<p>Have any of you guys interviewed yet? I had one this week, and it was pretty surprising. The guy had said it was informal, but I didn't expect it to be as informal as it was. The only question he asked me about myself was what other schools I was applying to, and then from there, all we did was talk about Duke (and Duke basketball). It wasn't bad, just not was I was expecting. Any other experiences?</p>
<p>for all the interviews I went on, I found that male interviewers were more laid back and informal while female interviewers were more pragmatic in going over accomplishments, etc. but yeah your experience sounds fairly typical</p>
<p>I know this isn't for Duke, but my friend just had an interview with Georgetown. She had a guy and came home and said "OMG, It was so much fun!" She said they just talked about what she wanted to do, why she wanted to go there, what she liked to do, and that the guy was alot of fun. I think for most schools interviews aren't going to be like you're going to get a job.</p>
<p>I had a very similar experience... at first I was surprised at how informal the interview was, but I definitley liked it! My interviewer (female) just asked what I liked to do and why I wanted to go to Duke, and we spent the rest of the time talking about the university and all the oppurtunities, her experiences- both there and in life, swimming, basketball, camping, etc etc. She was really friendly and it was nice because I got all of my questions about life at Duke answered while having a great conversation. If anyone's worried, don't be- I found it was more of an informational thing than an actual interview.</p>
<p>I guess I've been reading too much of the Harvard board... where the interview is seen as a life or death process. Glad to see that this is the Duke style, and not just some fluke thing with my interviewer.</p>
<p>yeah I didn't like my harvard interview at all</p>
<p>Just,</p>
<p>I have my interview yesterday, and my experience was very similar to yours. I expected more probing questions, but was glad when it didn't happen. </p>
<p>Do you think they do the interview to see what we look like? Have you noticed that the student body is fairly homogenous.</p>
<p>the student body is not any more homogenous than its peer institutions (harvard, yale, stanford, etc.). the class of 2008: 17% asian, 11.3% black, 6% hispanic. if you mean that the kids are "preppy" so to speak, that may be true. but look around your school. how do the top students usually dress? that's how people usually dress at duke. duke doesn't pick them because they dress that way but rather because they are top students.</p>
<p>I think that's a little sinister, sammie. I think the interview is mostly to placate alumni and make them feel involved, and also to give us a chance to ask questions. As far as I could tell, the only evaluative part of it was that I took the time to call, schedule and show up. If he had to write a "report" (which many interviewers are required to do), I have no idea what it would say ("Student asked some okay questions and was an attentive listener" :-P)</p>
<p>Just, I don't think it was sinister at all. I also applied to Columbia. They ask applicants to scan in a picture of themselves. Its not mandatory, but why would they ask if they didn't want to see what you looked like?</p>
<p>they say that it's so they've met you before on campus they will recognize you, not so they can weed out the unpleasant looking people</p>
<p>Photos and interviews can add a face and a personality to what may otherwise jsut be a bland application on paper.</p>