<p>During the interview, does the interviewer ask a lot of specific questions? I prefer just general questions, and I can take it from there, discussing the thing that I want to discuss the most. That way if more entertaining for both of us.</p>
<p>I'm concerned that the interview will be question after question... Has anyone had an MIT interview? Do they "probe" you for answers? Honestly, I'd rather have an in-depth discussion kind of thing instead of sitting there answering questions.</p>
<p>Well, every interviewer is different, and MIT doesn’t place many restraints on them with respect to how they conduct the interview and what they can ask.</p>
<p>But most, if not all, MIT interviewers see the interview as a two-way conversation between you and them, and there will absolutely be a chance for you to ask questions you have about MIT. I’ve never heard anybody complain that their MIT interview was a grill session – the goal is for you to learn about MIT, for the interviewer to learn about you and convey that to the admissions committee, and for both of you to have a pleasant conversation.</p>
<p>Last year’s interview thread is here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/767427-2014-interviews.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/767427-2014-interviews.html</a>
Look especially for posts by Mikalye, who’s an EC.</p>
<p>Interviews are (at least) as much about allowing you to learn more about the school as they are about allowing the school to learn more about you. My MIT interview was about 90 minutes long, and an hour of that was discussion leading off of the questions <em>I</em> had prepared. All my interviewers loved talking about their schools in response to my questions; that’s not to say some of them didn’t grill for the first part of the interview, but they were all receptive to me asking as many questions as I wanted afterward (if they didn’t have another interview or engagement scheduled for right after). I think the interviewer who takes complete control over your interview is a rare encounter. </p>
<p>In fact, I believe the interview consisting more of my questions than the interviewers’ questions was something characteristic of all my college interviews, though I just remember the large ratio of MIT’s best, since of course I had the most things to ask of the school that was my top choice. ;)</p>
<p>*During the interview, do I get a lot of chance to talk/ask questions? *</p>
<p>Definitely! It’s more like a “conversation” than any sort of formal question-and-answer session. During my MIT interview last year we spent a lot of time just talking about MIT, what my EC liked/disliked about the school, her research experience there, how her undergrad experience influenced her graduate works, etc. (My EC was really young so it wasn’t intimidating in any way at all.)</p>
<p>During the interview, does the interviewer ask a lot of specific questions?</p>
<p>Most of my interviewers started out with very general questions, then got more specific as I went into details on some of my activities. My MIT interviewer did ask some questions that may be considered specific though, but they were directed towards trying to know me as a person. One of the questions I remembered was “If you’re given a year and as much money and resource as you want, what would you do?”— they’re generally flexible questions like that that you can answer in any way you want :].</p>
<p>Absolutely the interview is about fostering a conversation. I absolutely try to get a free-flowing conversation going. I want the applicants to ask their own questions, to get my picture of life at MIT, and to let a conversation flow from topics that come up naturally during the interview.</p>
<p>During interviews I conducted last year alone, I ended up talking about surf lifesaving versus lifeboat based rescue operations, the pro’s and con’s of different interactive fiction interpreters, what to look for in a really good foreign language bookshop, political unrest in Indonesia, how to dress to improve your dating life, and a myriad of other topics. None of these were particularly of interest to me, but I am perfectly prepared at an interview to let the conversation flow where it might. Almost all of the EC’s I know feel the same way (of course your mileage may vary).</p>
<p>That being said, I would be hesitant to say we never “probe” for answers. If I see or hear anything that requires me to probe directly, then I probe directly. There isn’t a list of what may require me to push further. It is often an offhand remark that starts this (“Oh, LSD is for wimps”) but then I can ask questions until I am satisfied, and that can qualify as probing.</p>