<p>As an interviewer, I've had some very awkward moments...here are a couple of snapshots:</p>
<p>1) One young lady was wearing an inappropriately short skirt for her interview AT THE SCHOOL...as we sat facing one another in my office, she nervous kept moving her legs back and forth, inadvertantly flashing me...it was terrible. </p>
<p>2) A young man came to interview at the first school I worked at for an informational interview; it was the dead of winter in New England and the poor kid was obviously sick. I was training a new admissions officer, who sat in on the interview - the applicant puked all over her. </p>
<p>3) One young man drank waaaaay too much coffee (or something with a lot of buzz to it) before his interview. He told me he was nervous and that the caffeine was not helping. He left to go to the bathroom twice during the hour-long interview. The third time, he didn't make it to the bathroom. </p>
<p>SO, note to all you interviewees: dress appropriately; reschedule if you are ill; and don't drink too much of anything before your interview!!!! </p>
<p>FYI - numbers 1 and 3 were denied; number 2 was admitted!</p>
<p>^^ Looks like two cases of nerves getting the best of an interviewee and one case of taking the phrase "showing what you have to offer the school" too literally. </p>
<p>very interesting post!</p>
<p>i had an "interview" the other day with a harvard alumni... he called, asking me if i could interview the next weekend. i told him i had already been accepted ED to another school and had withdrawn my app to harvard... he said he was disappointed to hear that but congratulated me... but he said he would still love to talk to me!!! so we ended up going to lunch and literally just talking about whatever... politics, future plans, etc. it was really awesome and i thought the guy was very interesting and a great man for still giving me the opportunity to speak with him. </p>
<p>might not be awkward, but it was different.</p>
<p>Well, its not as good as some of the other stuff on here, but I don't want this thread to die lol so...</p>
<p>Its actually funny because I think I read something similar on here, and now I can totally sympathize haha. </p>
<p>So I'm pretty nervous since its my first interview. And trying really hard not to say something stupid lol. Then my interviewer is like "What other schools are you applying to?" And I just totally blanked. Lol I sat there for like 5 minutes just looking at him like "...." Ugh. Lol and then I suddenly remember one, and I got so excited that I practically screamed the name at him :rolleyes:</p>
<p>But since that's not enough, I suddenly remember reading something almost identical, in either this thread or another, and so I start laughing. :( Like, full out cracking up. The interviewer is just like "um...." hahaha. Thankfully, I sort of made up for it by saying I was laughing at how stupid it was to forget what schools I was applying to. Then I was like "yeah, I was really nervous :p" and it was nice, becuase I suddenly got way more relaxed and the rest went great :)</p>
<p>^ ahhh. When I got that question ("what other schools are you applying to) one time, the first thought was "A ALOT" and I had to stop myself from listing a bunch of schools, so I said "some other small schools *and listed other characteristics"..he waited until I listed actual names. I couldnt think of any but the most difficult to get into, and it made the school I was interviewing for look like it was my safety (which is totally NOT)!..he was like "oh, soo..where does collegeX stand on that list??!" and then at the end, he told me he hoped i got into the schools that i listed. :/</p>
<p>
[quote]
don't drink too much of anything before your interview!!!!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>or during it! </p>
<p>My Harvard interviewed began the interview by asking "So, what do you want to talk about?" We then talked for a full hour about my passions, academic interests, being home schooled, etc. I thought I'd be pretty much down after that and I was still slightly nervous, so I started drinking a bit too much of the water I bought. An addition 1.5 hours later, I was practically dying (this was at the end of a 2.5 hour long interview!!!!). But the Starbucks didn't have a bathroom and I didn't want to go wandering around in the middle of the interview, so I had to hold it until I got home LOL</p>
<p>I had my Harvard interview awhile back. Everything was going great until the end when the interviewer had to get my coat from the closet (we were at his house). I was blabbing on about the weather and stuff to make conversation and didn't pay attention to how he held my coat: I just had to stick my arms in. As I'm talking to him, I go and try to grab my coat, and realized that he gave me a weird look. I stood there for literally 10 seconds, trying to think whether I should say "oh, it's okay, I got it" or just stick my arms in and voila. Idk, for some reason, my brain was not functioning. I could feel my face turning bright red. In the end, I just turned around and stuck my arms in, buttoned up my coat, and bolted out of the door.</p>
<p>^ heehee thats uncomfortable. Lol I know, that really sucks. Its like everything is fine, but then this one silly thing comes up and you just start overthinking and making the situation worse. Lol but its fine, I doubt for his review he'll be like "Doesn't know how to put her coat on" lol. </p>
<p>and lol ATL I know...I have so many colleges I'm applying to and I hate just sitting and listing every single one, but then I don't know which to say. Lol again...too much over thinking it :D</p>
<p>Had my Yale interview two weeks ago. It went well (best of all the interviews I've had so far), except for this one blip:</p>
<p>"So, since we're talking about your friends--if I went up to a group of your friends and asked them to describe you, what would they say?"</p>
<p>Now, I'm the sort of person with the brain that shuts off when the mouth opens. So I said the first word that came to mind. "Shrubby."</p>
<p>He gave me the *weirdest *look and asked me to explain. I shriveled up inside.</p>
<p>"Uhhh. Y'know...sort of...ninjas."</p>
<p>Then I gave a sheepish grin and (tactfully) steered the conversation away.</p>
<p>(It went well after that. We talked about books(!!!) and writing(!!!) and talked about how great Russian writers are, particularly Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. It was all good.) :D</p>
<p>I went to Starbucks with a friend to support her during her Harvard interview. I sat two tables away and the most horrible thing happened to her.</p>
<p>She has this girl at school that HATES her so much and well that girl showed up halfway through the interview. The girl goes up to my Amelie (my friend) and goes:</p>
<p>"Oh my god! We had the best time yesterday. I have NEVER smoked and drank SO MUCH yesterday. You were pretty wasted."</p>
<p>The girl walks away with a smirk and the interviewer was shocked...He just walked out...</p>
<p>^ Holy crap! That's the worst thing I've ever heard. Poor thing!! Did your friend contact the admissions rep to try and explain... wow. </p>
<p>Lol, at my Kenyon interview (which was pretty good) at one point we were talking about doctors, because I said I really loved the movie Patch Adams. So my interviewer asked me if I had any interest in being a doctor. I said "Nooooooooo!!" and he kind of laughed and asked if it was because I hated hospitals. </p>
<p>So, as I was answering, I completely forgot what the question was. So I ended with "I don't know." ><</p>
<p>But, I started to explain how I didn't actually mind hospitals, I liked them. And how I'd spent a LOT of time in them when my little sister had to get several surgeries, and how there was something more sincere about talking to people in hospitals... that's when I ended with "I don't know". I'm hoping he thought I got emotional about it or something. It was such a dumb moment.</p>
<p>^ They got in a huge fight the next day at school. My friend broke the other girls nose and gave her a black eye. Needless to say, she didn't get into Harvard. (This was last year) She got into a nice school that has initials B and C.</p>
<p>Opps forgot to mention the worst part. The other girl had those hair extensions or whatever girls put in their hair. They got ripped out...And yes it did look like it HURT a lot.</p>
<p>Lesson learned: Don't mess with girls applying to Harvard.</p>
<p>Omg just had my 13th and FINAL (yesss I'm done!) interview yesterday and it was for Dartmouth and I mentioned that I did a summer program at Columbia and he's all like,</p>
<p>"Oh I went to grad school at Columbia and I really enjoyed it. What'd you think?"</p>
<p>And I'm all like, "Uhh yeah it was good..."</p>
<p>And he's all like "Well what'd you think of the surroundings...?"</p>
<p>So it was a BIT awkward because either way I'd be bashing one of his alma maters (and the interviewer was like this awkward guy in the first place) but I did the tactical thing and basically talked about what I enjoyed most about the summer program was the academic experience, which is of course what's most important in a college (at least that's what I SAID...)</p>
<p>Haha so I got myself out of it pretty good but it was still awk...</p>
<p>YAY DONE WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS!!</p>
<p>Edit: OH WAIT remembered another one (actually like 5...), I did my Northwestern interview at this office building with a bunch of other kids (it's like a 1-day only sale, 1-day only interviewing...) and I walk into this holding room type thing in a poorly-fitting polo shirt (with a HUGE latte stain I didn't notice until after the interview...I was pretty hung over that day...), khakis, and SNEAKERS, and lo and behold, every other person in there is in a suit and tie. Needless to say, I freaked out until my interviewer told me she was a theater major. Phew!!</p>
<p>let's see, my Harvard interviewer was from my high school, and even from the same house. So I thought he'd be nice. Instead:</p>
<p>"So why do you want to go to Harvard?"
I give an explanation that involves a small, intimate CS community, Core curriculum, etc.
and he's like.
"You haven't convinced me. This is what I wanted to hear..."
and he then he talks about what he wanted me to say. and of course, then I can't say any of the things that he mentioned, so I'm just stuck. how nice.</p>
<p>At one interview I got asked "If we were to look at your facebook profile today what would we learn about you?".</p>
<p>I tried to think of what to say, and when I thought about my facebook they really wouldnt learn much so I said "you really would find much out, i barely ever use it". They looked pretty dissapointed</p>
<p>I was going to have my Harvard Interview with t his dude and so we were going to meet at a really nice hotel. So I was waiting outside in the car (nervous) and then I was like OK I'm going to go in now. Halfway from walking from the car to the door, he calls my cell and is like "Hey where are you?" and goes into a thing about how I might've gone to the wrong hotel (ther'es another one like a few blocks down) and I say into the phone "I can see you" but he doesn't hear me and he keeps trying to explain how to get into the hotel. So I walk up to him (he's facing away from me) and I poke him on the shoulder and I'm like "Hi.... you're supposed to interview me" while the hotel personnel are laughing.</p>
<p>Chris2k5 hahahaha yeah I guess I should've known since that was at an office building, but I dunno, I feel like the most important thing is conveying your personality, and for me, I feel most comfortable doing that in just a polo shirt and khakis (and sometimes a really really cute scarf)</p>