<p>I just read the thread "What not to ask in a college interview." Don't ask too much about creature comforts, don't ask obvious stuff about the web site, don't ask if you can get in, don't ask if this or that department is any good. Hmmmm. What on earth is left?</p>
<p>I started wondering what a good question might be, as I am sure D will be begging me to help her think up questions soon. Maybe we can put our heads together and come up with a few?</p>
<p>If I were a student doing a college interview, I would ask: **"What do you think is the college's most underrated academic department?" **Gives the interviewer a chance to sing the praises of a department that might be overlooked, might give student some insight on the soft underbelly of the school. </p>
<p>Anybody got a question that has worked well for them in interviews?</p>
<p>The best question is one that the student really cares about and that the answer to can't easily be found on the college's web site (which the student should take a close look at before the interview). The best question also depends on who is interviewing the student. </p>
<p>The interviewer could be an admissions officer, an alum (who could be old or a recent grad) or a current student. Clearly, an older alum isn't likely to know much about what the social life is like now or whom the most inspirational professors are now. A current student isn't going to know that much about how going to the college affects one's career path.</p>
<p>" "What do you think is the college's most underrated academic department?"</p>
<p>I don't see that as a great question because it's hard for me to imagine that a student would really care about that. Certainly, they'd care about departments involving things they may major in, but it's unlikely they'd care about underrated departments in general. </p>
<p>Interviews take only a short amount of time, and the question you suggest could mean that, for instance, an aspiring physics major who dislikes the humanities gets to hear a long discourse on the school’s classics department. </p>
<p>A question that I think is useful to ask of any alum interviewer including an admissions officer who is an alum of the college they are working for is, "What did you most like and what did you most dislike about your experience at XXX college)?"</p>
<p>Ah, well. I tried! :)</p>
<p>I agree with the above. Study the school and find out what you need to know hat you can't learn about through the sources already available to you and ask those questions. Asking a cleaver question that you could ask any school (fill in the blank) does not sound impressive to me. Your D wants help? Sit with her and do the research together. Help her brainstorm on what she would like to learn and then try to find out the answers. If you cannot find it out on your own (within reason), it should be good.</p>