<p>I am a high school junior this year and I am still foggy on what exactly a college interview is. What exactly happens at them? and are there any forbidden phrases that I should never say or anything like that?</p>
<p>Also, some colleges have on campus interviews during the summer conducted by college seniors, I was wondering if there is any benefit to having one of these rather than having a traditional interview with a local alumni later.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>Some colleges (usually the smaller ones) try to assess how interested an applicant is, so visiting and having an on-campus interview can be important for those places. There are a number of threads on CC with typical questions and hints for the interview itself. Obviously you can’t interview everywhere , so check their websites or the Fiske guide to see which schools seem to care, then decide realistically which schools are matches/ high matches where showing interest may make a difference. Then call a few weeks in advance to schedule something.</p>
<p>They matter more for smaller colleges (such as LACs), where there is more emphasis put on being a good match for the school. 
So it’s important to brush up on your knowledge about the college and show interest in the school.</p>
<p>I hope any interview you have goes well!</p>
<p>interviewing effectively is a skill, time-consuming to train people in. Which means that local alums are not skilled, and consequently their input carries little weight. Adcoms have no way of assessing differences between them; Joe in Podunk might think his school is so special that the bar has to be very high and so he slams everyone he talks with. Bill the next town over hasn’t seen a local student go to his alma-mater in years so he enthusiastically describes everyone he interviews. And so on.</p>
<p>Interviews can hurt; confess that you’re just applying to see what happens or because your parents insisted and the adcoms will hear about it.</p>
<p>My opinion is that the on-campus interviews are the way to go, although I’m a bit leery of the seniors doing them. On the one hand they understand the school well and since they’re about your age you can get a good sense of what it would be like being a student from talking with them. On the other hand, I doubt they’re very good interviewers in terms of evaluating applicants.</p>
<p>As for what to do and say, get a book about job interviewing since the questions are going to be very similar. Expect open ended questions such as “Tell me about yourself”. And one crucial moment in any interview is when they ask you if you have any questions; this isn’t an idle comment, its a key opportunity for you to show you’ve done your homework and have seriously looked into what it would be like to attend that school.</p>
<p>I’ve been an on-campus interviewer as well as an off-campus alum interviewer for a small LAC. Here are a couple of things to think about:</p>
<p>-OFF CAMPUS–
<p>-ON OR OFF CAMPUS-- challenge the interviewer (again, do your homework). “In the literature I’ve read, it seems like Economics and History are the most popular major here. What types of jobs to recent graduates get?” or “[Tour guide’s name] walked us through the library and I was impressed that so many students were studying on such a gorgeous day. Do students typically feel overwhelmed with work?”</p>
<p>More tips.
Be prepared to talk about gaps in your application. I ALWAYS do that when I’m interviewing. If you have no extracurriculars (or lame ones), be prepared to talk about what you did instead. </p>
<p>LISTEN TO YOUR PARENTS when they tell you how to dress. I’ve had boys show up with rumpled blazers, flip flops, and unruly hair (I could see his mom cringing). I’ve interviewed girls with too-tight pants that exposed their underwear when they sat down. Err on the side of conservative. Seriously. </p>
<p>Manners: don’t chew gum, don’t be late (if you’re running late, CALL AHEAD!), turn off your phone, smile, say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’</p>