, not too low cut blouse, sweater or blazer if she likes. It will probably last about an hour and it’s usually a pretty low key conversation. My younger son enjoyed most of these interviews.</p>
<p>what about guys? sorry if i just thread hijacked</p>
<p>About the same – nice slacks or skirt, not too low-cut blouse (but we call it a “shirt,” and it should have a collar and some buttons), sweater or blazer if you like. Except . . . not a skirt. Shoes, not sandals. Socks are good. You can get away with nice sneakers, but it’s better if you don’t. Wear a belt; don’t show your underwear.</p>
<p>But, basically, wear what makes you feel good, sharp and comfortable. You want to show yourself at your best, and dressing is part of that. You will be better off if you feel relaxed vs. stiff and awkward, but you don’t want to spend half the interview worrying that you are being marked down because you didn’t dress in a way that showed respect for the interviewer.</p>
<p>No one does interviews who doesn’t enjoy meeting and talking to high school seniors. Your interviewer wants to like you. He or she doesn’t need you to dress like a banker or a funeral director. But your interviewer is giving up a big chunk of time to do this, and you should dress like you are grateful for the time and attention. Because you are.</p>
<p>Our son had three of four of these last year and wore khakis and a nice shirt each time. Sometimes a polo and a couple of times a collared long sleeve dress/sport shirt and loafers. Three of his admits were from schools where he had alumni coffee shop interviews so it appears that he didn’t turn off his interviewers by his dress code. :)</p>
<p>The thing to remember is that unless you she acts like a real idiot and dresses truly innapropriately these “interviews” really don’t count for anything. My sources are reliable - including a friend who coordinates them for one if the Ivies.</p>
<p>Great! Do i need to bring a resume too? and be prepared to pay and such and just talk? any talking points i should prepare?</p>
<p>Gusaspara is right. “Interview” is a very misleading term. Adults think of a job interview, which has a major impact on the outcome. For colleges, these are really information-gathering sessions, more for your daughter to learn about the school than for the interviewer to learn about your daughter. As long as she has no holes in her clothes and doesn’t wear flip-flops, she’ll be fine. I’d also have her offer to buy her interviewer’s drink–these are often recent graduates of the school who don’t have much money themselves. To Nspired–I think a resume is way too much. I would be prepared with several questions to ask, though.</p>
<p>I just did alumni interviews for my (top 20) university this past weekend. I would agree with most of what has been posted here. The dress tips are spot on. However, I think it is more than just a casual conversation for the student to learn about the college. The student also needs to present themselves maturely, confidently, articulately. Be prepared to converse, not just answer questions. Have an opinion, if asked, and be able to back it up. I’m sure that there are various places on line that provide typical alumni interview questions. Although they are very basic in most cases, the student should really think about their answers. One of the students I interviewed this weekend was very passionate about his subject area (academic, ECs, research), but stated neutrality in an issue related to this, and that was really disappointing. Another volunteered a significant shortcoming to me and, the more he talked, the deeper hole he dug for himself. I don’t even think he realized it. In this competitive environment, he didn’t do himself any favors.</p>
<p>So, yes, it’s a casual conversation. But don’t take it too casually. The interviewer is watching and listening. It’s sort of like being interviewed by a reporter - nothing is “off the record.”</p>
<p>The weight the interview has in the admissions process is probably not a lot - as pointed out here before - but we were asked to rate students and I can’t imagine that a bad rating would help.</p>
<p>In terms of clothes, wear a warm coat (and bring a hat and gloves if it’s winter). Sometimes, coffee shops are so noisy that the interviewer may suggest moving to one of the outdoor tables, even if it’s not outdoor-table weather. You want to be comfortable outdoors if that happens.</p>
<p>My older son did not dress up at all for his interviews. To say he is a casual kid doesn’t even come close to explaining it. He only owns one long sleeve shirt (a white one to wear when he performs). All of his interviews were in the summer and he wore shorts and a t shirt. He is not very comfortable talking to people he doesnt’ know so in the end feeling physically comfortable trumped dressing up and feeling awkward. He did wear his “nicer” t shirts. He interviewed at top LACs. Was there a negative effect? I don’t know, but he was admitted ED to Swarthmore!</p>
<p>My daughter had two of these interviews already (at local Starbucks and Panera). Both times she bought a hot chocolate (not a coffee drinker) in a to-go cup (so the interviewer would think it might be coffee or tea.) One was right after school - so she had on her school clothes (neat jeans, shirt, and coat). One interviewer (Tufts) was courteous and even offered to buy her a drink (the interviewer had already purchased her own). The other interviewer (Brown) did not even buy himself a drink. (I think it is rude to the business to meet people in your shop and then not even make a purchase?) Both conversations were casual and both interviewers were older with children attending the same HS as my daughter (which was a common ground for the conversation - do you have this teacher - which my child had?) One interviewer said right out - our opinions don’t matter much - but we just want to make sure you are “normal.” Both lasted about an hour.</p>
<p>My D had several coffee shop interviews and I would agree with everything here. Except that she did take an activity and theatre resume. She only offered them if they seemed like they wanted one. Her interviewers were very happy to have some “talking points” to start from and to use for notes. She also had a quick list of questions written down and some updates to tell about herself that wasn’t in her college application.</p>
<p>Don’t offer to buy your interviewer a drink as suggested above. Social convention is for the interviewer to buy drinks or for each to get his/her own. I always buy something as a courtesy to the establishment since I am using their space. I often buy a drink for the students but they rarely feel comfortable taking the time to drink it. It is hard for alumni to gauge how important the interview is since we write many positive reports on kids that are rejected. I have never seen a kid accepted with a luke warm report that was not a recruited applicant. I think the area where our reports most help is to assist admissions on understanding the depth of the extracurricular activities. I get kids telling me they run clubs but can’t give me details on planned programs. Kids tell me they care so much about an activity but then when they become an officer as a junior they stop doing it senior year since they already collected that title. Some kids tell me they had a bunch of activities that they had to give up as an upperclassman since their honors/AP classwork required too many study hours after school. When the school is trying to find kids who are academic superstars and still have what it takes to add to the college community, these details cut through the b.s. of densely packed resumes and activity lists. FWIW, I’ve interviewed for many years and I’ve never thought much about what any of these kids wear. If you leave your “eff-see-you-kay” tee-shirt home you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>It doesn’t hurt to bring a resume/activity list or transcript if you have one. A couple of my kid’s interviewers asked for them. I know my younger son wore black jeans and button up shirts to most of his interviews. I remember is Georgetown interviewer (who met him at a coffee shop) wore rattier blue jeans and a very worn looking Georgetown baseball cap. That was his best interview, but it still didn’t get him accepted! He’s attending the school whose interview he enjoyed the least.</p>
<p>To me it all depends who is doing the interview. </p>
<p>My S had 3 interviews. One was with the school admissions officer at a hotel. I believe he bought S a coke. </p>
<p>The other 2 were strings pulled by people we know - one was the head of the engineer board of the school, the other was on the board of a school and knew the head of admissions.</p>
<p>In all three cases s wore dress pants, shirt and tie. But he has to wear a sports coat and tie for school everyday - gotta love the parochial schools. My feeling is what you wear is showing respect to the person who is taking their time to meet you.</p>
<p>Two of the discussions were in these men’s homes. In fact one guy lived next to ds’ bff and when he saw the house he laughed about how often when he was little he was all over that guys yard and house playing nerf wars. </p>
<p>If it’s informational I suppose you could go more casual, but imo, why not present your best self?</p>
<p>Have your daughter ask the interviewer beforehand if she should bring anything with her. I’ve had some college interviewers expressly say to bring nothing, some ask for a resume, one for a “brief” summary, and the one that’s coming up asked that I bring something that explains who I am (he suggested a newspaper clipping, piece of creative writing, photographs, or a laptop with a video of dancing/singing/whatever, etc.). So make sure to find out beforehand what is expected.</p>
<p>My go to outfit for interviews is a pair of black ballet flats, a pair of nice dark and slim jeans, a lace cami, and a very nice cardigan or sweater to go over it. It is the kind of outfit that can be considered nice or casual, so I don’t look like a fool if the interviewer shows up dressed nicely or dressed in a t-shirt. I has a couple of alum interviewer family friends check it over and they said it was perfectly fine. Your daughter just needs to look neat and put together, and she’ll be good.</p>
<p>I have done these alumni interviews for 10+ years and agree with what YaleGrad says, which is that the meeting is probably used to confirm/give context to what the AOs have from the student app. You’d be amazed how uninformed and unprepared many of these so-called top students can be, so simply being prepared to talk confidently (or with depth) about interests, why xx college, and your high school experience goes a very long way. A few other insights from my perspective are: 1) I like kids that take the time to dress nice/neatly–shows they care. I had one kid come directly from cross country practice in shorts and a sweaty t-shirt (literally) and let’s just say it didn’t help me get to a positive impression of this one kid. 2) I like those meetings where the kids do not give just canned answers and really try to engage in conversation. 3) I also appreciate kids who bring something to show about themselves: not a resume, although that can help structure the conversation, but on occasion a kid brings an article he/she wrote; a photo taken or picture drawn; or a program from a theater production–brings to life their interests!</p>
<p>S1 generally wore an oxford and khakis – sometimes his binary “ties suck” tie. Always took a resume; only pulled it out if asked (and that was rarely).</p>
<p>S2 tended to add a blazer, but that is more his style anyway.</p>
<p>Most interviews were at coffee shops, and the guys were usually there early and had bought their own drink. S1’s best interview (Harvard) resulted in a rejection; S2 requested but didn’t get an interview at the school he’s now attending (Tufts). S2’s best interview (Carleton) got a waitlist. His least favorite interview (Georgetown) confirmed he probably didn’t want to be there.</p>
<p>S1 had an unusual EC for a math/CS geek, and every one of his interviewers wanted to discuss it in depth.</p>
<p>Neither kid drove at that time – they would either take public transit or DH or I would drive. We stayed in the car or went on errands – but did NOT hang out in the coffee shop or meet the interviewer.</p>
<p>In terms of the interviewer buying drinks for the applicant, I don’t buy a drink for the applicant just in case they are a recruited athlete (I don’t know the rules, but I’m very leery of doing something wrong and spending money on someone when I’m not supposed to). It’s probably silly on my part, but that could be one reason that the interviewer doesn’t offer to buy a drink.</p>