<p>I have applied ED with college A and got deferred. I have also applied RD with College B, C & D. Now I am going to have an interview with College B,....</p>
<p>How to answer these interview questions? </p>
<p>1) What other colleges did you apply to?
(Tell the truth? College C & D, how about college A? Semi-truth? Whatever sounds best?)</p>
<p>2) Is College B your first choice?
(How to answer as College B is my second choice or if it has become my first choice right now, then what is the best answer? as it relates to the third question)</p>
<p>3) Did you apply anywhere early?
(tell the truth? yes, college A. How to explain that one? Or should you say: no, I didn't apply early!)</p>
<p>4) If College B is your first choice, why didn't you apply early?
(Can I use financial excuse, but it only works if you didn't go early anywhere else. But what if you did? No interviewer likes their college to be the second best.)</p>
<p>To ease your mind, you probably will not be asked any of these questions. The interview is a way for the school (via the interviewer) to get to know you better as a person. You'll be asked more personal and personable questions, e.g., what are you looking to get out of college, is there any particular activity about which you are passionate and elaboration on that response, etc. This is the opportunity for you to "sell" yourself, whether this school is your first choice or not (because it could very well turn out to be your only choice). It's also a chance for you to ask grittier questions than the usual "What's the most popular department?" Be prepared to ask some thoughtful questions about the school or even what the interviewer thinks about the school (and why s/he works there).</p>
<p>I am an alumni interviewer for my college and I have never asked any of those four questions of any applicant I have interviewed. Little Mother is right, these are needless worries.</p>
<p>not trying to be argumentative, but i disagree with parts of the previous poster's answer. however the answer can vary depending on the schools to which you are applying. with the ivies it is definitely possible if not likely they will ask what other schools you applied to and why you didnt apply to their school early. i personally dont think answering any of those questions truthfully (in your case) will hurt the chance of admission. for the most part the interview is meant to see that you are truly interested in the college and to answer any remaining questions you might still have.</p>
<p>in the end be truthful, because you'd much rather them find out from your mouth rather than somewhere else.</p>
<p>thanks for your replies. All the college A,B,C,D I'm applying are Ivy leagues, and some of these colleges' interview are said to be evaluative, not for informational purpose. So I guess the questions would in some cases be somewhat tricky or at least to be logically or consistent in the answers. Please give your advises.</p>
<p>If you are applying for financial aid of any kind, your answers to all four are really simple:</p>
<p>"I don't have the luxury of a first choice, as my family and I have to make sure we can afford it before I can make ANY choice. But your school has so many wonderful things about it - I love the <em>, and the _</em><em>, and I think I would do really well in _</em><strong><em>'s environment because I </em></strong>__. I just hope I get the opportunity to choose."</p>
<p>recycle my s had Ivy interviews last year and was asked about where else he was applying by two of them. He answered truthfully but if it came up again I would likely have encouraged him to avoid answering the question.</p>
<p>Ditto for us. D's Columbia interviewer asked her where she was applying. They are known to try to manage the losses to other Ivies from their applicant pool. They waitlisted her.</p>
<p>Thanks all. Mini, what you meant is I don't have the luxury for applying early due to I could make choice in term of financial aid in RD round among the colleges I applied. But if there is any way for the college B to find out that I am an early applicant for College A?</p>
<p>I am still confusing about telling the truth that A is my ED choice or just say I applied no college in ED round? I love College B and desperately to get in, & further the chance for deferred student to get in college A is slim. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>They are VERY unlikely to ask you if you applied anywhere in the ED round. And at this point, if you are applying for financial aid, the statement I suggested could be true (I am not saying it is, but it could be.) </p>
<p>Factually, B only finds out about A if you get in. And at this point it doesn't matter, because if you were deferred, then the colleges are going "head-to-head". Just make sure you have plenty of good reasons to attend B, C, D, etc. (you should, anyway.)</p>
<p>What I'm interested is what E is. I hope you like it a lot. Things happen, and sometimes they don't go as planned.</p>
<p>"I love College B and desperately to get in"</p>
<p>IMO, first of all you must not lie. Besides that being wrong IMO, I think it is very dangerous. If you are caught in a lie, you are dead at College B. Further, a perceptive interviewer will observe any degree of discomfort or nervousness in you and will draw negative conclusions from that.</p>
<p>You don't have to answer every question fully and completely, but IMO you must not tell an outright falsehood.</p>
<p>Here are possible answers to consider. I encourage anyone who perceives problems with my suggestions to say so!</p>
<p>What other colleges did you apply to? "A number of competitive colleges plus two safeties." The interviewer must already realize that you are applying to other competitive schools--and you should be applying to safeties!</p>
<p>Is College B your first choice? "I love College B (because of _________) and I desperately want to get in." This is the perhaps your most important statement of the interview.</p>
<p>Did you apply anywhere early? This question is too painful to ask, because obviously the answer can't be a happy "yes" since then you wouldn't be interviewing. </p>
<p>Why didn't you apply early to B? "I wish I had." (<strong>smiles</strong>) Then revert back to why you love B.</p>
<p>Thanks aDad, great answers!
What if the question " did you apply early elsewhere"
My answer is "A"
then another question "if both A & B give you offers, what is your choice?"
My answer, "B" (can I say A, no one like to be inferior? right?)
another question, "then why didn't you apply B early?"
So....what is my response?</p>
<p>"I just can't answer that right now. I would have to look at finances, talk with my parents, and just think before making such an important decision." </p>
<p>(and don't be tempted to say that you are "leaning" one way or another either--you just can't honestly say what you would do in a hypothetical situation that is months away). </p>
<p>My son wanted to go to College X since he was in maybe 8th grade. Seriously. But when push came to shove last May, he decided that College Y would be better. It was a painful decision, but he is very happy at Y, and he appears to have made the right choice. </p>
<p>You cannot KNOW what you will want or will do in April. So don't be drawn into speculating about it. Just keep emphasizing how much you love B, and why. Especially the "why".</p>
<p>One reason interviewers might ask what colleges, or kinds of colleges, you are applying to is to get a feel for whether or not you are focused on their particular type of school. If I were interviewing for a LAC and the student said they were applying to mostly large universities, I would wonder 1) if the student had a clear idea of what kind of college they wanted, and 2) if my LAC was really a fit for them.</p>
<p>My S was asked by his Penn interviewer what other schools. He truthfully replied Duke. Didn't mention any others -- don't know if it was intentional, or just got side-tracked before he could mention others. Interviewer had gone undergrad Penn and grad Duke, and considered this answer a plus! He got in (and graduated last year from) Penn. (And was waitlisted, btw, by Duke.)</p>
<p>For one of my interviews, I got asked what colleges and gave a very general "Oh, mostly East Coast liberal arts schools" kind of answer. When my interviewer pressed me for names (which I felt was rude) I mentioned a couple, but by no means gave the full list. I don't think they should be allowed to ask that question.</p>
<p>I could almost never resist asking in interviews--I felt it gave me another perspective on the candidate. Is she applying to other schools like us, or are we a unique choice? What is she looking for in a school? What is she going to want to know more about as she tries to compare schools? If she's applied to 10 liberal arts colleges, she doesn't need to hear about small classes and undergraduate focus. If she's applied to all woman's colleges, she doesn't need to hear about single-sex advantages. And so on. Granted, this was for an interview that was more two-way--I learn about her, she learns about us.</p>
<p>It is very off-putting to have someone go all cagey on you when it comes to talking about where they're looking. If you feel uncomfortable answering and intend to give no information, at least rehearse your answer so it's smooth. If a student stammers, can't meet my eye, and looks like she wants to bolt for the door after I ask that question, I would conclude we're pretty low down on her list and she can't bear to tell me. But if she smiled and said "I'm keeping that close to the vest" in a nice way, I'd admire her poise.</p>
<p>I'm for as much candor as you are comfortable with. I think the diplomatic responses people have suggested already are great. As an interviewer, I would find it entirely credible to hear something along the lines of "I had a first choice, and I applied there ED. I didn't get in, and as you can imagine I'm really re-evaluating things now. I had thought it was a perfect fit, but apparently they didn't agree. That was disappointing, but now it's kind of exciting to broaden my horizons and learn more about other schools..."</p>