I have submitted a regular decision application to Hamilton and they recently sent me an e-mail saying that I could still schedule an interview if I wanted to. I really want to schedule an interview because Hamilton is one of my top choices and I would want to demonstrate my interest, but I am an international student and will have to schedule a skype interview. Although I am usually confident about face-to-face interviews, the fact that this will be via skype is making me a bit nervous.
Will not scheduling an interview hurt my chances? And even if I end up scheduling one, what kind of questions do they ask? Thanks in advance
You should schedule an interview and be relaxed, be yourself (I know, maybe easier said than done). Be prepared to talk about why you are interested in Hamilton, what are your favorite things to do in school (as far as academics go) and outside of school. Hamilton feels that the interview is important, and if they have sent you an email offering you the chance to interview, you should take that as a strong hint.
Your interview will likely be with a senior intern (since apps are now in and adcom’s are running like chickens with heads cut off), so don’t sweat it too much. My interview in person was pretty textbook, all of the standard interview questions that I found by googling.
Also, Hammy also has the interview marked as important on the CDS, I suspect this has to do with the fact that a large population of their applicant pool overlaps with other SLAC’s and they have a lower enrollment % than some other NESCAQ’s (They are at 22% percent for the RD pool), for comparison Midd is around 50% and Williams is around 45%.
I think the interview is a weed out the people without genuine interest so that they don’t deflate their enrollment % too much.
“they have a lower enrollment % than some other NESCACs”
Hamilton’s overall yield is pretty high for colleges of its type and about average for NESCAC at 35%.
“for comparison [of regular decision yields] Midd is around 50%”
Middlebury’s regular decision yield was most recently no higher than 27%. (Their RD II figures were not readily accessible and would typically result in a lowering of this figure.)
“I think the interview is [to] weed out the people without genuine interest so that they don’t deflate their enrollment % too much.”
When I did my interview with Hamilton, they had me fill out an information sheet and try to match me up with someone based on the interests in that information sheet. During the interview the guy tended to ask me about stuff that he read on the sheet. I don’t know if it is the same thing for skype interviews, but do pay attention to what you fill out. During the interview, he surprised me a little by asking me about some of the activities I was less involved in (ex: track and Model UN) so the conversation wasn’t as fluid as I would have liked. But for the most part the conversation is pretty casual and they want to get to know you
