<p>Hi guys, this is just a few of my tips that should help some of you guys when you interview at schools (this is coming from an applicant by the way).</p>
<p>1.Don't be practice(to much)
Some parents will literally run through with their child an exact answer to give to each question example:
Q: What is your favorite book
A:Huckleberry Finn (not bashing mark twain or anything)
AOs can easily tell when a child is being fake and has rehearsed. The purpose of an interview is to get to know you as an applicant. AOs at top schools interview thousands of kids and know when a kid is really bright or weather they aren't special. When you interview AO's ask you questions to make sure you are a good fit for their school (like they don't want a kid with C's on their report card at Andover) so, let them see if you will fit in well, don't you want to enjoy your school?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Don't be robotic in your conversation
Try not to sound monotone. One way to get the AO interested in you is to have an interesting conversation. Kids that sound monotone could be kids that have parents forcing them to apply. Try to sound excited when you interview, smile also.</p></li>
<li><p>Do your homework!
This one is very important. When you are going to interview it will definitely be in your interest to go on the school's website and learn about the school. Come prepared with a list of questions for your interviewer and make them intelligent and not something that can be answered on the website like: how many classes do you guys have a day. Admission Officers like if you show that you have done research since it shows that you are interested in their school. It also helps to be in the know before you get to campus since you might be able to meet with coaches or directors of departments that can support you in the admissions process. You also can ask your tour guide to show you a specific part of campus that you may want to see that otherwise wouldn't be included in the tour.</p></li>
<li><p>Eye Contact!
My younger brother falls victim to this problem. By not making good eye contact and looking anywhere other than your interviewer can really annoy someone. Even though you don't mean it, the AO feels like they are talking to a wall or you know when you talk to a friend and they are staring at their phone and going "uh huh, wait what did you say?".</p></li>
<li><p>Come prepared to do business
First impressions are golden. I do believe the saying you only get to make a first impression once. Arrive on time to your tour. Another thing is respect the school's dress code (this problem can be avoided by doing your homework!). Make sure you take a shower in the morning and wash up, do your hair and make-up (if you are a girl) and look professional.</p></li>
<li><p>Have fun!
Your interview is meant to help you learn if you will be a good fit for the school. On your tour you will be able to see the buildings were your future classes will be held and were you will be eating dinner. You really do get a good sense of how the school runs and feels when you tour. </p></li>
<li><p>Thank you notes
This one is self-explanatory. It really will brighten an AO's day when you send them a short e-mail showing your thanks. These also help AO's remember your name when decisions are made.</p></li>
<li><p>Some food for thought
While I said not to practice to make your interview robotic these are some common questions people ask you. You shouldn't memorize what the perfect answer to say or anything is, like I mentioned before but these questions should help you be more comfortable when you sit down with the AO:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Tell me about yourself?
Tell me about your school?
What are your grades?
What are your hobbies?
What is your favorite subject in school?
Why do you like that subject?
What do you look for in a school?
Is their anything you might want to try at our school?
Why do you want to come to _______ school?
What was your favorite part of the tour?
How do you feel about going to Boarding School?
Why boarding school?
Are you applying to other schools?
^ **** important, tell the truth on that one</p>
<p>I hope that this post will help some of you guys with your interviews. Definitely PM me if you have questions or comment here. Also if anyone else has tips that they would like to contribute feel free to comment them on this thread. Good luck guys and hope everyone is successful come M10!</p>
<p>Excellent tips! I’ve also posted threads in the parents and cafe sections for anyone who would like to ask me any questions. I am an alumni admissions interviewer at Andover for applicants who can’t make it up to campus. If anyone wants to know what qualities boarding schools look for during the interview process, please feel free to ask me in those threads!</p>
<p>I have some questions:
-What are definite No’s in any interview
-What if I get a super stoic interviewer? How do I make conversation then?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Some definite NO’s: 1) Chukkerhead made a good point. No cell phones! Make sure that you have turned your phone off so it doesn’t ring, and if you have questions write them on a note card or piece of paper rather than referring to your phone.</p>
<p>2) No gum chewing. Perhaps this is just one of my own pet peeves, but it looks slovenly and disrespectful.</p>
<p>3) Don’t be negative about yourself. I once interviewed an applicant who told me, “I probably won’t get in, but…” Remember, you’re trying to sell yourself, so treat it like a job interview.</p>
<p>4) If the school is not your first choice, don’t tell the interviewer that. Make it seem like every school you are interviewing with is your absolute favorite.</p>
<p>5) Don’t answer questions with a simple one-word “yes” or “no.” Be sure to elaborate (yes, because…). The interviewer doesn’t want to have to pry the answers from you.</p>
<p>If you have a stoic or stuffy interviewer, don’t get nervous. Perhaps it’s just their style. Be yourself and realize that they may just be concentrating on your answers. Be animated and take control; perhaps this will loosen them up a bit. Basically, follow the suggestion in #5.</p>
<p>I hope this helps. Good luck with your interviews!</p>
<p>And one more thing: Don’t say to your interviewer: “How many students from here go to Harvard” or something similar. It will appear that you are applying for the wrong reasons.</p>
<p>Also, tour guides actually do have some say in whether or not you get in, believe it or not.
After a tour the tour guides will fill out a short questionnaire on whether or not you and your parents seemed interested, what you asked most about, and whether or not they want you to join the school. So don’t be rude to your tour guides and make sure to ask questions!</p>
<p>Hello, I agree with most answers on this thread. However, as a Tour Guide at PEA we aren’t required to fill out any kind of form. On top of that-- most of us are just as scared giving the tour as you are taking it. Just be nice to the Tour Guide. I like to see kids asking questions more than the parents-- even if they’re kinda bland/easy to answer.
We do have the option of talking to an AO if we really feel strongly about someone (good or bad). After ten tours or so I have never done this.
Feel free to PM me with any further questions about touring (or Exeter in general).</p>
<p>I had recently interviewed at Andover. It was really strange - the interviewer asked many irrelevant questions. When he spoke to my mom, he didn’t ask her any questions, only told her A LOT about how extremely extremely difficult it is to get into the school. Do you think this is good or bad? My mom said he loved me but I don’t know.</p>
<p>@Triangles, I don’t think you want to hear this but I think the AO was trying to hint to you that he/she wasn’t going to push for you or that they think poorly about you. AO’s subtly drop hints on whether they will support you or maybe if the school isn’t the right place for you.</p>
<p>really? My mom said he would definitely put in a good word about me… interviewer said I would be a great fit if it weren’t for minorities/legacies/asians (NOT to go against anyone, its the truth.)</p>
<p>@hyperbola:
At lville, first the kid will interview than the interviewer will ask if the parents have questions and talk about other stuff I dont know.</p>
<p>Well then, he probably will put in a good word for you. Also, ask your parents. My dad could usually tell if an interviewer/coach liked me and weather they were saying that as a courtesy or being sincere.</p>
I have a hard time believing an Andover AO interviewing u on the Andover campus would say to any family " if it weren’t for minorities/legacies/asians". Am I reading your posts correctly?</p>
<p>GMT- those weren’t his exact words but you get what he meant. He said they would accept kids like me if they didn’t need a certain percent of minorities, or accept the kids who come from big name families. Things like that. He said I should cast a wider net, and basically I’ll do well wherever.</p>
<p>@triangles: GMT (and many others) are still reacting quite incredulously even to your re-wording in post #16 which is still somewhat offensive. It would NOT be hard to believe that an AO would say something to the effect that there are too few slots for all of the qualified applicants when the school has so many needs to satisfy when building the diverse, well-rounded community it seeks. But it IS offensive to misinterpret a general remark like that to mean that you personally are being discriminated against–they’d love to have you, but your last name isn’t Gates.</p>
<p>As cameo pointed out, it seems the main take-away from the comment (however it was actually worded) is that the AO was gently nudging you toward another school and kindly indicating that you should pursue others on your (hopefully long) list.</p>