<p>Hi,
My son just finished 10th. He will be graduating as a junior next year. He has an interview scheduled for Rice University in the summer . What should he expect?</p>
<p>He is graduating early as the school does not have anything more to offer. In math he will be taking calc 2 & organic chemistry (highest offered) next year, finished Bio 2 (highest offered), finished physics I (highest offered), finished French IV. He has or will be completing rest of the required courses next year.</p>
<p>Just expect a casual conversation. He needs to know (for himself), “why Rice?”, but it probably won’t be asked specifically, but it will guide his answers.</p>
<p>Will he be interviewing on campus or with an alum? Either way, there isn’t any great advice as they are individuals with their own set of questions they like to ask. </p>
<p>Your son should of course be prepared with his own set of questions (that can’t be found easily on the internet). </p>
<p>They may talk to him about his last year (the one upcoming) course load. What is he taking and possibly why isn’t he taking more? What has he done outside of the 4 walls of school to enhance his education/interests?</p>
<p>For the most part, the interview process is pretty similar school to school. I think Rice might be more laid back, as that is the flavor of the school.</p>
<p>Something that was asked during my interview that stumped me was, “how do you stay politically aware?”</p>
<p>I don’t know about your son but for many teenagers, this is a hard question as we are so focused on our own lives that we don’t think we have time to sit down and edify ourselves on national and global happenings.</p>
<p>I am an alumni interviewer for Rice and have conducted these things ever since I graduated a few years ago. As one of the posters mentioned, the questions asked depends on whether it’s an on-campus or off-campus interview.</p>
<p>In an off-campus interview, the interviewer will not have previously seen your son’s file or resume, and so we come in with a blank slate trying to see if the interviewee is passionate about something, and their breadth of experiences. Rice kids are generally very motivated, driven, and goal-oriented, and so I generally liked to see people who had a sense of what general things excited them (I didn’t care if people were undecided in their field of study, just that they had things that they liked doing a lot - whether inside the classroom or outside, and that they showed some sort of continuity and drive in pursuing a general area of interest).</p>
<p>The conversation tends to be very casual. I once had a lengthy conversation with someone about their love of reading and the kinds of books that she’d read, and there happened to be a few that we’d both read and we discussed those a bit in detail because I myself like to read.</p>
<p>I just did an interview at rice (prospective student here) and it was pretty straightforward. They just asked a few questions about yourself, and things like what you do and what you want to do in college. I am interested in sport management and my interviewer and I kind of BS’d for a bit about the Rockets and some other stuff.
I think it was pretty casual.
BTW I showed up in boat shoes, khakis, and a polo (nothing fancy at all), and I think that was plenty</p>
<p>Hey, Biker650! I interviewed last summer as a rising senior (and am now enrolled to attend Rice next fall). Mine may differ from the norm, seeing as I met with an actual admissions counselor, but my interview was fairly business-like. My interviewer was friendly, but he was clearly very professional.</p>
<p>Tell your son to definitely be ready to answer “Why Rice?” and to have a handful of questions to dish back to his interviewer. He should also know ahead of time exactly what he wants to say about his extra-curriculars. Almost my entire interview was about my outside activities and how I could contribute Rice in those ways. </p>
<p>I highly recommend bringing a copy of your résumé to give to your interviewer; that’s what I did, and I think it saved me from a lot of the awkward introductory questions. It also helped me engineer the interview in a way that was conducive to me. I hope that helps! Good luck to your son!</p>