<p>My daughter has her interview coming up. Can anyone pass on any advice?</p>
<p>This will be her second visit to the school. She will also sit in on a class.</p>
<p>This is also her first college interview, period.</p>
<p>I would suggest that your daughter be prepared for typical questions, such as, “Why do you want to come here?”, and, “What is it about you that makes you a good fit for this college?”. She might want to avoid trite or simplistic answers, such as, “I think that it would be so awesome to go to a college that has no grades or majors”. Instead, she could be ready to describe some of the avenues that she is enthusiastic to pursue in a setting such as Hampshire’s.</p>
<p>My impression is that Hampshire is looking for students who are self-motivated, excited about learning, and active in academic and non-academic activities. It might be a good idea to do a little research so that she is well-informed about certain Hampshire programs or activities that interest her.</p>
<p>Lastly, I think that she should be prepared to answer the usually-inevitable, “What questions do you have for me?” question. She could be prepared to ask about programs or activities that legitimately interest her, and avoid ill-informed or off-putting questions, such as, “Is it really true that you can just take whatever courses you want for four years?”, or, “How many students join sororities?”.</p>
<p>If your daughter has a chance, she should try to do an overnight visit, where she would get a much better feel for the place, talk to current students, and possibly attend more than one class. </p>
<p>For our daughter, that second class was the clincher for her, particularly when the professor asked for her opinion on the topic being discussed, even though he knew that she was just a visitor. He and the other students took her viewpoint and seriously discussed it for a while, making her feel extraordinarily valued.</p>