<p>Hey guys,
Just thinking ahead to my college interviews sometime next year. i would really like some advice. What did you wear? What were you asked? Do you think it effected whether or not you were accepted? Also, since I am considering two women's colleges, do you think they will ask different questions, compared to co-ed schools?</p>
<p>Bump bump bump</p>
<p>I wore business casual clothing. Dress shirt and khakis. I don’t know the female analog of business casual, but I would say blouse and a nice skirt. Probably no powersuit though. Each interviewer asks different questions, but it’s supposed to be laid back and comfortable. If you find yourself uncomfortable, you’re probably trying too hard. Interviews have a minimal impact on admissions and generally only are the deciding factor when it’s really, really close and nothing else can distinguish between two applicants. </p>
<p>The general question asked at all interviews was “Tell me about yourself.” That is the most open ended question you can have and you’d do best to come up with a good answer before. But don’t make it sound like you rehearsed it. Just have an idea of what you want to say. </p>
<p>Finally, they are supposed to be fun! You can ask the interviewer (who is probably an alumni) to tell you about their experience at the college and settle any qualms you may have. I remember the interview I had for the school I was eventually accepted to and am attending. We met in a coffee shop - you know, laid back setting - and spoke of many things, including favorite/recommended books, classes, etc. We even had a lively discussion about the education system (some would call it a debate, but I prefer the term intellectual discourse).</p>
<p>1) I wore what I wear to all job interviews, a blouse, blazer, and dress pants.</p>
<p>2) I only interviewed for Lewis & Clark College, a much less selective school than Princeton lol. At first the admissions person asked me to jot down my name, contact information, GPA, SATs, APs, and extra curriculars. She then read the paper and got excited when she saw I did JSA because her son also participated in that. So we had a nice talk about the club. After that she asked me about some of my other extra curriculars, and why I was interested in L&C, and if I had any questions. After she answered some questions about the religious life, we shook hands, I left, and five minutes later, the next girl interviewee came up.</p>
<p>3) As I stated before, L&C isn’t particularly selective. My scores were in the top 25%, but my rank and GPA were lower than average. I got in, but without any merit money, so I trully don’t know if interviewing helped or not. </p>
<p>4) I doubt it, but I have no experience in this area. They’d probably just ask the standard why this school, and might expect you to throw in something about the benefits of an all women school. If you have any questions about the nature of a single sex collerge then you should say it after the interviewer asks if you have any further questions. </p>
<p>All in all, I’m glad I interviewed because it allowed me to clarify some questions I had. Interviewing probably increases in importance the more selective a school gets. My mom used to be an interviewer at a top 30 university (according to US News), and she said that the interviewers comments were often taken into consideration for more borderline applicants.</p>
<p>I wore a collared shirt and skirt -business casual. One of my interviews(only had 2, penn and harvard) was held in a coffee shop in a bookstore, the other was in some type of office. I was asked to describe myself, what I did over the summer, my experiences/extracurriculars, my goals, why I want to go there. My penn interviewer asked where else did I apply. Honestly I don’t think it made an impact at all. I feel like interviews can only hurt you if you present yourself very badly but if its good, it’s not a bonus -unless it reveals something really extraordinary. And I am not sure on the women’s college difference.</p>
<p>Cornell University (college of engineering): </p>
<p>I wore blue jeans and a white sweater. I guess attire really didn’t matter because my interviewer wore a really colorful skirt and socks and an interesting colored shirt and some nice necklaces, almost hippieish haha. </p>
<p>It was an alumni interview, not as formal as some schools like harvard, and I was asked if I had any questions at all about Cornell and we talked a bit about myself and then some of the interests we shared. But it was mostly about my questions aobut Cornell and she talked a lot about cornell. </p>
<p>I was accepted and Yes, I think it did! Alumni interviews are usually informal and don’t really matter but we really had a good time and talked for awhile and we enjoyed the conversation. I sent her a follow up thank you email and we still are in contact over email.</p>
<p>MIT: </p>
<p>Basically the same clothes, probably a different sweater. </p>
<p>This was a more formal interview. The interviewer was around high 60ish and he took notes throughout the interview. He asked many questions about my academic interests, and any research projects I may have undertaken. He asked me “what my plan was to change the world” and when I didn’t come up with a good answer (I’ve never done any serious research or focused on that area) he told that basically MIT takes the brightest minds in the country and takes kids that have plans to do meaningful work and do great things. So the interview was a bit intimidating and we both realized that MIT was not for me, even if I got accepted.</p>
<p>I got denied, which I knew was going to happen either way as I simply didnt have the math and science passion (ec’s and awards) to be competitive enough.</p>
<p>The first interview was in a dunkin donuts and the other was in a Panera bread.</p>
<p>@cortana, my MIT interviewer was the same way! He was high 60s and took notes. But mine was much nicer, it seemed. He came all the way down to my school (20 miles away) to interview me and seemed like he was really rooting for me. He was so nice I felt bad when I had to turn MIT down.</p>
<p>Thank you all!</p>
<p>I applied to two women’s colleges as well, but as a transfer. I didn’t interview at one and had an on-campus interview at the other (I was accepted to both). For my interview, I went in October, so I wore a nice dress and a sweater. The woman interviewing me asked some general questions about my academic interests, what extracurricular activities I was involved with, why I wanted to go to that school (so that sort of covered the women’s college aspect), and my long-term goals (like grad school/career), and my answers naturally led into more discussion. She also asked me how I thought I would be remembered at my high school after graduating. She was very nice and I really enjoyed talking with her, and it really wasn’t stressful at all. I applied as a transfer, and transfer admissions there are more competitive than freshman admissions, so I think my interview did impact me being accepted - if only because it really gave me an opportunity to show how passionate I was about the school.</p>