<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I am having my first college interview next Tuesday with my top choice. I have not done one so I am pretty nervous about this.</p>
<p>Do you guys know how can I prepare myself for this ? Like what questions should I be expecting ?</p>
<p>Ok, well I’m only a junior so I’ve never had a college interview, but from what I’ve been able to comprehend, the purpose of an interview is just to learn more about you and see if you are a good fit for the school. They will probably ask you why you want to go there, in addition to some questions about yourself. For example, what kind of activities you like to do, and why the school a good fit for you. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. They are just trying to learn more about you.</p>
<p>Do not be too nervous for the interview. What school is it at? Who will be your interviewer? A student, admissions officer, or alumni? I have done several interviews myself recently and they have all been great. Be relaxed (enough), smile, and do not memorize your answers. Make sure you can answer the question “why do you want to go to X university?” and “why should X university admit you?”. The interviews I have had started off with “tell me something about yourself.” You do not want to go off on a tangent here so focus on maybe 3 things. Also, DO NOT forget to have questions about the school. Your interviewer will definitely ask you if you have any questions and it looks bad if you do not. Do some research on the school!</p>
<p>It will be an alumni interview. I am sure that I can answer why I want to go to the school since I have visited it and applying ED there. The question:“why should the school admit me” sounds pretty hard and tricky though. I don’t want to sound too cocky but definitely not diffident.</p>
<p>Will try try to trick me by some tough questions ? Also, what should I wear to the interview ? Should I wear shirts and ties or the college sweatshirts and khakis pants ?</p>
<p>I’ve done an interview at one school, my top choice, USC. I had a interview with the Assistant Director of Admission, but she was really friendly. The questions were pretty simple:</p>
<ol>
<li>Why are you applying to USC?</li>
<li>Do you see your self fitting in here?</li>
<li>If you do get admitted to USC, what kinds of clubs would you join?</li>
<li>If you could have dinner with anyone in the entire world, past or present, fictional or non-fiction, who would it be?</li>
<li>Besides your intended major, would you be open to taking any other classes in a different field and if so, what kinds of classes?</li>
</ol>
<p>Those are some I remember, dont stress too much, go in there confident. A good, firm handshake always makes the best impression along with a smile. Dress well too. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you. Types of question like:" If you could have dinner with anyone in the entire world, past or present, fictional or non-fictin, who would it be ?" sound pretty trick and tough. How did you deal with that one ?</p>
<p>Also, what should I wear to the interview ? Should I wear shirts and ties or the college sweatshirts and khakis pants ?</p>
<p>I would probably not wear a sweatshirt (even if it is that college’s sweatshirt). You want to look nice. I did an alumni interview and it was more like a casual conversation. No trick questions. The interviewer did not ask why I should be admitted. He asked why I wanted to go to that school, if I had any questions, what he should know about me so that he could include it in his recommendation, and about my school and classes. An alumni interview is great because you can ask all about their experiences!</p>
<p>Just relax and be yourself. They never tried to test me with questions like “Why should we admit you?” at any of my interviews.
I just wore a polo shirt and khakis, which may have been overdoing it.</p>
<p>Do you guys bring any transcripts or resume along ?</p>
<p>The most important thing for me was to have examples to back up my claims. If I said I was “a good leader and team player,” I would need to say how I am so. </p>
<p>Be prepared to talk about your interests. Research the school; ask questions about clubs and sports, surrounding areas, and academic options. </p>
<p>5 Questions you should have an answer ready for:
<p>Numbers 1 and 5 were, to me, the most difficult to answer in that they were vague and practically impossible to answer succinctly.</p>
<p>nns91- That question was extremely tough…I just chose a person that really inspired me and that was successful at everything that person did.</p>
<p>Yeah, I am so afraid of vague questions like describe yourself, or how will your friends or teachers describe you. I have no clue how those people describe me. It’s hard to describe myself in an uncocky way.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions though.</p>
<p>Do you guys bring any transcripts or resume along ?</p>
<p>I did not bring anything to the interview. I just remembered a couple of questions. </p>
<p>Like you mentioned:</p>
<ol>
<li>How would your friends describe you?</li>
<li>How do you want to be remembered by your friends and family?</li>
</ol>
<p>My son recently had his first interview with an assistant director of admissions from Muhlenberg. He thought the interviewer did not like him.
The interview was held near our home in New England. We have not yet had an opportunity to visit the campus. My son knows how to meet and greet and carry on a conversation. He took with him a file card with some prepared questions, which he planned to review before the appointment. I advised him to expect to have a free flowing conversation, with the questions as conversation starters. They were about things not apparent on the website, such as support for student athletes, clubs, what thr interviewer liked about MUhlenberg.
I imagine he was a bit nervous, but not overly so. Muhlenberg gives students a form–sort of resume-- to fill out and take to the interview. This kid’s penmanship is not great, but is legible. I refrained from filling it out for him. (I do wish elementary schools would teach penmanship. Not since before NCLB) Perhaps this made a poor impression right at the start. His grades and scores are in line Muhlenberg. The boy is puzzled and has lost a bit of confidence. Maybe it was just an off day. Maybe it went better than he thought it did.
Thoughts?</p>
<p>I’ve had two college interviews so far. One of them was very normal, with the questions that everyone’s listed here. The other one was weird. The interviewer spent about half the time asking me things that interviewers don’t normally ask, like what APs I’ve taken and what my schedule is this year (which the school will get from my transcript), what my parents did, where they came from, how they met, where my brother and sisters lived. to what other colleges I was applying. It was odd, especially when she asked me about other colleges. How do you answer that?</p>
<p>Why do you want to attend [insert school here] is probably a question you will get everywhere, so be really prepared for it. The other ones change from interview to interview.</p>
<p>One question that he was asked was pretty sensible. He is applying to schools that are division 3 for soccer, so all are pretty small–under 2,000. She asked how he would choose between them. I think he said that the sense of community and opportunities for activities would influence his decision. In reality, financial awards will weigh heavily in the decision. I will suggest to him that it’s OK to admit to needing financial help.</p>
<p>One last piece of advice: Remember, the interview will not make or break you as long as its not extremely terrible! Most interviewers have little influence in the admissions decision.</p>
<p>So I just got back from the interview. When I was doing it, I felt completely fine. However, now I am so worried after I get home. I feel like I have messed my interview up by stopping at the middle of the sentence sometimes, did not maintain eye-contact the whole time, forget to mention some of my activities, and repeat stuffs over a couple time. However, my interviewer said that I passed it with flying color. </p>
<p>Did she really mean it ? Or did I really screw up ?</p>
<p>Any opinion ?</p>
<p>She wouldn’t lie. If she was lying, she wouldnt have said that in the first place.</p>