<p>It is SO much easier just to not get coffee, or politely refuse. It's not polite at all to expect someone who is willing to do so much work for you to ALSO pay for a $3 cup of coffee. If you like coffee so much, then make a cup when you get home. Some other good tips I got in an earlier thread is to be on time(duh!), shake hands before and after, have good eye contact, answer consisely(elaborate on your answer, but it really isn't neccessary to ramble the same point for 5 minutes. This is a common mistake that nervous interviewees make when they aren't happy with their answer and then they just repeat themselves). Also, answer the q's truthfully and from your heart, it's really easy to pick up on memorized or pre-planned answers. It's OK to go over with yourself points you want to make clear about yourself and the college, but don't memorize things.</p>
<p>Momsdream,
Thanks. I'm under the impression that ALL the schools will ask why you chose them. My situation is a little different from the people applying to Penn, Duke, Stanford, U.of Prestige, etc. I'm applying to what are for me academic safeties with top BFA Acting programs like FSU, SMU, Evansville, Miami, SUNY Purchase, and Northern Illinois so please disregard my question on this thread. Sorry for getting slightly off-topic. The Theatre/Drama Colleges thread needs a jumpstart, anyway. ;)</p>
<p>thebohemian:consider University of Oklahoma</p>
<p>I don't think anyone was indicating that it's expected for the interviewer to buy coffee.....I think the concern was what etiquette dictates. In job interview situations, etiquette dictates that you mirror your interviewer...if they have coffee, you have coffee, etc.....just as you mirror your interviewer's posture, etc (if they lean back, you lean back, etc). Frankly, I think cafes are horrible places for meetings because they tend to be a little noisy, the tables are tiny, the seats and tables are close to one another and I don't think they would provide the best envoronment for private discussion.</p>
<p>good luck thesbohemian! I think your answer "with top BFA Acting programs " would be a good response.....talk about what attracts you to these acting programs.</p>
<p>"Frankly, I think cafes are horrible places for meetings because they tend to be a little noisy, the tables are tiny, the seats and tables are close to one another and I don't think they would provide the best envoronment for private discussion."</p>
<p>I agree that coffee shops are not the optimal place for interviews. However, many interviewers do use them because: </p>
<p>They value their own privacy and don't want students to know where they live or work. I have empathy for this after hearing about a disgruntled rejected student and his mom who showed up unannounced on an interviewer's doorstep, pushed their way in and then insisted on showing the interviewer a portfolio of info purporting to demonstrate why the student shouldn't have been rejected.</p>
<p>They don't have offices or homes that are convenient or suitable for interviews. This includes interviewers with extremely modest shared quarters as well as those with intimidatingly lavish homes or offices.</p>
<p>It's important to keep in mind that the interviewers are volunteers, and they do the best that they can with what they have. Candidates need to be flexible enough to accommodate the interviewers. Certainly, successful college students anywhere have to be flexible to thrive.</p>
<p>I understand NSM. I just think that there are better public places than cafes...such as mid to large sized hotel lobbies where there is almost always comfortable seating and opportunity for private conversation. Then again, hotel lobbies aren't always accessible, depending on where you live. I'm not complaining (my son's upcoming interview is in the office of the interviewer), just commenting. I feel as badly for the interviewer as the student in situations where the interview must take place in a noisy, crowded space. </p>
<p>Just curious, do you always interview at the same location or do you adjust the location according ot the location of the student, day of the week, or other factors?</p>
<p>"Just curious, do you always interview at the same location or do you adjust the location according ot the location of the student, day of the week, or other factors?"</p>
<p>Depends on the inteviewer. When I had an office that was appropriate, I always interviewed there. When I was in a different office situation, I interviewed at home. After having an unsettling experience at home, and hearing about other interviewers' unsettling experiences, I started interviewing in coffee shops.</p>
<p>For me, a hotel lobby wouldn't work. There's nothing in my area (which is not a large city) that would be suitable. They all would provide less privacy than would a coffee shop. I also would feel a bit uncomfortable asking male students to meet me in a hotel lobby, and I know I wouldn't feel comfortable sending a female student to be interviewed by a male in a hotel lobby. "Coffee shop" sounds safer.</p>
<p>I had my first college interview last Tuesday (with an alumna in my neighborhood), and it was incredibly informal- it was just an hour-long casual conversation in which we were just chatting about some of the things that interest us (we were both political activists, so we really hit it off). I wouldn't say that there was any sort of formal asking of questions- things just sort of came up on their own. She asked how my senior year has gone so far, I replied that it hasn't been as busy post-campaign, she said she worked at the convention over the summer, and we launched into a cool discussion about politics and our experiences campaigning and how that ties into that college. There was never anything along the lines of "what makes you stand out?" or "why should we select you" or anything else that direct/intimidating. I actually had a really enjoyable time - far from anything I was expecting going into it. :-)</p>
<p>Definitely send a "snail mail" thank you note--on your child's personalized stationery if he/she has any. Our rule was that any personal contact S had--whether at an onsite visit or a local alum interview--he followed up with a handwritten note in which he didn't just say thank you, but referred to some aspect of the contact in a favorable way. My mother always taught me that a thank you note was appropriate, and my kids have learned this as well.</p>
<p>Dg, my kids have also sent personalized notes of the sort you mention to every interviewer and college contact that they have had. I assumed this was common practice. However, I have been interviewing candidates for my alma mater for ten years and have never gotten one!
Susan</p>
<p>A bit off topic... but just wondering:
What kind of information do interviewers receive about applicants? One interviewer asked me to send a copy of my application and essays in advance. Another one asked for my transcript and test scores. Is this typical procedure? To me, it seems like it might bias the interviewer to know my academic record, setting up certain expectations that I might not live up to.</p>
<p>Yumpop, I have never heard of an alumni interviewer asking for or getting transcripts or test scores. The purpose of the interview is to learn more about you personally and beyond the numbers and facts that the admissions office receives. </p>
<p>As an interviewer, I am not privy to the application, essays, test scores or transcripts. The only information I receive on a student is their name, address, phone, high school attending, parents' names, intended major if specified (might be "undecided"), a SHORT list of category topics of their ECs (that they filled out on some form) such as naming their sports or things like "band, exchange student, debate team, student government, field hockey, community service, theater, religioius youth group." Also it tells if the student is an ED or RD applicant. That is IT. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>The first thing my son's Harvard interviewer asked about were his test scores. Not exactly what we were expecting.</p>
<p>1moremom, that's too bad that person asked for test scores because the interviewer did not need that information. My narrative report on the student is not meant to regurgitate info. the adcoms have but to probe about personal qualifications and character and interest in the college, etc. and to get at some things beyond which are on the application. </p>
<p>Consolation for your son is that it did not matter that the interviewer had the test scores but surely did not NEED them. He hopefully went way beyond that in their conversation. Sometimes there are things in my interviews that overlap the application and I tell the student that will be so....in the case of the child's academic program and ECs...I tell them when I get to those topics, to start with that basic information even though the adcoms have it, I do not and I need a context to then probe further about their academic choices and achievements and extracurriculars. I do not get to grades, test scores, or rank, however. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>S has great scores and the interview moved on to other, more interesting topics. The interviewer was relatively young; perhaps she was inexperienced. His next interview will be with a gentleman in his 70s. It will be interesting to compare the two.</p>
<p>Harvard expects alumn to ask about test scores, gpa and class rank, but asks alumni interviewers to save those questions for the end of the interview as they aren't the focus of the interview.</p>
<p>I think that Harvard asks alumni interviews for this info for 2 reasons: To make sure that the scores that Harvard has on file are complete and up to date (in case the student has taken tests that Harvard hasn't received); and to give the alumni interviewers a context for academically ranking the student, something the interviewers have to do in the interview report. </p>
<p>I would imagine that Harvard would not put much faith in an interviewer who, for instance, wrote down that a student had gotten 1600 on the SAT, 5s on 7 APs and was first in their class with a 4.5 average yet the interviewer only ranked the student 3 out of 5 when it came to academics.</p>
<p>NSM, I was hoping you might offer some insight, thanks. I'm surprised this didn't come up on one of the other interview threads.</p>
<p>1moremom:</p>
<p>H has a friend who was an interviewer until a couple of years ago and said he did not look at resumes. His reason was that he did not want to form a preconceived idea of the student that would color his impression and report. He recalled a student who was so incredibly shy that he wrote in his report he had not been able to get much out of her. She turned out to be a stellar applicant with all sorts of awards. She was admitted. Another student who was far more fluent was not admitted.
S has gone to two interviews so far (different schools), and both times, he brought his resume. Both times, the interviewer scrutizined the resume and used it as a starting point for questions. Since the resume included his stats (but not his GPA), this question did not come up.</p>
<p>I like the friend's style; I always thought the point of the interview was to get a sense of the applicant that is independent of his stats. (S also had his resume in hand.)</p>