Hellooo, guys!
I am planning on visiting some colleges in the near future (I am a sophomore rn).
And, I was just looking at colleges websites and found out that some colleges offer information session and admission interviews. What is exactly the difference between info session and admission interview and do I qualify for both or is the interview only for like seniors who already have applied to the school? And, if the interview is not only for seniors, is it going to be like a one to one interview? or a group interview? Thank u!
Usually interviews are for seniors who are in their year of appyling. They help showcase you and your personality beyond simply your application. It is usually a one on one interview, I have never heard of a group interview before and it can be from college seniors, admission counselors, or alumni depending on the school. Information sessions are just information sessions about applying to the school and the school itself. Those are open and you can attend those at any time. Also not every school offers admissions interviews. Don’t worry about them for now, but think of some interesting things about yourself that you can weave into your story (this is for both interviews and essays!) so you can show them that you are an interesting person beyond just your grades.
Information session is basically an admissions officer or school representative providing information on the school and the admissions process. An interview would be a personal one on one interview with a school rep. They’ll ask you why you’d be a good fit, your extracurriculars, and goals and whatnot. If you do an interview, it demonstrates interest and you get to tell the school information about yourself that might not be reflected in your application and grades.
Interview deadlines varies for different schools, but most people do it as seniors from September to november. There might also be off campus alumni interviews available if you can’t visit. You won’t be able to do an interview since you will be a junior.
Hi! Thanks for the advice!
I am a devout Catholic and have done lots of activities in the church like midnight run. Would I be also be able to include my religious affiliation in my college essay? Or do I only get to include more general things like school activities?
I will ask one more question!
I wrote this a long time ago, but no one seems to respond to my question so…:
Hello, guys!
I am currently a sophomore and thinking about going into the STEM field.
Basically, I have taking a lot of computer-related courses in the school and out like online courses.
I have done some STEM-related volunteering experiences too; I am working as a volunteer at Liberty Science Center, working as a volunteer at my town’s senior center teaching computers/phones to elders, working as a member of the Midnight Run every month, and working as a volunteer at this church helping disabled kids.
I just got a letter from my school that I have accepted to participate in this internship opportunity at Columbia university called Lamont Doherty Observatory. I will be working on earth science research.
And here comes complications. I have to pay $1000 for this internship opportunity and one girl who’s done this is going to stanford but she has done other stuffs so im sure this didn’t play a huge part in her acceptance, but still makes me feel obliged to participate in this program if I want to improve my extracurricular activities. Number 2: I have been doing lots of computer-related activities and been thinking about going into that area. And, this internship is really not computer-related at least for now, because I did not get so much information about what to expect. So, the fact that it’s earth science makes me feel like I don’t have to do this for to go into computer-related field. #3: I am also really into environmental issues and this internship does grab my attention and interest. Environment is definitely one of my many passions. I am even working with the school to get some grants on implementing more eco-friendly environment in the school.
So… What do you think I should do…? Should I do the internship or what?
- If you are heavily involved in your church and it reflects your personality, by all means, you can add it to your essay. I think you can put it in your extracurricular activities, but I'm not sure how you would phrase it. Something like midnight run wouldn't work since that is a single event.
- Can you afford the internship? All your EC's don't have to be stem related. If you are passionate about environmentalism, this might be a good way to indicate it as well as a good experience. But the internship itself won't get you into Columbia or another top schools just because you did this internship. I am guessing that most people who do this internship are highly intellectually kids, so this internship was just another aspect to a stellar application but by no means what gets people into top schools like Stanford.
It sounds like a good experience and it can only help. But doing it won’t guarantee you a good school. If you can afford it, I’d say do it, but if you can’t afford it, don’t do it thinking that it will get you into a top school.
Midnight run is a monthly event and I have been participating since 2016. I have earned about 50 hours from this. And, thank you for your advice on the internship. I am thinking about participating since this will actually help me identify my true passion! Thank you, once again!
A few random comments:
–You can certainly put your church activities on your college application as ECs. Things done in the community have equal value to things done through the schools.
–I’d say that sophomore year is too early to interview. My D did her college interviews in the fall of her senior year. I’d say the earliest you should interview is the end of junior year (after admission decision for the class above you are out).
–In terms of internships, do what interests you most.
Thanks for the advice!!!
Hello, guys! I just need to ask another question, in terms of college interviews.
It looks like the college interviews are only for the people who already have applied to that school, right?
I had my first college interview in April of my junior year, before I had even applied to the school. Generally, that is the earliest one may interview- most interview the summer before and fall of senior year. You do not have to have submitted your application to interview in MOST cases (one exception I know is Georgetown, where you have to submit the first section of the app to get an alumni interview).
Hello, thanks for the comment! I hope it’s okay to ask u another question… Did the interview help your with ur college search? and did it help u understand more about the college? Thanks again!