Harvard Interview is a JOKE!

Applying to College
21

<p>I was at the first GPPA interview, and all these kids had these little black portfolios with them (they were cramming some 'GPPA essential notes' before their interview) .. I thought it was very... interesting..</p>

<p>I, on the other hand, brought my homework because I was gonna be there for the next 4 hours.. and a book to read.. I ended up just distracting the other interviewers by striking a conversation..</p>

<p>So I guess my point is.. I didn't prepare for any of my interviews, INCLUDING HARVARD's ... I couldn't even remember what I had written on my interview sheet.. but it was a nice and casual conversation.. I liked that a lot.. even if I didn't 'impress' my interviewer, eh, oh well. i had fun chit chatting, and that's who i am.. no need to prep myself and become the mechanical image of what i believe the interviewer wants to see..</p>

22

<p>I didn't prepare for the interview, either. After phoning the interviewer he told me we'll have the interview the next day, so it all unfolded pretty fast. I don't know how effective the interview was - and as you can see from my location, I honestly do not care very much right now, but I really had a good time and I honestly wish I had another 90 minutes in the interview because I really enjoyed the conversation.
If there is one thing that I've learned from this whole admission process is that being yourself pays off and not only when it comes to admissions. I would rather act like an imperfect human being, admitting that I did not finish those last 200 pages of War and Peace, simply because I found other subjects more interesting, and that I should not behave like a mr.-know-it-all robot.</p>

23

<p>The only prep I'd suggest for the Harvard interview, is the prep that one should already have done if one made a careful application: One should have taken the time to research Harvard to learn whether it seems like a good fit for you in terms of your personal and academic goals. Otherwise, prep is useless.</p>

<p>There shouldn't be any need to rehearse answers any more than there's a need to rehearse answers when, for instance, meeting with friends or friends' parents. The interviewer isn't out to get you. The interviewer is there to learn about you. </p>

<p>The only people who have to rehearse answers are those who used the application to portray a false impression of themselves. </p>

<p>Up until recently, it had been delightful for me to interview most Harvard applicants. That's because whether or not the students were likely to get in, they were interesting, nice people who were eager, even happy to have a conversation about themselves and their interests.</p>

<p>I keep seeing, though, more and more applicants who seem programmed. They speak without emotion or warmth, seem like they are just trying to make sure that they get out the "right"answer that they seem to have memorized under the tuteledge of a college consultant. They don't act as if they are relating to another human being, but to a step on the rung of the ladder to success.</p>

<p>My thoughts are that they probably have been living their life for years by doing things that they thought would impress Harvard instead of doing the things that they truly are interested in. When asked about their activities, they spit out a list as if the length and titles of their positions are what's impresssive, not what the human aspects of what they experienced -- friendships, personal growth, feeling that they made a difference in an organization.</p>

<p>I have heard alumni interviewers from across the country make similar complaints.</p>

<p>IMO it is far better to approach the interview as did the posters in posts 21, 22 -- and to let the interviewer see and connect with the real you -- than to present a false image. Showing the real you will probably result in a pleasant experience in which one feels that one connected with and was respected by another human being -- whether or not one is accepted (and no matter who you are, the odds always are long that you will be accepted). Showing a false you IMO would result in a much more painful experience.</p>

<p>I imagine that people who have twisted themselves into what they think is the person Harvard wants feel devastated when either they are admitted (and then wonder if the real them would have been admitted ) or are rejected and wonder if all of the false front building was for naught.</p>

24

<p>"I imagine that people who have twisted themselves into what they think is the person Harvard wants feel devastated when either they are admitted (and then wonder if the real them would have been admitted ) or are rejected and wonder if all of the false front building was for naught."</p>

<p>I don't think you can say it any better Northstarmom.</p>

<p>I'll be happy wherever I end up at college - that's my nature. Why be all despondent just because you didn't get into some prestigious college when you can have success anywhere you go. I can be happy in any situation because it's what I make of it. Too often I see here at CC is what you have described - people just adding a million things to their ECs and all this stuff, but it doesn't really mean anything. And more often then not, if those types of people make it to Harvard, it's a whole superiority/inferiority complex, and I don't play that game.</p>

<p>Anyways, less than 3 weeks until decisions, yahoo!</p>