<p>At the end of every alumni interview they always say "and do you have any questions for me?"
But I am never quite sure how to answer this question. I don't want to ask stupid questions that I could easily look up on the school's website but I am also not sure if I should ask specific questions about their experience.
Any tips for possible questions for future alumni interviews?
Thank you.</p>
<p>For future alumni interviews, prepare questions that you want to know the answer to but can't find on the website. For example, what are the school's academic strengths? I want to study mathematics in college. I heard that this school has a very strong math program, but I am trying to decide between this school and some other school. What do you think makes the math department strong here? I am concerned about the lack of diversity in the school and the town. Being someone of color, I am concerned about not fitting in with the campus atmosphere and the surrounding town. </p>
<p>Those are examples of questions that you can certainly ask. I asked some of those questions myself, because I genuinely wanted to know the answer, from their perspective. </p>
<p>You can definitely ask specific questions about their experience. In fact, in the interviews I had, the interviewers liked to share some of their favorite experiences, and naturally it's fine to ask more questions related to that and to the overall college experience.</p>
<p>So prepare questions beforehand. It shows that you're prepared. If you really don't have questions or don't have any more to ask, you could say something like, "I think I have a good understanding of the school. I've done lots of research on the website, I've visited the campus, and I've talked to lots of students on-campus and by e-mail. For now, I don't have any questions, but can I contact you if I think of any more questions?"</p>
<p>They will ALWAYS say yes. Sometimes they give you their card/e-mail even if you don't ask.</p>
<p>The interviewers genuinely want you to know more about the college, so that's why they ask if you have questions. Don't just say "No, I don't have any questions" and conclude the interview. Even if you have no intention of talking to your interviewer ever again, get their card/e-mal. It's just a nice thing to do.</p>
<p>Other future questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>What was your favorite part of going here?</li>
<li>How did this school change you? (This is a very good question. You should think about what you want out of college. College should change your life for the better. It's important to get a sense of what this college might do to you as a person.)</li>
<li>What attracted you to this college?</li>
</ul>
<p>Good luck on your future interviews!</p>
<p>I had a few that I asked at EVERY interview i had. They don't involve too much prior research for each school:</p>
<p>-what was the best thing you learned/experience you had because you went to (insert School name)?
-What is one thing you would change about xxxxx school if you could?
-What do you think the strongest programs are at xxxxxx?
-How did attending xxxxxx help you to grow as a person?</p>
<p>these questions usually give quite a bit of leverage, and are good because they involve the interviewer's personal experience. I have found that more specific questions (about departments, statistics, etc) don't go over as well because the alumni usually speak from their own experience...so unless your interviewer is interested in the same things you are, the general questions I mentioned will be a safer bet.</p>
<p>What did you like best about your college experience? What did you like least?</p>
<p>What advice would you give a student about how to make the most of their experience at that college?</p>
<p>"Now that you know a little more about me, how do you think I'd fit in here at XXXXX" I got this from CC...not original</p>
<p>I think it's important to ask questions whose answers you are genuinely interested. I am very big on school culture and involvement, so I usually have a run of questions like:</p>
<p>-What did you enjoy most at ____?
-What extracurricular activities did you involve yourself in? (I research clubs that I might be interested in and ask about that group's visibility on campus, too)
-How did the club interact with the school community? How were your club's activities received?
-In your opinion, what kind of social and academic culture does your school foster?
-What did you love about dorm life?
-Who do you keep in contact with? Why?</p>
<p>I only interviewed with Georgetown, and I asked things like
"How prominent is the religious influence?"
"How well do people integrate into the Washington community? Do most people stay on campus or go into the city?"
"What's the housing like?"
"Which language did you study?"
and some stuff about which internships she did.</p>
<p>Another question would be, "If you had to do it [go to college x] all over again, what would you do differently?"</p>
<p>No offense, but a lot of the ones posted here (not all) are kinda generic. Best case scenario - have 3-4 questions prepared, and come up with 1-2 more during the interview based on the interests and activities of the alumni.</p>
<p>The key is that you want to engage the interviewer, so latch onto something he/she is obviously interested in or was involved in, and preferably shows your love for the school at the same time.</p>
<p>CollectivSynergy has a point. It's good to engage your interviewer. You don't want your interviewer to be bored! But it's also important to ask the questions that to you really matter. I think a lot of people have similar concerns about college, and so a lot of the questions end up being the same. But they're good, honest questions if you actually are concerned about the answer. It's a good idea to ask the interviewer personal questions about his/her college experience, because you can probably relate to the interviewer more, and you will learn about the college as well.</p>
<p>Yep - but also, remember that your primary purpose is to leave an impression. Unlike Matt Damon in Ocean's Eleven, you want to be funny AND memorable. You want the interviewer to think tomorrow "Oh yeah, I remember that guy Dave who likes dolphins" (very bad example I know). Avoid generalized questions relating to class size, dorms, etc etc. And try to stay away from anything that has the word "favorite" or "was x what you expected" in it.</p>
<p>Your interviewer's into frisbee? Allude to the quad and whether or not it's active and people are friendly there. It's alright if the questions aren't exactly academic in nature. If you share an interest in math, ask whether the nobel laureates on staff can actually teach worth their salt. This is the sort of thing you documenting in your head during the interview. You don't even have to relate it to yourself. Ask the interviewer whether they liked one of the school's policies, such as bidding for classes, and their experiences with them. </p>
<p>Of course, have fall-back questions in case you just don't click with him/her, or can't think of anything because of brain freeze. Much of the interview boils down to the questions - because they're what you end with, the entire exchange is viewed through that lens. It can be the difference between a passable interview and a stellar one.</p>
<p>Questions that show you already picturing yourself there at that school are good:
"Do you have any advice for registering for fall semester courses for freshman year?"
"Where did you think was the best place on campus to study for finals?"
or maybe
things about travel between your current city and the campus city (at hanksgiving, say) - best airline, best time to make the drive, whatever</p>
<p>or go ahead and ask something memorable related to your planned major.</p>
<p>Ask a quirky question that couldn't be found anywhere. Things you can't find anywhere or you need their personal opinion on. These questions take a longer time to think of ---but, it's worth the time.</p>
<p>MidwestMom, I don't know about those questions. They sound presumptuous, as if you're already expecting to get into that school. Do you think that would come out as sounding arrogant and presumptuous?</p>
<p>I'd only do it if the interview seemed to be going all right, and you would have to watch how you said it, but I don't think it would be bad for the interviewer to "sense" that you are really picturing yourself going to that college. "Is there a good place to get a quick lunch if you have only a brief break between classes?" would be good for a younger interviewer who graduated fairly recently.</p>
<p>"Questions that show you already picturing yourself there at that school are good:
"Do you have any advice for registering for fall semester courses for freshman year?"
"Where did you think was the best place on campus to study for finals?"
or maybe
things about travel between your current city and the campus city (at hanksgiving, say) - best airline, best time to make the drive, whatever"</p>
<p>Those are great questions to ask after you get in if you're still considering going to the college. Good reason to keep the interviewers' contact info.</p>
<p>Of course, such questions only will work if the interviewer is a very recent alum.</p>
<p>Ask specific questions about your interests! It's great if they happen to match up with the interests of your interviewer, but you're the one who might go to that college. I had one interviewer thank me for asking specific questions that showed that I had looked into different programs and departments at the school. They're looking to see how interested you are in that school... not if you have random questions about their life.</p>
<p>Ah but then we get to the pure psychology of an interview. Make no mistake, the point of an interview isn't to learn (although questions about a specific aspect of a school are great), it's to make a strong positive impression. It doesn't matter how you do it.</p>
<p>But do not blindly ask questions about your interests. The last thing you want is to stall your interview because he/she can't really answer your question. That's why you want to mold your choices somewhat to fit their profile. That doesn't mean to ask them what his/her favorite kind of cupcake is, but whether it's easy to walk on to the lacrosse team if you're interested in that and he/she's been on it. Which is an example of a question you do NOT want to ask if the interviewer isn't into sports. They'll just devolve into a mechanical, cookie-cutter response that blah blah blah it's easy if you're willing to work for it, wasting a minute of your interview and a precious question.</p>
<p>"But do not blindly ask questions about your interests. The last thing you want is to stall your interview because he/she can't really answer your question."</p>
<p>Taking the time to learn something about the interviewer -- their major, activities in college -- also means that you won't waste both of your time by asking questions that they can't answer. A middle aged alum isn't likely to be able to tell you about places where students currently hang out. An economics major isn't going to be able to give you lots of info about the premed sequence. A person who played in the school orchestra isn't likely to be able to tell you about how hard it is to make the lacrosse team.</p>
<p>I asked my Yale interviewer "if you had a camera and could take two snapshots of Yale which would they be" and he replied 1. debating fervently with his classmates during a seminar and 2. having pizza with the same classmates one hour later ..</p>