<p>My child will have his first on campus interview in a few days and he is quite nervous.</p>
<p>How was your childs first interview?</p>
<p>Was it intimidating? Was it friendly? </p>
<p>Are there differences between alumni interview and on campus interview?</p>
<p>I think the vibe at the interview can depend on the individual college and individual interviewer, but all of my son’s were relaxed and friendly. His first one (Goucher) didn’t go that well - she didn’t seem to be in love with him, but to be honest, he hadn’t like the school at all on the tour (I thought it was cool), and so he probably wasn’t very energetic at the interview. Another (George Washington) didn’t go very well, although he was accepted with a scholarship. He scheduled an interview with a rep who was in our city for high school visits. The rep didn’t drive the conversation, and neither did my son. It was short and actually concluded with the guy asking my son why he had requested an interview. I don’t know what he said, but the real answer was “because my mom read somewhere that GWU likes applicants to interview so I thought I should.” All others (Clark, Beloit, U of Rochester) were friendly and conversational, and he actually enjoyed them.</p>
<p>They were both intimidating and friendly! It’s hard for a kid not to be intimidated. Just remind your son that the interview (again, I don’t have any experience with Ivies) is all about them seeing if the student has some life energy! Shake hands, eye contact, body language, be able to have a conversation, seem interested and/or excited about something, have some questions. </p>
<p>Prep - have answers to “what do you like to do for fun” or “what do you do in your spare time”. Have in mind the 3 or 4 things you hope come up in conversation so that you can easily mention them when a good opening comes up. Also, have some questions in mind - things that can’t be found easily on the website. </p>
<p>Search out this thread: Favourite Awkward Interview Moments (I don’t know how to link it). I actually cut and pasted my favorites into a word doc and printed it out. When we were road-tripping to the East Coast for his first interview, I had that in the car and read some out loud while he drove. It had us both cracking up! I think it helped ease the tension and put it all in perspective. “OK, so as long as I don’t run over the guy’s dog, I’m doing OK”</p>
<p>Good luck! My son was nervous about interviews and they ended up not being bad at all. The interviewers are generally very friendly and adept at helping the conversation along.</p>
<p>Most interviews on campus, with experienced interviewers (as opposed to alums and students), were very unstressful, even those that were evaluative. Admissions staff are professionals and they are adept at putting kids at ease. There are usually a few easy questions up front for starters. Interviews with alums and students were a mixed bag, depending on how skillful they were and whether they ‘clicked’ or not. No horror stories-for that, check out the thread mentioned above, Favorite Awkward Interview Moments-but some were easier than others.</p>
<p>The best thing to do is prepare:</p>
<p>1) Know the school, read the web-site, and don’t ask questions that you could have answered if you had done any prep. (Don’t, as one friend’s daughter did, explain that you are committed to majoring in a subject they don’t offer.) Do notice things you really like about the school and the area which you can mention in the interview. People associated with a given school want you to feel good about the place because it validates their own decision.</p>
<p>2) Know your talking points. As stated above, review some lists of common interview questions and think about how you would answer them. Think of the points you want to make sure you get across as some point in the interview.</p>
<p>3) Show some interest in your interviewer. If the are students or alums, ask what they liked the most about the school, what was most memorable for them, what they studied, what you shouldn’t miss if you attend.</p>
<p>The term “interview” is rather misleading. This is not at all like a job interview. These are information-gathering sessions for the prospective applicant. They are most often conducted by undergraduates who are part-time employees in the admissions office. In most cases, they will have no impact on your child’s admission.</p>
<p>My advice is relax, have a few questions ready, let the conversation flow.</p>
<p>“They are most often conducted by undergraduates who are part-time employees in the admissions office.”</p>
<p>Really? I thought that on campus interviews are done by regional officers.</p>
<p>Depends on the school. All the college interviews I had were perfectly non-stressful: they mostly want to know why you want to attend the school, what are your areas of interest, both academic and extraccuricular-wise, and perhaps to get to know who you are as a person. Make sure to also prepare a few questions to ask the interviewer at the end.</p>
<p>An useful thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/246098-thread-college-interviews.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/246098-thread-college-interviews.html</a></p>
<p>Good luck to him!</p>
<p>I do on-campus admissions interviews for my alma mater and in this case, yes, they do count. Due to the competition for admission, schools are interested in knowing as much as possible about each applicant. Interviews provide what could be the only personal contact the school will have with prospective students, and in some cases, could provide the insight to make a difficult decision to admit/deny. Not having an interview won’t adversely affect your child’s admission but arriving unprepared to seek answers not found on the school’s website could.</p>
<p>When I lived elsewhere and did off-campus interviews, I recall one student who probably looked very good on paper (we are not privy to applicants’ credentials) and was a legacy, but arrived for the interview dressed in worn jeans and immediately announced that she wasn’t interested in attending the school but was applying only on account of her mother. We immediately switched into a conversation about her interests and I recommended that the school not admit her. By doing so, it was better to offer that slot to someone who really wanted it.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>My daughter had two alumni interviews because we live at some distance from the colleges to which she applied. Her top choice college has a 15-17% acceptance rate. In reading about alumni interviews, we had learned that they carry weight. They typically can’t sink you, but they can help you. My daughter prepared by having a friend of the family do a mock interview with her with questions from one of the books about getting into college. The interviews went very well. My daughter made the case for why she wanted to attend each college. Her basic attitude was: this person can be my advocate with the admissions office so I want to do whatever I can to give him data that will enable him to be my advocate. She did get accepted at both colleges.</p>
<p>DD worked in the undergrad admissions office at her school for four years. Interviews were NEVER done by current students. They were either done by adcoms or by alums (if off campus) or by regional reps. </p>
<p>DD and DS had interviews at combined…hmmm 12 schools or so. NEVER done by a current student. </p>
<p>I’d be very interested in knowing which colleges use undergrads to INTERVIEW students. Undergrads often staff the admissions office and run tours…but interviews? Please…do tell where this is a job for current undergrads.</p>
<p>Agreed with others. The college interview is usally a nice conversation between the student and the person from the school…time to ask questions and get answers on both sides.</p>
<p>Vassar I believe has undergrads doing interviews, but they make it clear that their interviews carry no weight whatsover. They are purely informational and not evaluative at all. (My son didn’t bother to interview there.)</p>