<p>Youre right, RacinReaver, if the kid really doesnt want to get into the school, a good way of ensuring a poor interview report is to trot out the my parents made me apply answer.</p>
<p>Samuck,
While the HS the kid attends does get a FEW accepted by Brown most years, many more are also rejected & the kiddo being interviewed is talking about his/her other HS senior friends who are also applying and assuming they’ll all get in so they HS party & friendships there can continue.</p>
<p>Oh, so in other words, because all my friends are applying? No, thats not a good answer. The best answer I ever got to why Harvard? was quite a long explanation involving, among other things, Rage Against The Machine. That student was the only one I ever interviewed who got in (nothing to do with my interview report, I can assure you! the positive report and ratings probably represented just a final piece of the jigsaw falling into place. )</p>
<p>Yes, to the interviewer, it showed naivette about how selective the school was or overconfidence that the student and all his/her buddies were going to be those chosen for acceptance. It also suggested to the interviewer that a guiding force for the student was to go where the friends were going. The interviews tended to reinforce that interpretation.</p>
<p>Here’s my weirdest story: I contacted an applicant by email, giving him my usual introduction, including telling him that we would meet at a cafe or some other neutral location, and asking him to let me know about his schedule. His mother called me and said that he was generally free on Saturday mornings. At the end of our conversation, I thought I made it clear that her son should contact me about a specific place, date, and time. Instead, a few days later, he just showed up on my doorstep, ready to be interviewed! I laughed it off. They are kids.</p>
<p>I have had relatively few requests to interview students at the high school. I hope interviewers in my area realize they would be welcome. It is a quiet alternative to Starbucks (very popular spot for interviews here) or the interviewers house (with all the reasonable parental concern that goes with that) and no transportation issues for kids who don’t have cars (a minority in my area, but an important minority in gaining access).</p>
<p>I’ve had some truly bizarre experiences. </p>
<p>Last year when I asked a young woman “What are you looking for in a college?”, her response was “MIT. I got deferred. I’m so upset. I really, really want to go to MIT. I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get in. I did get into CalTech but I really prefer MIT.” </p>
<p>Hint: the college I’m interviewing for is not MIT or CalTech. </p>
<p>Years ago,I asked a young woman what she was most looking forward to in college. She said the opportunity to study things she wasn’t able to study in high school. I asked what sort of things she was talking about. Answer : “sewing lessons. I’ve always wanted to take sewing lessons.” [Umm…my college doesn’t offer them. And really, you want to go to college to take sewing lessons!!!] </p>
<p>I no longer ask what applicants like to read as a first question. I now ask “Do you like to read?” first. I am stunned by the number of students who tell me they HATE reading and rarely read anything that isn’t assigned. A point for honesty, but…</p>
<p>I’ve told this story before, but I’ll tell it again. Several years ago when fashions were different, one female applicant showed up at my (formal, coat and tie) office in very low slung jeans, a very midriff baring top, and a purposefully exposed thong.</p>
<p>Did that get her automatically admitted or tossed out? ;)</p>
<p>
Tom Morello is God.</p>
<p>Ok - not a college admissions interview - but in a similar vein - I used to be a mortgage loan officer. My most memorable loan application - I was about 24 - the applicant was a man in his 50s with his new trophy wife who was about my age. She sat in his lap for the entire hour-long meeting!</p>
<p>I used to do alumni interviews. I usually did them at the student’s home. Often the parents would greet me, and then usually make themselves scarce. I always offered to speak with them at the end to answer any questions they might have.</p>
<p>My worst experience was a young man who answered my question about why he applied to my Alma Mater by saying, “My sister goes there and my parents made me. I really want to go to Norwich.” I went on to ask him about his extra-curriculars - “Why did you decide to do x?” Reply: “That’s what my sister did.” Over and over. This kid had apparently never done a single original thing in his life - or he REALLY hated my college and was TRYING to blow the interview. </p>
<p>Second worst was a young woman I met at a coffee shop in the mall. She made it clear she didn’t want to be there. It was really awkward, she just couldn’t leave fast enough. I got the impression that the whole “interview” thing just made her uncomfortable.</p>
<p>I interview for an Ivy. My most interesting response to “Why do you want to go to Myivy” was “Because everyone in my family has gone to Otherivy. And I hate my family.”</p>
<p>Oh, mortgage closings - I used to do those too! </p>
<p>I remember one with a couple with a son who was at least 3 years old, maybe older. He had a full set of teeth and spoke in complete sentences. He ran around out of control until halfway thru the interview, when he began pulling at the mom’s shirt. She proceeded to breast-feed the kid for the rest of the closing. He was almost too big to fit on her lap. </p>
<p>Another time I closed on a home equity loan for another couple. The wife was very quiet. Two days later she called me to rescind. (Borrowers have 3 days to cancel any mortgage before it gets recorded.) She said, in a very embarrassed voice, “My husband has a gambling problem and I’m afraid we’ll lose the house.” The next day the husband called to find out when he could pick up his home equity loan checks. I had to tell him he couldn’t get them, the loan was stopped because his wife rescinded. He flipped out.“She doesn’t understand the stock market!” (Little did he know, technically it was illegal to borrow against your home to invest in the stock market. Didn’t matter anyway, once the wife rescinded it was all over).</p>
<p>The interviewing guidelines that my college issues start off with a nice bit about how anyone who applies has paid the university the greatest compliment possible and must be treated with the greatest courtesy at all times. I pride myself that Ive held to that code even in the face of candidates who seem deliberately intent on sabotaging their chances like those students Muffy333 and Lafalum84 describe who didnt want to apply in the first place but are only doing it to appease parents. So Ive never cut an interview short Ive told them beforehand to allow 45 minutes to an hour for our meeting and many of them have to travel a long way but I do think to myself sometimes this is a complete waste of everybodys time!.</p>
<p>My Ph.D. adviser told us about his interview for Harvard Medical School. The interview was at a professor’s office. Turns out the professor was extraordinarily shy and introverted. The first 20 minutes of the “interview” consisted of the professor quietly fussing with papers on his desk while my adviser sat quietly; my adviser said he sensed that trying to initiate a discussion would be a mistake. Finally, the professor looked up and asked the one and only question of the interview: “why do you want to go to Harvard Medical School?” My adviser’s answer: “Because it’s close to my house and I heard it was good.” He got in.</p>
<p>When our daughter met with a professor, he asked where her parents were and then thanked her for not bringing us. Haha.</p>
<p>Both of my kids did at least one solo trip to interview on campus (a couple of schools didn’t do alumni interviews) and were asked how they arrived, since the guys were clearly not locals. Each told the interviewer he flew out solo, caught the bus/shuttle and had stayed overnight with a friend on campus. Seemed to impress folks that each was comfortable enough to travel alone. (All those family vacations and camping trips paid off!)</p>
<p>To the interviewers on this thread-- would you be so kind as to offer the 5 questions (in your opinion) every interviewee should be prepared to answer?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>The most basic two questions are always:
- What talents/interests/strengths would you bring to our school?
- Why is our school right for you?</p>
<p>You will also get asked whether you have any questions. You should know enough about the school to ask questions that do not have answers on the school’s website.</p>
<p>The remaining questions will depend on the interviewer. Standard questions include your favorite book, favorite class, work experience, favorite teacher, summer plans. The interviewer is trying to get to know you, so these answers should be easy.</p>