<p>Hi</p>
<p>I have a summer interview coming up. Has anyone had one? What is the dress code? What type of questions do they ask you? Thanks</p>
<p>I did one last year when I visited. I had just come from lunch and didn’t have time to change into the nicer clothes I had brought so I ended up doing the interview in shorts and a t-shirt. I had planned on wearing button down and khakis which is what I would recommend wearing. Definitely don’t wear a suit. The interview is pretty informal and typically with a senior. He just asked general questions about my life to get to know me more as well a few about what I liked about Rice and what I could contribute to Rice’s community. It was over in about 30 minutes. Don’t forget to ask a few questions of your own at the end of the interview.</p>
<p>I had an interview with an alumni from my region. I wore dress pants/button up shirt (business casual basically). She dressed similarly. Ive heard of some showing up in flip flops and it not mattering. Dont take it too seriously. If dressing up makes you uncomfortable dont do it.
She asked me why rice, why my major, what had i done in high school to prepare for that major, clubs/activities etc, and if i had any questions (and you should ALWAYS have questions ready).</p>
<p>^I agree that business-casual is best attire-wise. That’s what I wore. </p>
<p>My interview was with an alumnus, and it was very casual - more of a conversation than an actual interview. She just asked what I liked about Rice, why I was attracted to my stated major, what my hobbies were, etc, and we ended up talking about education systems and how they differed from country to country XD. She also asked me “how my friends would describe me”, and “how would I describe my friends.”</p>
<p>If you’re a little nervous, you can look up frequently asked questions up on the internet to practice, but that’s really more to make you feel better than anything else. They really just want to know things about you that they may not see on paper… because of this, you should cut back on talking about academics unless they explicitly ask you to.</p>
<p>How do I go about requesting the interview? Should I just contact the admissions office?</p>
<p>you can request one on the rice website. look around for it.</p>
<p>my son did an on campus interview with a staff member on the admissions team.</p>
<p>Be yourself but show that you have some awareness of Rice’s assets and place in America as a unique institution…and it is unique.</p>
<p>Mistake was showing up at Rice without an apt. We just hopped a plane on free airmiles on impulse when my son’s late summer job had a break…and he LOVED Rice. However…no open appointments for people to interview who don’t call ahead with decent notice.</p>
<p>After two days of hanging out in Rice Village and on campus, a very nice guy on staff interviewed Son. </p>
<p>Second heads up…don’t show up the first week of classes. They won’t let your son or daughter sit in on classes that week…even though from what I could tell…few visitors were around (Rice is not a crowded sort of place…the campus is very spacious for the student body)…that was disappointing after changing planes twice and traveling across the country to see Rice and driving into the city from the airport (which dwarfed us…we live in a small city–and Houston was like Mars to us). Most colleges keep a list of “it is OK to sit in on” classes in the admissions offices, and my son always emailed Professors to make sure it was kosher to show up when we visited other colleges but classes are closed to visitors in week one even though many high schools on the East Coast are not in session yet and it was a great chance to visit Rice when students are present and classes are in session. </p>
<p>Hey Rice, could you possibly rethink this? So little time when high schoolers can travel at the same time it is not final exam week for college kids or holidays or simply Rice students are not there.</p>
<p>My older son showed up for his admissions interview (a few years ago) wearing the usual campus-tour attire. Jeans and a polo shirt, I think. He had a great interview. He did zero prep – because he didn’t know any better, and because I thought that “be genuine and be yourself” were the best advice I could give him.</p>
<p>After his interview, the adcom invited me in and went on and on about how refreshing he was. She laughed and said that it was clear that he wasn’t prepped at all (!) and that they had a really great conversation. And then the three of us talked for about 20 more minutes.</p>
<p>He was accepted by Rice with a half-tuition merit scholarship (didn’t attend – went somewhere else with a full-tuition scholarship).</p>
<p>I will always remember the weird feeling I had when she said it was clear that he wasn’t prepped! Her eyes and laugh said, “That’s great!” but the words themselves sounded like that was a bad thing. Funny.</p>
<p>Anyway, another son and I are heading down to Rice very soon for his tour, interview, etc. He, likewise, has not been “prepped.” He, too, will likely wear jeans and a polo shirt. It will be interesting to see the outcome!</p>
<p>I always say, be yourself! Be genuine! :-)</p>
<p>The interview was not a big deal. Just talk about yourself without being pompous or otherwise unsavory. The worst part about mine was that I got nervous.</p>
<p>It looks like one can only request an on-campus interview at this point…I guess I’ll have to wait to request an off-campus interview!</p>