Hey college confidential,
A while ago I had my first interview with my first-choice school, and I thought it went quite well. The interviewer and I began chatting, so it wasn’t much like the interrogation I expected. I left the interview feeling somewhat confident, but I’ve heard so many stories, and seen so many posts of someone’s “absolutely stellar” interview, which is making me worry about mine.
Is there an “average” interview, or even a good or bad one? What were your experiences like, and what is considered “normal?”
Hi. If you look around this. forum a little bit you’ll see lots of feedback which essentially says that you shouldn’t think you are “in” because of what you felt was a good/great/amazing interview, nor should you fret if you think it didnt go so well. The interview is just one part of your application and as I’ve seen often mentioned here, the schools want kids to apply. Like many other kids, my child had what was thought to be an awful interview last year but got into that school, and my kid also had what was thought to be a fabulous interview at another school but was waitlisted. One note however: there is a recent thread about a school which told the parents of the applicant during their interview that perhaps other schools should be considered. I think it would be wise in that case to move on and not pin any more hopes on gaining admission under those circumstances.
I interviewed and toured at 6 different schools last year, but all of the atmospheres varied. Some of the interviews felt more like interrelations, or like a REAL interview (if that makes sense
Some of the places that I interview at were friendly met than others. My worst interview was my first one, which turns out to be my least favorite school, so that worked out. I felt as if the interviewer were interrogating me. They also gave off a vibe that they had thighs to do and places to be. A good interview is when you feel that you connected with your interview and leave feeling confident. A good interview should be a conversation, with questions asked from both parties. I am a current student at a boarding school so if you have any questions about the admissions process or bs in general feel free to contact me:))))
I don’t believe that there is a “average” interview. Of course, there are instances where the interviewer and the applicant have hour long conversations and intense, deep discussion and to top all of that off, the interviewer compliments the applicant numerous times about how they’re the “perfect fit” for the school, but there are also many cases of interviews where they last only 15 minutes long with mediocre discussion and a stoic interviewer. It all depends on who you interview with. I just had my first interview with Exeter and I felt disturbed because of the noisy environment around me and I was very nervous. It still ended up lasting for around 40 minutes, but I left feeling unconfident and hopeless. Here’s the thing though: you might still get accepted. That’s why you’re going through this whole process, right? I have read numerous stories about interviews from so and so’s child that went pretty much like my first example but still got rejected, however there’s been many situations in which a child had an interview like the second example and still got it. Don’t spend too much time worrying about it! Focus on your tests and essays, those are important too! You tried your best and the interviewer knows that, so continue to stay hopeful!
@AppleNotFar I completely understand. Thank you for explaining. I don’t think i got any comments like that, so i suppose that’s one good thing, right? :))
@cababe97 6 schools? how could you find the time? Also, would it be better if it were an interview-interview, or a conversation-interview? i suppose both have their pros an cons
Definitely 
@cababe97 Ah, i read your second comment, i guess conversations are better then! phew, mine was actually somewhat casual, so thats good?
@HhopefulFforSsuccess2021 Thank you! i’ve been so ridiculously worried over the interview. I thought i did well, but i read stories of kids who said that their interviews were amazing, and they weren’t accepted (many to the school im applying to!)
haha yeah @LilyPatrick I’m from the west coast so I took a 4 day break (long weekend for school and missed one day) and just drove across New England doing interviews with my dad. I did about 2 or one a day. For the interviews honestly, I think it’s important to answer their questions and not try to lead it down a different path. When you are walking into the interview room try to make conversation there, which can then lead into the interview.
@cababe97 Hahaha, very impressive! an interview a day… I’ve already done my interview over skype, so i dont really have to worry about walking in, and such, but thank you!