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?
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.
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.
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?".
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.
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.
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.
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:
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
In the car on the way to the interview, we always reread a school’s mission statement, and noted what special qualities they were looking for in candidates as well as any special programs offered that were a good fit for our daughter. It helped her to connect the school and its programs to her interests in the interview (and the schools start to blend together; you don’t want to be asking about the sailing program at a school that doesn’t offer sailing). We never discussed specific answers though. Every school asked “Why us?”
Schools accept shy kids, and bold kids, and everything in between. They will accept you for you so don’t be afraid to be yourself. Stand up when the AO approaches, shake hands, and introduce yourself. Also - the TOUR GUIDES WILL OFTEN BE GIVING REPORTS TO THE AOs. Don’t do all the talking for your child on the tour if you are the parent, and try not to just bump along without saying anything if you are the applicant. Tour guides and AOs should be thanked both at the conclusion of the interview and via email or snail mail after the interview. The bulk of the conversation and any future contact with the school should be between the applicant and the interviewer - not the parent.
If after you file your application, your grades significantly improve or your test scores go up, or you win a major prize etc. it is a good idea to email your interviewer an update (within reason). It is another chance to show interest before decisions are released. If a school is your first choice, some families will put this in a letter as well. The schools like to know that if they accept you, you will likely attend. It is very bad form, obviously, to tell this to more than one school. If you are unsure, you can always write something like “XYZ is one of my top choices.”
But if my D has 10% chance of acceptance at each of 1st and 2nd choice school, then “second choice” means 90% of getting my D for the school if it accepts her. On the flip side, my D will gladly take a 90% chance.
I think it’s crass and rather arrogant to tell boarding schools where they “rank” on your precious list when your student may not be even close to number one on their’s, but they are polite enough not to mention that to you. If you really feel there is some benefit to a school knowing that it is truly number one on your list, oh go ahead, but telling any other school that they are not number one is just plain foolishness. All schools should be treated as number one until you’re in a position to actually have choices. THEN, you can rank. You might be surprised how many number ones fall behind or even off the list after revisit days. How will you feel then?
@ChoatieMom, thanks for advise. The 2nd choice idea was supposed to be a joke went too far. D is planning to tell the 1st choice school only, and treat the rest equally as serious. Because the rest of schools really look equally good and amazing, both well known and not so schools alike. D would be very happy at any of them.
Her reason for the specific 1st choice is based on careful research and logic, support for her uncommon sport and developing interest in a specific science field, which an AO successfully sold to her on their offsite interview. We are going to visit the school for tour only in January hoping to increase her chance. Perhaps she can assure them that it’s her first choice then since they could question the “fit”. I doubt that it will fall behind in her list after the visit. Neither I nor D tend to make important choices based on gut feeling of one visit.
I am now realizing that she will somewhat stand out even among Asian girls as few bs freshmen will come with 60+ college credits and exhibits on national juried shows for adults. But how can she connect the unique qualification with the school’s interest and sell herself for the FA money still remain as our concern.
Make sure parents are prepared for their interviews too. Most parents don’t realize they are being interviewed as well. They want to know that you will support your child during the BS process, and don’t want parents who seem overbearing or helicopter-ish.
Definitely send a thank you note to everyone who you interviewed with. Shows that you are polite and well mannered. Use proper english and punctuation. Address everyone with their proper titles (Dr. Mrs etc)
Call the admissions office after your interview and ask to speak to a student about a specific aspect of the school (sports team, academic interest, etc). You’ll get a real sense of what the school is like. Ask them what they do for fun, ask what the best delivery restaurants in the area are. Understanding how students live at boarding school will get a better glimpse of how you would fit in.
Keep in touch with your admissions officer. They will be the one fighting for you. The better they know you, the more likely they will try hard to get you in during committee deliberations.
I’m just slightly skeptical of some of the advice posted here.
For example, I don’t believe it’s critical for an applicant or a parent to go in with “canned” questions, as I suspect they sound just as contrived and rehearsed as a canned answer does. Of course, the interviewer will always ask if you have any questions, but I don’t think it’s an issue if you don’t. When asked, we simply reply that our family has been through this process several times now, and we know more or less how it works–hence, we don’t have any questions at this time. Appearing for an interview and proceeding with the interminable application process should provide ample proof of your interest in a school.
As others have commented in other threads, the thank-you note is not as critical as one may assume. Applicants have forgotten to send notes, and are apparently admitted nonetheless. Nor do I think that keeping in touch with an interviewer is all that important. Admissions people are busy and periodic check-ins may be viewed as excessive.
In general, I’d say that “relationship building” with the admissions staff is largely unnecessary. I assume that the people doing these jobs are professionals who are intent on putting together the best possible incoming class, and that they are all but immune to tricks and blandishments. If a child has what the school is looking for, admission will be granted; if the child doesn’t have those things, superfluous contact is not likely to help.
