<p>I'm So Nervous!!</p>
<p>Don't be! Your interview won't be awful. My D had a wonderful discussion with a terrific alumnus who made her feel very comfortable. She was able to relax and be herself, and he told her she made a great impression on him. He didn't ask her academic questions (like the Johns Hopkins interviewer asked her friend) and he didn't act like he was some kind of god to be looked up to (like the ivy league interviewer who interviewed another friend). </p>
<p>Make sure you know some info about the school, and be sure to work it into the conversation somehow. Questions that show you have researched the school are good. Telling the interviewer what drew you to Tufts is also good.</p>
<p>Interviews serve the purpose of screening out the complete morons and freaks. By having a "good" interview, which most people do, all you're getting is another letter of recommendation from a random alumni. So there's no need to really prepare for it at all.</p>
<p>Just don't say anything stupid and you'll be fine. :)</p>
<p>I am an alumni interviewing in the Boston area for Tufts and currently have about 6 applicants on my list. My goal during an interview is to find out what additional information about the applicant that he/she may not have put down in the written application to stregthen her overall application, and to give information about the school. The interview is not a test to make you look bad. It's usually very casual and you should not be nervous at all.</p>
<p>Tufts provides its interviewers with very thorough guidelines designed to make for a relatively stress-free conversation. You should plan on talking about your family, school, ECs, and how you're going about selecting a college--all topics that you already know about. And most interview reports are totally positive. So try not to worry--college applications are tough enough.</p>
<p>Should we bring a resume to the interview? And how long is a typical interview? What kind of questions does the interviewer usually ask?</p>
<p>My friend was interviewed and her intervewer only asked her one question: "tell me about yourself." And she told me that she talked on for an hour.</p>
<p>Ah!</p>
<p>I was so happy I finished applying to college. And then BAM. A Tufts Interview. Back to being nervous...</p>
<p>As xflash asked: should we bring a resume?</p>
<p>-The Nervous Coot66</p>
<p>I really meant it when I said that you shouldn't be nervous. An interview will not keep you out of Tufts. </p>
<p>As for resumes, some people bring them and others don't. I'd strongly recommend not including test scores or GPAs on your resume if you do bring one. Tufts, like many schools, does not provide that information to interviewers, because the admissions office already knows that information; they are looking for a different perspective. The best use of the resume would be for the interviewer to get the exact names of things you've done right when he or she writes up your report. Bring one if it makes YOU feel more comfortable.</p>
<p>I am a Tufts alumni interviewer, and I agree that there is no reason to be nervous. Most interviewers are looking to highlight your positive attributes. I know that I am. My advice is to do some research on the school, and have questions to ask. You should view the interview as an opportunity to provide any pertinent info that is not included in your application. For example, if you had knee surgery sophomore year and this impacted your grades and/or ECs, etc. Also, I would suggest a quick email to the interviewer after you have finished thanking them for their time.
As far as dress in concerned, a polo shirt and dress pants for boys, or girls for that matter, is fine. It doesn't matter if you are going to a bank. Just make sure that you are neat and well groomed.
Most importantly, relax! If you have a sincere interest in the school the interviewer is bound to view you in a positive light.
Good luck to you all.</p>
<p>Bringing a resume for the interviewer will probably help. It defintely can't hurt you. It makes the interviewer's job of writing the report easier if he/she happens to forget something.</p>
<p>Just had my Tufts interview this morning - I was suprised when I received a call late last night asking if I still wanted one, I wasn't expecting anything since I applied RIGHT before the RD deadline! But of course, I was pleased :)</p>
<p>My Tufts interview was VERY pleasant, the woman graduated from Tufts a while ago, but her daughter just recently graduated, and was very informative on study abroad and a lot of other things. It was definitely not as nerve-wracking as my Wesleyan interview, which I'd just had a few days ago... she was very sweet, asked me about my siblings, extracurriculars in depth (I brought a resume, which she appreciated becaues she would refer back to it during the interview and ask about them. I would advise it, it's helped very much in ALL my interviews, and I've done about 6-7 in the past months), why I'm applying for a certain major, what I think about my high school vs. what I want to accomplish in college... etc. :) </p>
<p>It wasn't that stressful at all :) All the interviewers that day actually I heard were extremely easygoing and nice... so relax!</p>
<p>How long is an interview?</p>
<p>So far mine have ranged from 1 hour to over 2 hours. (I've had 5 interviews so far.)</p>
<p>precocious--
just curious, if you wouldn't mind -- what made the Wesleyan interview nerve-wracking?</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
precocious--
just curious, if you wouldn't mind -- what made the Wesleyan interview nerve-wracking?
[/QUOTE]
Wesleyan is tied for my first choice school, so I was all the more nervous to do well. Add one highly eccentric alumni interviewer (a physics major - that should say it all!), and he kept inquiring about things I had no idea how to answer, such as my plans AFTER graduate school (when I haven't even gotten into college yet?), and throw in a really awkward atmosphere - he would sort of start talking, stop, stare at me for a while, scribble a few incomprehensible things onto a notepad, kind of nod his head in my direction as if to say: "well? you don't seem like anything out of the ordinary to me!"</p>
<p>yeah :( guess we just didn't mix.</p>
<p>It certainly stinks to be made to feel uncomfortable. He's probably just as 'unusual' with all his other interviewees, so hopefully Wesleyan takes it all with a grain of salt. Good luck!</p>