<p>There are several threads all over this forum about interviews at Columbia, so I thought we could kind of combine them.</p>
<p>For anyone applying ED/RD, how was your interview?</p>
<p>I had mine back in late September, and I thought it went pretty well. As I don’t have any alumni in the area, it was a phone interview, but nonetheless I think I did okay.</p>
<p>I had an interview with a local alumni in a starbucks. Really laid back. She really threaded me with the “why columbia” question (talked about it for like 15 minutes). Basically talked about the city, opportunity it provides yet the fact I can receive an intimate college experience, the core curriculum, etc. It lasted around an hour and was a lot more of a conversation than an interview. She emailed me about a week later saying it went really well and that she feels I am a great fit for Columbia.</p>
<p>for future reference:</p>
<p>a male is an alumnus
a female is an alumna</p>
<p>and when you speak of more than one they are alumni. if anyone loves latin, i am sure you can go off on what it really means and where it comes from, but that is how they are used in american English when we refer to a former student of a school.</p>
<p>i do not mean to pick on you NW here, it is a sin that is repeated OVER AND OVER on this board. you could however use the americanized and accepted ‘alum’ or ‘alums’ as it is easier to avoid gender problems there.</p>
<p>haha no problem. i learned something new today :]</p>
<p>but yeah, she was an alumna</p>
<p>How long was yours? I had mine today and it lasted for only like 45 minutes. He interviewed two other friends of mine and they said he took even less than that for them. Is it common to have such short interviews? </p>
<p>The one I had for MIT went on for almost an hour and half.</p>
<p>Mine was maybe 35-40 minutes, I wouldn’t say yours was shorter than average. Someone on another thread had one that was only about 20 minutes.</p>
<p>20 minutes? That’s insanee. </p>
<p>Has anyone ever gotten in with a REALLY bad or short interview?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Don’t you love when people correct other people and still get crap wrong. The plural of alumnus is alumni and the plural of alumna is alumnae. I think it’s accepted to use alumni for both male and female alums, rather than the more formal alumni/ae.</p>
<p>hey c02 you read more? i knew it was more complicated sweets. which is why i stopped at that. but i guess that isn’t as important.</p>
<p>ok, maybe its a bit off topic, but Columbia College cicago…its where I wanna go.</p>
<p>I am not from the US. Is it good??</p>
<p>Heyy Columbia2002, I know that it was probably agess ago, but how was your interview?</p>
<p>I have an interview scheduled sometime soon [the alumnus just contacted me today].</p>
<p>I mean, what is it like and what kind of questions are asked?</p>
<p>Any advice/tips anyone?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It went really well and I almost actually made the stupid move of not going. I got a notice in the mail telling me to be at X place on Saturday at Y time and had an EC at the time, and they didn’t give any option of rescheduling, and I thought “w t f, this is bullsh–.” My parents persuaded me to go, and thankfully I listened to them. My interviewer was a middle-aged / fatherly Jewish doctor who was a bio major at CC and seemed to really take a liking to me. The interview is a small part, but everything helps.</p>
<p>I have to respond to my interviewee, but I am always afraid of coming across as rude in emails. In the draft I have going, I introduce my self, and then I tell them the times I am most available. Would saying "Let me know how this coincides with your schedule. I really do appreciate your flexibility. " be appropriate? My schedule for the next two months is quite hectic due to a charity event…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Your interviewer is likely busier than a measly high school student-- unless he’s retired. It’s arrogant as heck to send him some email saying: “I’m available on Nov 13 between 4 and 6pm and Nov 19 between 1 and 3pm and then not again until December 3.” I’ve had kids do that and it comes off really poorly. If you want to go to Columbia, you can make 45 minutes.</p>
<p>^^ Thanks for letting me know that. I had a feeling about that too. Would it still be ok to tell them that weekends for me are the most flexible?</p>
<p>You should just find the best time for the interviewer and match your schedule to match his/hers. Come on, like columbia2002 said, it’s 45-60 minutes for one of your dream schools (i think?). It’s worth skipping whatever event you have going on then</p>
<p>Pinkcess1990, ‘Why Columbia’ is a big one. They also usually ask what other schools you are applying to… which I always find odd. Other than that, it’ll just be about ECs, areas of academic interest and stuff. Don’t worry about it, you’ll do fine. :)</p>
<p>Thank you, XoKiwiKisses</p>
<p>=]</p>