<p>But actually a margarita would be a great thing to bring to a desert island.</p>
<p>A margarita, 'In Style' magazine, tanning oil, a whirpool spa, a personal assistant, and a speedboat to go home in.</p>
<p>Who's conducting these interviews, Barbara Walters? If you were a tree . . .</p>
<p>I guess Question 6 has been asked; thus, it is a good question to prepare for. My purpose for having this thread is not to pose tricky questions,but I wanted to pose possible questions. This way, our kids can be prepared for almost any situation.</p>
<p>My son had one interview that started off with "What is the most important issue facing your generation today?" (at a LAC, by an admissions counselor). He said he was a bit stunned, but after a gulp he was off and running and the rest of the interview was pretty mellow.</p>
<p>In every interview he was asked what other schools he was applying to, and of course, asked if he had any questions.</p>
<p>I hate when they ask what other schools you're applying to. Harvard interviewer didn't ask that of my S. I guess when your a Harvard alum, there is no other school that mattered!</p>
<p>Sgiovinc1,
You are right. With the highest yield of admitted students in the country, Harvard doesn't seem to worry about the competition. In fact, Harvard specifically asks alumni interviewers not to ask students where else they are applying.</p>
<p>So far, you are one of the only parents that has agreed with me! Thank you. I have now been validated.</p>
<p>If the student lives in a relatively isolated or small community geographically distant from the school in question, should it be assumed that the same alum will be doing the interviews of all the members of a class who are applying to that university? And, if so, does the interviewer tend to 'rank' applicants consciously or otherwise in comparison to one another in terms of personality, appearance, etc.? Or is there a method by which interviewers attempt to 'cleanse their palate' between interviews in order to consider each student on his/her own merits?</p>
<p>I have never interviewed for my alma mater, but I know that I am attracted to certain qualities in people, regardless of their age. For instance, while I know that extroversion is commonly regarded as a positive quality, I tend to prefer the strong, silent or more introspective type of personality and I suspect I might be at least subconsciously influenced by that preference if I were interviewing someone. Are alumni interviewers trained to overcome their personal sensibilities as they encounter applicants?</p>
<p>Thanks for any insight.</p>
<p>Dizzymom</p>
<p>My location is west coast and my alma mater east coast. I typically interview all of the kids in a private school near my home.</p>
<p>It is natural that I would subconsciously compare applicants, though for my College we do not have any info such as grades or SATs, so I would really be comparing personalities-- and this is not that relevant to admission.</p>
<p>Remember, the College IS comparing the applicants against their classmates, and really so are the teacher recs. This is all just natural.</p>
<p>All sorts of personalities are required to make a balanced class. I try to just convey the substance of the interview and my impressions as accurately as I can and not judge types.</p>
<p>
[quote]
My daughter answered the "what other schools" question at her CMU on-campus interview by saying she wasn't sure she was applying to CMU yet, because this was her first visit.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Great answer! I think it is important to remind our kids the nature of the transaction: that they are the car-buyer and the college is the car salesman. Not that they should be snotty about it, but the best attitude to take is that the student trying to decide whether or not the school is the right place.</p>
<p>As far as colleges trying to find out if they are a safety, etc. Frankly, it's none of their [darn] business.</p>
<p>"If the student lives in a relatively isolated or small community geographically distant from the school in question, should it be assumed that the same alum will be doing the interviews of all the members of a class who are applying to that university?"</p>
<p>That would be a reasonable assumption. There probably would not be very many alumni of a particular college in that area, and most alumni do not bother to interview.</p>
<p>"And, if so, does the interviewer tend to 'rank' applicants consciously or otherwise in comparison to one another in terms of personality, appearance, etc.?"</p>
<p>Of course. That's what the college does, too. The students are, after all, competing with each other and with thousands of other students.</p>
<p>" Or is there a method by which interviewers attempt to 'cleanse their palate' between interviews in order to consider each student on his/her own merits?"</p>
<p>The students are seen on their own merits, and they are compared with other students whom the interviewer has seen during the current year and during previous times of interviewing.</p>
<p>"I have never interviewed for my alma mater, but I know that I am attracted to certain qualities in people, regardless of their age. For instance, while I know that extroversion is commonly regarded as a positive quality, I tend to prefer the strong, silent or more introspective type of personality..."</p>
<p>When it comes to judging people on interviews, a strong, silent person does not leave much for the interviewer to judge. With the exception of grades and scores, all the interviewer is judging a candidate on is the quality of their answers. </p>
<p>Empty babbling would not rate highly with most interviewers. Thoughtful answers from an introvert could rate highly. Quality is what counts, not whether the person seems like they are life of the party.</p>
<p>Since most of the colleges that truly use alumni interviews are very competitive colleges, I truly doubt that an alumni from such a college would be impressed by students who talk a great deal but who say nothing of importance.</p>
<p>"Are alumni interviewers trained to overcome their personal sensibilities as they encounter applicants?"</p>
<p>The most "training" I have heard of alumni interviewers getting is information from the college about how to interview. My college sends interviewers a pamphlet that is, I think, about 10 pages long, and contains information about how to conduct an interview, how to judge candidates, and how to write one's report. My college also specifically asks interviewers to document their opinions by using the candidate's quotes and other specifics from the interview. </p>
<p>When interviews vary a great deal in a negative or positive way from what is in the candidate's application, my college will arrange a second interview. I imagine that in areas where there is only one alumni interviewer, the adcom may call the student directly, call the GC or request an additional reference.</p>
<p>It's important to realize that alumni who interview are volunteers using their personal time to do a service for their alma mater that most alumni don't bother to offer to do. Some are wonderful interviews, who may even be in professions in which they have had much training in conducting interviews and analyzing people's personalities.</p>
<p>Others are less talented and experienced. The college does not have the ability to hire and fire alumni interviewers, but it can weight their reports based on how skilled the alumni appears to be.</p>
<p>I agree with what SB says here, "All sorts of personalities are required to make a balanced class. I try to just convey the substance of the interview and my impressions as accurately as I can and not judge types."</p>
<p>I am much more interested in the content of what an applicant says than whether the person appears to be an introvert or extravert.</p>
<p>Students, however, who are so shy that they can't give more than one-word answers are not going to get a high recommendation. My report also would clearly show the quality of their answers. A person who could not rise to the stress of an interview is not going to be able to fit into the culture of a highly competitive college with lots of intense people who speak up about their opinions and thoughts. </p>
<p>There are other types of colleges that are wonderful places for shy students.</p>
<p>When I interview students for my alma mater, I don't subtract points on their reviews if I disagree with their personal opinions. Last year, I interviewed a very conservative student, whose views were fundamentally opposite of mine. He was extremely articulate bout what it was like to be a born-again Christian in a very liberal private high school. He did not proselytize, and he did not put down those who did not agree with him. I recommended him highly to the admissions office, as I believed he would add something different to the college community. He was accepted.</p>
<p>I admit I ask to which colleges the student has also applied, but only to get a better feel for the student's "fit". I remember one student whose list included six large, urban universities and my alma mater, a small New England LAC. When I asked her why, she had a great answer - she had obviously been very deliberate about her list and why she was interested in the college. (She's now a freshman there.)</p>
<p>On the other hand, a student I interviewed a couple of years ago, whose list was all over the place, had no better an answer for her selections than, "My parents thought it would be a good college for me." Her lack of knowledge about the school showed in that one question; she did not get in.</p>
<p>I've been interviewing for over 10 years in three different states. I always question #6 although I word it differently: what would you bring to the university? And then I always reverse it: what would you want a school to give you? We've been told not to ask what other schools kids are applying to but sometimes I do and tell them it's just personal curiosity (which it really is although I don't know if they believe that or not, I'm just always impressed!).</p>
<p>AFter 10 years, I'm tired of my questions. So one of the things I"ve learned reading this thread is some new, quirky questions. I think I'm going to try some!</p>
<p>What is the etiquette for ordering and paying for refreshments when interviewing in a cafe? Should a cup of tea or glass of juice be ordered? If so, should the student offer to pay for the interviewers refreshment? How does this work?</p>
<p>I ask the student if he/she would like to have a cup of coffee, and I <em>do</em> offer to pay. If the student arrives first, it's good manners to wait for the interviewer to arrive before getting a cup of coffee/chai. The same goes if the interviewer arrives first: Wait for your guest before serving yourself.</p>
<p>"I ask the student if he/she would like to have a cup of coffee, and I <em>do</em> offer to pay. If the student arrives first, it's good manners to wait for the interviewer to arrive before getting a cup of coffee/chai. The same goes if the interviewer arrives first: Wait for your guest before serving yourself."</p>
<p>When it comes to the interviewers, it may be impossible for the interviewers to wait: They may be consecutively interviewing several candidates.</p>
<p>That's why it's a good idea to schedule the interviews for different days, or to allow plenty of time in between interviews - it's easier on the students if they're not running into classmates who are there for the same purpose!</p>
<p>Flatlander,
Aumni interviewers are volunteers who have jobs, family, and other things to consider, including the fact that they have to write reports on each interview. They are doing both their alma mater and the students a favor. IMO it's ridiculous to expect that these nice people who are taking the time to interview students would interview students on separate days so that students don't run into their classmates. And how much time should be between interviews? An hour? Two? </p>
<p>Certainly there should be a short break between interviews so the interviewer can write down notes and can allow the interview to run over if necessary. However, interviewers don't have all day to sit in a coffee shop or any other place to interview candidates.</p>
<p>If students run into their classmates, or see the interviewer has gotten a cup of coffee before the students show up, the students just need to deal with it. The world does not revolve around the students. </p>
<p>The same situation could occur when students have doctors' appointments, are scheduled to see their GCs, are applying for jobs. This is simply the way the world works. It's certainly high time for h.s. seniors to learn this.</p>
<p>Okay. I have an audition with my first choice school in just under three weeks. If I get a callback, there will be an interview segment. There are a lot of reasons I like this school and it's theatre department and one of them is that there is a local memorial scholarship that will cover full tuition plus some that will be mine if I'm accepted. When the inevitable question of "why us?" comes up, will it be appropriate for me to mention this? While I will have to audition for admission into the program I desire at most of my choices, there is little question that I'll be accepted academically and a big consideration in my having chosen them is that they have full academic rides for which I should qualify. Is it appropriate to mention this at all in an interview situation?</p>
<p>thesbohemian-</p>
<p>Merit Aid might be your reason for selecting this school from a small, selective pool of top schools. To that end, I think you should focus more on what sets this school apart from say...."Podunk U", where you could likely receive similar merit aid because you're so well qualified. I don't know what schools you're considering. But, let's say you were looking at Chicago, Penn, Duke and Stanford. Then you are asked by Duke to explain "Why Duke" and you happen to know that your chances for Merit Aid at Duke are far better than the others (impossible at Penn). You wouldn't asnwer the "Why Duke" with "because of merit aid"....you could think of the reasons why you chose to look at schools LIKE Duke (and Stanford, Penn, Chicago) in the first place....as opposed to "state U". </p>
<p>Anyway, question 6 is "Why should we choose you"...not "why did you choose us".</p>