I just finished applying to numerous schools and I’m getting emails from alumni and such asking to do interviews. I am very overwhelmed and I’m wondering what the best way to approach this is. Do I need to have done a ton of research on the college, to convince them why I’m a good fit? if I really don’t know a ton about the college should I research more? How should I prepare? What should I expect? How much of an impact does the interview have on the final decision? How does the interview play into the application as a whole? and any other tips?
Hey! Alright so for interviews in general prepare what you’re going to say – basically every interviewer is going to ask:
“tell us about your family”
"what extracurriculars do you do (list a few but I suggest getting specific about 1-2 mine was usually “I love music, here’s how I’ve been involved in music since a young age blah blah blah”)
“what’s your hardest class/most significant class” (when they ask something that was hard for you ALWAYS say "oh _ was super hard BUT here’s how I overcame it/became a better person because of it)
What are you looking for in a college (don’t just start off with “well, I really want to go to this school.” Instead be like “I really want to go to a collaborative school with students with ____ qualities and a campus of ___ size, that offers a good program in ___. AND because I want all of this, I discovered that college would be an amazing fit for me” This will make it so your interviewer can describe all the ways that their school fits your criteria.
They’re going to ask a lot more questions like these but these are the basic ones that you need to know they’ll ask going into the interview.
Definitely research both the interviewer AND the school before the interview. Give yourself at least 30 min to research the school. It’s really nice to know that your interviewer played tennis in college if you play tennis too (it gives you a common interest to talk about)
Also don’t be scared if one of your interviews doesn’t go well; my Georgetown interviewer LOVED me and we talked for almost two hours and I was so relaxed. After a Yale interview, I was sweating and the guy and I didn’t really click.
At least know the basics of the school - don’t go into, say, a Yale interview without knowing what their residential college system is.
The interviews and their importance vary by school. Most schools, only negative results (“wow this kid is a weirdo, antisocial, talked about violent things”) will hurt your chances getting in. A neutral one (“this kid is OK but not so special”) doesn’t hurt or help (aside from like Ivies) and a glowing review will only help you so much (it doesn’t matter if your interviewer is getting your name tattooed on him, if you have a 2.0 and 23 act if you’re applying to Harvard, but if you’re on the edge of rejection/acceptance and you do an amazing interview, it can tip you toward acceptance)
Some interviewers get your application and others don’t, so make sure you try to highlight the most important parts.
A few comments:
– It is always good to have in mind a couple of reason why you particularly like the school and/or why you feel you are a good fit for the school. It also is smart to have a couple of questions prepared about the school that cannot be answered by looking at the website.
– If you have a resume it is good to bring it as it can be a helpful springboard for conversation.
–Some colleges have informational interviews which really don’t count in the admissions process and other colleges have evaluative interviews which can have an impact. You can usually find out by looking at the school website. In general alumni interviews don’t have a huge impact on admissions decisions since the alumni interviews are volunteers and not trained admission professionals.
–You can also google the common data set for each college to see how important interviews are.
–Try to google something like “typical college interview questions” to get ideas of things that are often asked.
–Mostly the interviews are conversations, nobody is trying to trip you up. Be yourself and you will be fine.
Good tips above. Remember that it’s a two-way conversation. Feel free to ask questions about that school that are still lingering in your mind. Finally, you may want to schedule interviews first with your lower priority schools so that you have some practice doing it when you meet with your high priority schools.
