<p>I recently received an email about getting an interview and I was wondering to those who got the interview, what specific questions did they ask you?</p>
<p>Search my posts or recent threads. I've answered this a bunch of times.</p>
<p>Is an interview required?</p>
<p>Had my interview yesterday.</p>
<p>First question was "Why Columbia"...he then asked about an activity I liked, so we ended up talking about debate for like 20 minutes. Then he asked about a teacher who's made a diff. in my life, and he wanted to see if I knew her background (I guess to see if I've made a personal connection with teachers). Other questions I remember:
-what things in your school need to be changed? emphasis placed on how i would fix this problem
-what do you want to major in?</p>
<p>Also, he threw some curveballs. I was talking about my view of race and class, and he a few times said "I disagree--" and then asked a clarifying question.
If you take anything out of this, it's this: be able to talk a LOT about an activity/interest of yours. He seemed genuinely interested in listening to me ramble on about the subtleties of debate for 30 minutes.</p>
<p>I think it went well--lasted an hour longer than it was supposed to :P</p>
<p>Oh also...it seems as if the interview is more of a bonding experience, as strange as that sounds. My interviewer, at least, told me that if I"m accepted, I'm going to be working with him on networking/alumni connections, so he was trying to establish some sort of relationship in case that happened. Not sure if this is true of other interviewers</p>
<p>Do you get contacted for an interview after submitting part I? When did they contact you? I submitted part I a loooong time ago and I was never contacted. I would think they have alumni in the Dallas area...</p>
<p>It's all random, the guy said. I submitted part 1 in early october, I believe, and got a call last week</p>
<p>Oh, really? If you're contacted for an interview, are you required to go then?</p>
<p>Nope, it's just strongly suggested. He said that of the students accepted to CU, only a very small percent were offered/took interviews</p>
<p>Ah, so I guess I shouldn't feel left out if I don't get offered one, huh? It must be stressful if you're applying to Harvard since the interview is required. Think of all the applicants they have to interview! But I'm glad the interview isn't required because I get extremely nervous. I can't even give a speech...</p>
<p>It apparently is random, and you shouldn't lose sleep over not getting offered one. I know an alum who has done interviews for a few years now, and he told me that sometimes the interviewers won't even remember to check their inboxes for their interviewees' contact info--therefore there are plenty of applicants who just don't get contacted, even among the ones who actually are selected for an interview. I submitted my Part I in late September...I still haven't heard, and at this point I don't expect to.</p>
<p>I sent in mine in September too I think. It was a long time ago and I haven't heard anything about an interview, so I'm guessing they just skipped me.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think the deadline was yesterday for interviewers to submit their references.</p>
<p>Also, the guy said it's not completely random. Essentially, they look at the people who submitted early, and interview 2 kinds of people: (1) those they think would do really well and want to seal the deal with them, and (2) those who they think have potential but have gray areas (esp. those they aren't sure will be able to adapt to NYC)</p>
<p>I thought you could get called after only submitting part I? Because that part doesn't really ask many questions. I haven't submitted part II yet.</p>
<p>Well they didn't choose interviewees til recently, so apparently they took part 2 into consideration
not sure though</p>
<p>My interviewer said the deadline is tomorrow (the 28th). I didn't get any "curveball" questions and it went pretty well. She was relatively young and it was 70%-ish about myself and the rest talking about her experiences (I asked her the questions so I guess it was kind of my "fault"..) It lasted for about an hour and there were no awkward moments, which I'm really thankful for. Oh, and the first question for me was "Why Columbia" also.</p>
<p>I guess that question comes up a lot in interviews. Why do you want to go here?</p>
<p>I don't know about alumni interviews, but from the on-campus interview with an adcom, here are some questions I remember:</p>
<ol>
<li>Why do you want to go to Columbia?</li>
<li>What do you think of the Core?</li>
<li>What do you want to study(academically)?</li>
<li>What would you want to pursue socially(in terms of clubs, etc.)?</li>
<li>What are your favorite classes this year? Why are these your favorite?</li>
<li>What classes do you find the most challenging? Why?</li>
<li>What questions do you have for me?</li>
</ol>
<p>Those are the themes the interview covered. If you're applying to Columbia, I think you have a pretty good idea of all of the above, and should have no problem answering the questions in the interview.</p>
<p>Also, I might add that the alumni interviews are (for the most part, to my understanding) not meant to judge you in another aspect. Rather, they are an opportunity for you to learn more about Columbia from a past student. It's hard for an interview to have a significant detrimental effect on your application. Just relax, be yourself, and you'll be fine.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Also, the guy said it's not completely random. Essentially, they look at the people who submitted early, and interview 2 kinds of people: (1) those they think would do really well and want to seal the deal with them, and (2) those who they think have potential but have gray areas (esp. those they aren't sure will be able to adapt to NYC)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is complete horsesh1t.</p>
<p>I'm not entirely sure how you're more qualified to make that statement than a man who's been doing interviews for Columbia for, oh, ten years.</p>
<p>lmao
i heard that if you haven't been contacted yet, then it's too bad. but there's a large alumni association in austin, i'm surprised that no one's called.</p>