<p>Haha LOOOVE this thread! Just finished reading the entire thread. </p>
<p>I just remembered an awkward interview experience that i did about a month ago for a scouts group. It was over the phone and lasted about half an hour. The guy spoke sooooooooo s…l…o…w which made for awkward pauses and silences throughout the whole thing because not only did he speak so slow that each word was separated by seconds of silence, i figured he wrote slow too coz after each answer there was another loonng silence. It was so awkward. And finally he got to the question “so why do you want to join scouts?” which by this point i was so bored and irritated by the slowness that it had kinda caught me and so without thinking i replied, “well i like outdoorsy stuff and…i don’t really know that much about scouts yet that’s why i called…” and he goes “mmm…okay.” FAILLLLLL. lol. What was i thinking?! i totally forgot to say all the things that really interested me such as community service, meeting new people and my desire to engage in things that would help others and enrich my own experience, etc. du.h lol. Needless to say, it didn’t end on a very good note.</p>
<p>During one of my interviews, I was so nervous that I was nearing an asthma attack. As soon as I sat down with my interview I was coughing so much that my interviewer went, “Do you need me to get you a glass of water or something?” And I went, “No, it’s just asthma, <em>cough</em> sorry!!!” and she goes, “No it’s okay. Cough as you need.” </p>
<p>And she gave me the weirded look and I felt so embarrassed. I couldn’t calm down for maybe two minutes :[[[</p>
<p>I had an interview in Boston w/ MIT
Me: how is the sports atmosphere?
I:well you know…I’ve never actually gone to a baseball game
Me: (taking it literally I say) Me neither! I hate baseball & I’ve never seen the Red Sox play!!
I:I meant I’ve never been to an MIT baseball game…
Me: oh</p>
<p>Didn’t help that I went in barely recovered from bronchitis so I couldn’t talk & it was also my first interview. Good thing MIT isn’t one of my top choices =))))))</p>
<p>Ok my interviews have all be mixtures of horror and wonderfulness</p>
<p>The worst was St. Olaf: My interview itself went amazingly, it was only 30 minutes, but I my interviewer and I got along well. At the end (I had travelled with my friend… bad idea in hindsight) I waited for her to finish hers. Which went for an hour and fifteen minutes. When she finally came out her interviewer called out the director of admissions, while I was sitting right next the the meeting with my parents. They proceeded to talk for another 10 minutes before the interviewer (not mine) glances at me and asks if I’m a candidate too. I awkwardly stand up and introduce myself. Safe to say I’m not applying there…</p>
<p>The next was for a LAC. I told my interviewer I had studied at an International school in France for a year and she began speaking in fluent french to me. I think I managed to get out “Je ne paux… pas…” before switching to english. I tried to recover by saying I could understand more than I could speak and studied Japanese while I was there, but safe to say I’m not getting in there!</p>
<p>these posts are hilarious. okay this isn’t a story about me, but about another guy from our school who applied to college a long time ago. my friend told me.</p>
<p>this guy who also went to [our school] whose parents encouraged him to apply to princeton. he was actually really smart. he just didn’t really have the motivation to go to princeton and had no interest in going anyway. anyway, his parents asked him to have an interview. he agreed. so the night before his interview he went out with his friends and got really drunk. so he comes to his princeton interview drunk, and the interviewer is clearly a bit confused by the way he is acting. she asked him, ‘why do you want to go to princeton?’ and he apparently answered ‘well, lady, i don’t want to go to princeton. i’m super lazy. i wouldn’t fit in. i like to play video games and hang out with my friends. i don’t like to study. at all.’ apparently there was this like epic silence and then the interviewer kind of took a deep breath and went, ‘okay. i’ve never done this before. but i’m going to ask you to go to the bathroom, splash some cold water on your face, and then we can start this interview over.’ so the guy gets up to go to the bathroom and decides he really doesn’t care anyways, so instead of coming back to the table he just left. </p>
<p>My Georgetown interview went well, but I arrived a half hour early. So I walked to Subway to get lunch, and then stressed for the entire walk back to the university where he is a professor that he would see something in my teeth! And then he proceeded to talk about how he was going to a costume party at the Playboy Mansion with his son later that month, so I’d say it was a successful interview.</p>
<p>My awkward moment was when I had to explain to my interviewer why I didn’t like the subject Swedish (I am an international applicant)</p>
<p>Columbia interviewer: WHy don’t you like Swedish?
Me: I don’t know…my teacher is always asking us for opinions on everything. People in my class are really bigoted…I mean, I don’t have that much to say because I don’t have opinions about so many things…
Columbia interviewer: …
Me: :$</p>
<p>I kind of got really emotional in my interview. He asked me what are the other things I would talk about in my application. I told him about my sister’s sickness and I kind of cried in front of him. I’m not really sure if it’s good to cry in front of an interviewer. :'(</p>
<p>However, I started smiling after we got over that topic.
Is this bad?</p>
<p>^ Um not sure, how did his face look afterwards? He probably understands.</p>
<p>Really awkward when your interviewer starts talking about an applicant they interviewed from your school.</p>
<p>" Oh your from Collegestress16 high school? I interviewed Becky yesterday, do you know her?"
Yes…
" Great! She was the sweetest girl I’ve interviewed, definitely a great fit for Princeton. Are you guys friends? She has a very strong personality, I just finished typing her report today before I came. I’m sure I’ll be in contact with her fairly soon."</p>
<p>The most awkward 5 min. of my lifee!!! How are you supposed to respond? Oh! yeah I know Becky but this is my interview not hers!!!</p>
<p>PUGET SOUND
interviewer: so how did you hear about UPS?
me: . . . .Ugh…I really hate these questions.
interviewer: . . .
me: I mean, um…</p>
<p>WHITMAN
interviewer: do you feel you’ve been challenged throughout school?
me: (blah blah AP, hard classes, etc).
interviewer: <em>nods head</em>
me: I think I’ve been challenged all throughout high school. I mean, not in that way…hahah
interviewer: <em>glare</em></p>
<p>RICHMOND
interviewer: do you want to take a quick break? you look a little nervous.
me: sorry, it’s just a little hot in here. I’m not used to this climate!
interviewer: we’re in Wasington, not Virginia. You do live here, right?
me: . . . . .</p>
<p>Basically I told my interviewer “I’m not really good with boys.”
Um. Whaaat? Smooth.</p>
<p>Also…
Interviewer: So what books have you read recently?
Me: Uh, well, I haven’t really had much time to read lately…you know, busy with school and band stuff.
Interviewer: Okay, so what books do you like?
Me: Well…this must seem pretty childish, but I really like the Harry Potter books.
Interviewer: Really? What do you like about them?
Me: I don’t know, I don’t usually like fantasy books, but these are just different. I kind of grew up with the series. It’s suspenseful to follow the books and finish one and have to wait to figure out what happens next.
Interviewer: Really…so is there anything else you like about them?</p>
<p>She kept asking those “why” questions, expecting me to answer them. Come on, I’m nervous and can’t think straight and you want me to elaborate endlessly?</p>
<p>Me: I’m most involved in band and color guard.
Interviewer: What do you like about it?
Me: Oh, I really like how I got to get so close to all my friends in it. It’s rewarding to perform a good show and have the audience appreciate it[…blah, blah, etc.] I also like the competition. I can be a little competitive sometimes. [this is me starting to ramble]
Interviewer: Really? In what ways are you competitive?
Me: …[insert lame answer about liking to do my best]</p>
<p>I also said something like “we take pride in knowing that our performance standard is above everyone else’s even if we don’t win.”
Great. The kid’s a conceited elitist too.
But I played off the competition thing and school spirit because my voice was weird from yelling at the [big] football game the night before plus getting over a cold and my interviewer knew about the game. And it was a very sports-centered school, so…why not seem like I’d contribute to that part of the community? That’s how I like to think of it, anyway.</p>
<p>OH, last thing. She asked me if I had endless funds, what cause would I use it to help and I said something stupid about helping the homeless because most of them are very capable people and it’s a publicly noticeable issue. It sounded so fake and I realized I should have said something about helping kids learn music in underprivileged areas, but no.
As I was shaking her hand, I blurted out that “I’mgoingtogetreadyforthechristmasconcertnow” Love it.
That said, we had a lot in common. We should’ve been friends. =P</p>
<p>Interviewer: So what challenges have you confronted?
Me: Um, well… I know there are many people dying out there and in worse situations than me so I think I’m really fortunate compared to lots of other people
Interviewer: <em>pause</em> So… any challenges?</p>
<p>And then I thought of like 5 challenges after she left.</p>
<p>^I had a similar response to “challenge” questions. And I have stuff I could’ve said too. Totally forgot to bring any of that stuff up.</p>
<p>Also, my stories aren’t as entertaining as some I’ve read (I love reading this thread), but…
Even though she’d described herself to me, I totally didn’t notice my Scripps interviewer, and she had to come up to me instead of vice versa. And then during the actual interview my mind went blank, and I kept saying “um…” and not coming up with any good responses. Probably blew my shot at merit scholarships right there.
My Hendrix interview went pretty well, but the interviewer handed me my acceptance and scholarship information during the interview, and beyond that point most of my attention was on the packet rather than the content of the interview.</p>
<p>During my MIT interview, while talking about my interest in the school, I couldn’t remember how to say “excited” in English and ended up saying the Spanish equivalent, *entusiasmado<a href=“I’m%20white”>/i</a>.
The interviewer spoke Spanish, but he was still like “what the heck…”</p>
<p>Had another interview today:P Was with an alumni for Hobart and William Smith Colleges. It wasn’t too bad…but I was 15 minutes late because I got lost in her neighborhood. When I walked in, I was bombarded by two ENORMOUS dogs and she apologized for their interference. I said it was fine, and that I have big dogs as well (though not that fat!).</p>
<p>Anyway, after sitting down and talking for a bit, one of her bunnies hopped up onto my lap, took my resume from my hands, and ran away with it, trying to bite it. hahah.</p>
<p>After she ran looking for my resume, she brought it back missing a chunk and crumbled up. She then asked a few easy questions and talked about the colleges. But after only 20 minutes, she kicked me out cause she had to pick her daughter up from school. As I was leaving, she said
“Oh, and nice choice of clothes btw. Good HWS spirit!”
(I was wearing a green shirt with accents of purple, not realizing it was the colors for William Smith).
me: “Aren’t green and purple the colors of William Smith? Not Hobart?”
(William Smith: all girls school. Hobart: all mens school)
interviewer: Yeah! Oh wait. . . .</p>
<p>“Anyway, after sitting down and talking for a bit, one of her bunnies hopped up onto my lap, took my resume from my hands, and ran away with it, trying to bite it. hahah.”</p>
<p>Funny. I have rabbits, but they aren’t that friendly with strangers. You must give off good energy. :)</p>