<p>Oh gosh this is halarious! I have to add to it.</p>
<p>During my interview at Franklin and Marshall, I ended up with an interviewer who was really jazzed up about the science programs and grants that the college just improved on… you have to understand, I’m one of those kids that’s not into math or science in most cases…</p>
<p>Interviewer: So, what is your favourite component of your favourite class?
Me: Well, I really am into writing. I’ve been told I’m a pretty good writer and–
Interviewer: Do you like writing about science???
Me: (probably making a face) not… particularly…?
Interviewer: Well, what classes are you taking??
Me: AP Lit/Comp, AP Euro, Chinese IV, Biotechnology—
Interviewer: Oh! Biotechnology? that’s quite the developing field! The equivalent here is BioChemistry! Let me tell you, we have wonderful professors in this department. I’m guessing you’re choosing to major in it???
Me: (losing patience) Not at all.
The rest of this interview went pretty awkwardly… especially when she had a Biochemistry professor stop in and talk to me about what I’m learning… He told me about how he would be excited to work on numerous aspects of the course with me, while i just smiled and nodded. I was honored by his interest, but goodness did that interview go badly.
Needless to say, the school fell from my top choice after that, as much as i loved everything else about it.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear the upshot (better than upchuck!) of this story and that you got in Brown regardless of the horrific situation you faced. Hope you’re happy as a Brown Bear.</p>
<p>I remembered another one…Wow, looking back, this was a very awkward interview…
We got to the part where she asked me if I wanted to know anything… I wanted to know how far it was from major cities… and I totally forgot the state it was in.</p>
<p>Her: So is there anything else you’d want to know about the college?
Me: Uh… yeah, how do you get from Mass-…Mich-…uh… Nnn-… oh boy… </p>
<p>She gracefully answered over my stammering, though, by I bet she had a nice laugh inside</p>
<p>Political interview moments - I decided to bring up the topic of Occupy Wall Street to talk about how political my school and the school newspaper is. Then I realized my interviewer was a stereotypical tea party Republican.</p>
<p>When S applied to a private HS, after he was done, the interviewer called me in to talk with me. He was puzzled by S’s apparent reticence and inability to specify what he read. </p>
<p>I explained that S had had a particularly rough time in middle school because the gifted & talented teacher decided on the 1st day of class that she didn’t like him because he asked questions she couldn’t answer (he knew a LOT about what she was trying to teach & he unintentially caught her making misstatements). She had him for both 7th & 8th grades & would totally ignore him & find fault in everything he did. That made him very wary of teachers. The interviewer’s brow lightened and he seemed very happy & relieved; he indicated that they have had other students who had that problem at other schools as well. </p>
<p>I then explained that probably the problem that S couldn’t explain what he read is because he read EVERYTHING in the house and library that he could get his hands on. He read the newspaper cover to cover from 2nd grade, read entire US Supreme Court decisions he was interested in, read books and H & I borrowed for our own pleasure, read the Wall Street Journal, read everything written by any author he liked–all of Tolkien & Rowling & others. Said it would be easier to ask what he DIDN’T read than what he did.</p>
<p>S was admitted to that HS & the other one he applied to. Apparently his interviewing skills have greatly improved, he’s gotten most things he’s interviewed for since. The interviewer turned out to be S’s favorite mentor from that HS! S took AP Physics B and C from him, loving it!</p>
<p>Georgetown Interview
I wore shorts and a short sleeved shirt which were all Georgetown spirited. The interviewer wore formal clothing. He had just graduated last semester so I was his 2nd interviewee, so he was pretty inexperienced. We met up at a local coffee shop which has two floors and is pretty large. I walk around for about 5 minutes. I passed him about 10 times when finally he called at me and was like “you must be _____” and I responded with “oh then you must be Daniel!”
Turns out his name was David and he had corrected me.
He then asked me about my classes I’m taking this year
I said “My AP’s are physics, gov/comp, lit/comp, calc bc, chem, and spanish while my elective is a writing class”
He says “wow I never took more than two AP classes in a year and you’re taking 6”
He then proceeds with “which class do you dislike the most”
I said Government. He just graduated with a major in Government… and I had to explain why I didn’t like it and the whole time he was trying to convince me with the pros of government</p>
<p>alisyn, thats funny! its good that she was understanding/nice about it :)</p>
<p>@collunivgue,
hahaha, i loved your post. about the informalness v formalness and calling him daniel =P</p>
<p>man, i love this thread</p>
<p>so i had my penn interview today, and the whole thing was going well UNTIL
this old lady came over and interrupted our interview. she was like “this young lady was being rude. i tried signaling her to be quiet but she blatantly ignored me. i was having an important conversation.”</p>
<p>wow…way to just destroy my whole entire interview by implying that i was a rude b*tch.
awwkwardd.
who has important conversations at coffee shops anyways?
oh well.</p>
<p>@alisyn
he was just like “we’re doing an interview right now. but i’m sorry.”
and she goes “thats okay. its not YOUR fault.” <em>death glare at me</em>.</p>
<p>hopefully that doesnt affect his impression of me.
we were at a coffee shop and they kept blending drinks so it was kind of loud…</p>
<p>good luck with your interview! what college?</p>
<p>I had an interview today at my top school. I thought it went fairly well, except for the following gem that occurred somewhat towards the beginning. My interviewer was very nice and I enjoyed this interview the most out of the ones I’ve had! But, er, next time, I think I should just spend a bit more time answering the actual question. At least I was completely honest? I’m thinking my interviewer was hoping for a bit different answer XD;</p>
<p>Interviewer: Where do you see yourself in twenty years?
Me: …
Interviewer: <em>expectant pause</em>
Me: …
Interviewer: <em>leans forward</em>
Me: ALASKA!
Interviewer: That’s a very interesting answer. Doing what?
Me: … working from a laptop and doing research, about wildlife and stuff! And hiking! Oh, and skiing! Because there’s snow you know, and mountains, and it’s perfect for all sorts of outdoor activities!</p>
<p>I was trying my best to think of something at least somewhat academic, but all I could think of was how much I wanted to go to Alaska and hike!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t know how to answer the how you see yourself in x years question… I have so many ways my life can turn out</p>
<p>@acha, with Princeton…
I doubt it’ll affect your interview… generally they’re not all that important. of course, if you’re a borderline applicant, it can tip the scales for you.</p>
<p>I had an interview with an oncologist and I blurted out nervously, my uncle has cancer! Worst part? My uncle works at the same hospital as the interviewer and had been trying to keep it a secret from his coworkers…I reaaaaaaally hope the interviewer doesn’t put two and two together!</p>
<p>Haha
So Le me having le interview with Harvard. So I got there in time at the office and waited patiently on the couch. Then my bottle of water spilled on the new couch all over my jeans. I had to clean up the water furtively with my jacket, my bum saturated with water.
So then my interviewer came and I went into the conference room. Good thing the chairs were made out of leather. I had a Cornell hat on. The sad thing is I’m not even applying to Cornell. I won the hat at a bet, and it was a darn nice hat (Nike Dry-fit) (Yes, I have a big penchant for hats) Oops.</p>
<p>Anyways, as we began discussing about hobbies, I explained that I like magic.
She wanted me to perform a trick using anything in the room.
The conference table was completely empty. No mugs, no coins, no nothing.
Awkward.</p>
<p>What I’ve learned is that I’m never leaving the room without a deck of cards.</p>
<p>So then we droned on about what I didn’t like about my school. I said it was too autocratic, where the administrative family controls everything, and just a few weeks ago, one of my friends was suspended for bring a bible to school.
Turns out she agrees with the suspension. </p>
<p>Ok. Then I talked about how Norway Prisons have a higher rehabilitation rate because of their treating prisoners with respect and dignity. It was not meant to be a political/economical discussion, but somehow she interpreted as I saying socialism is better than capitalism, and spewed out a fiery defense for capitalism.</p>
<p>Okay…</p>
<p>And then the interview was cut short 20 minutes in. Apparently she is busy to get back to work. Interestingly I told my mother to pick me up 1 hour later. So the rest of the time I led myself sitting on the streets like a hobo, waiting for my pants to dry.</p>
<p>i had an interview recently and we were having a great conversation and we started laughing at something i said. and we laughed for so long and we gave a huge sigh and there was an awkward silence of me just waiting for him to say something and vice versa
-_-</p>
<p>for a penn interview, she asked quite a few questions that deviated from standard… one of them was “what would you bring with you if you were stranded on a desert, besides the basic survival stuff”</p>
<p>me: “…um, my cat. because cats are, you know, desert animals”
her: -one eyebrow raises-
me: “and because, uh, he’s the cutest thing in the world”
her: -other eyebrow raises-</p>
<p>I would love to tell you about my Columbia interview, but it was actually an interrogation. She kept on asking me what my interests were, and every time I told her, she’d be like “what more?”. Then she asked me what was common amongst all my colleges, and when I answered, she said “Yes, but thats true for a lot of colleges.” I said I loved to read, but then the interviewer said that my choices for favorite books were written poorly, and said “I guess I could see how that book would be intriguing for someone your age.” We have the same name, but mine is unusual for my ethnicity, so at the end she asked me why I was named that. When I answered, she said the reason was WRONG. So . . yeah. At the end, she said good luck, and “I want to make sure you know that I don’t play a big role in the admissions processs.” </p>
<p>For Johns Hopkins, the interviewer asked me what movies I’d seen recently, and I completely blanked out. I might say something in a “Thank-you” email. He asked me to tell a joke at the end. I am not a funny person. I told a really corny chemistry joke, which he said was okay, and then said he was going to use it this weekend. So awkward though. And then I almost tripped leaving the room.</p>
<p>This weekend was such an awkward interview weekend. Oh, I forgot. The Columbia person asked me if I liked to go to the city, and what I liked to do there. I was so confused and said “I like to go places, and explore neighborhoods, and see new things, and things like that.” Her face was priceless.</p>
Not at all.
Hope you’re happy as a Brown Bear.</p>
The interviewer turned out to be S’s favorite mentor from that HS! S took AP Physics B and C from him, loving it!</p>