<p>Beginning at the end of this month I'll start doing interviews at various colleges (mostly LACs). I researched commonly asked interview questions, and this question is tripping me up. What exactly does the interviewer want to know? A lot of the things I would normally share can be found at least somewhat on my application, like ECs and hobbies I love... should I still talk about them? What is good/not good to share, and how long should my response for this question be? Thank you!!</p>
<p>its an open-ended question and you can take it anywhere you want. Its difficult, and its meant to be. The pop-psychology idea behind it is that what you choose to talk about and how you describe it is revealing something deep and hidden about you. </p>
<p>If I were in your shoes I’d get a book on job interviewing. This is a standard job interview question, and these books will explain a few approaches to consider in coming up with your answer.</p>
<p>Relax, college interviews are not make or break - they’re more get to know you. Talk about something that you want to talk about when confronted with this question, but just don’t go all controversial. And engage in conversation with the interviewer, don’t make them pull answers out of you. More than anything, they want to see that you’re an interesting person, someone who will add to the campus.</p>
<p>You can also offer an answer that segues naturally into a question for the interviewer, e.g., “I’ve enjoyed singing in choir and acting in school theatre productions, but lately I’ve become interested in writing a play. Can you tell me about opportunities I would have to do this at your school?”. The interviewer is not expecting a laundry list of your interests or beliefs – just giving you a chance to highlight something that is important to you as well as for you to find out about it in the college setting. </p>