<p>i was wondering if college interviews (harvard in particular) are centered around grades & test scores, extra curricular activities, or "getting to know you"</p>
<p>what kind of questions were you asked? how long do the interviews typically last? is it very formal or casual?</p>
<p>thanks in advance</p>
<p>Good post. I am wondering the same.</p>
<p>Im wondering the same too. I have an interview next monday. Also did the interviewer already read a portion of my application?</p>
<p>I had but two interviews: Harvard and Princeton (the former institution is where I am currently studying). I live in Georgia, mind you, so alumni for prestigious universities are hard to come by. Anyway, both consisted mostly of a friendly conversation. The interviewer may try to guide you if you’re not speaking much, but it seemed to me that they’re happy to let you speak about whatever you please. And the interviewers were already familiar with my application.</p>
<p>Don’t bet the farm on this advice, but I’ve heard that interviews are of minimal importance. According to hearsay, almost all interviews yield positive reports, as the type of alumnus willing to interview young kids is generally the kind who harbors benevolent feelings towards them. Some go as far to say that interviews exist essentially to weed out psychotic applicants and to keep alumni happy.</p>
<p>But anyway, go in confident, calm, and willing to talk about yourself and your potential college. And good luck!</p>
<p>Does being picked for an interview necessarily mean that Harvard is considering you as an applicant? I am guessing so, since Harvard alumnus possess important professions and are willing to take time off work to interview me, thus costing Harvard or the alumni a large sum(100+$) of money.</p>
<p>"Does being picked for an interview necessarily mean that Harvard is considering you as an applicant? "</p>
<p>For applicants in the U.S., the answer is “no.” Harvard tries to interview all applicants who live in the U.S. When and whether such applicants are contacted depends on the availability of alum interviewers.</p>
<p>It’s more difficult for applicants who live abroad due to the shortage of interviewers there.</p>
<p>I’ve had an interview from U Chicago in November(cuz I applied early).I think the interview won’t be such a decisive factor,as we just talked quite casually about current events,my academic interests,my ec and even my essays.And I discussed interview issue with my other friends who’ve been interviewed by Chicago,Columbia and Georgetown,they all said sorta the same stuff.<em>And the alumni have limited access to our application,basically they know nothing but our names and contact methods.</em>Albeit I am not sure about Harvard’s particular criteria,I would love to infer that most college interviews don’t differ too greatly.Just relax,do more necessary research on school,and be yourself,I guess.</p>
<p>Well,I’ve met a strange situation…I now live in China,but I just got an email which contains only one sentence"Please call me to arrange your Harvard alumni interview",from an “alumnus” indicated as a cardiac doctor in Scott and White in TX,where I was last school year.I know I sound paranoid probably,but I’m confused…Does that mean he’ll come to Shanghai?!</p>
<p>However,I’m pretty sure I put my address correctly as the one I’m now residing,and I did say I want an interview on my application…Shall I call the admission office?Thanks!</p>
<p>To the OP, interviews vary widely and answers that you get here may not reflect the experience you end up having. Last year D had, </p>
<p>Bates (on-campus)
Yale (1 on-campus, 1 alumni - at their home)
MIT (1 alumni - Bear rock cafe)
Bowdoin (1 alumni - Dunkin Donuts)
Harvard (1 alumni - at their home, 2 on-campus)
Brandeis (1 on-campus)</p>
<p>As for grades oriented or not, there were interviewers that were adamant about not knowing any application details while there were others that would take any and every additional piece of information about the interviewee.</p>
<p>We put together a set of flash cards with interview questions that she got off the net. Before all the interviews (except MIT) she would drill through the questions. What this did for her is not actually prepare for any single question but it got her mind re-focused and thinking about herself, her interests and qualities. In the process, she came out of every interview, except one, feeling quite comfortable with the conversation that she had. The only one that she made a huge flub was actually MIT. Maybe that had to do with the last of prep that day or maybe not. Ultimately, she did not get in (which was fine with her so it really did not matter).</p>
<p>As for formality, you can see by just the locations above that the most “formal” D had were the on-campus and they we not extremely formal.</p>
<p>“Well,I’ve met a strange situation…I now live in China,but I just got an email which contains only one sentence"Please call me to arrange your Harvard alumni interview”,from an “alumnus” indicated as a cardiac doctor in Scott and White in TX,where I was last school year.I know I sound paranoid probably,but I’m confused…Does that mean he’ll come to Shanghai?"</p>
<p>E-mail the person, and tell him you’re in Shanghai, and ask if he still wants you to call him.</p>
<p>Ah,thank you Northstarmom!
I was not thinking through.Thanks for your advice!And that person told me to call the ao.
Randomly saying :Good luck to All!=)</p>
<p>My interview with Harvard was a week ago and it went fairly well. I brought my resume and he glanced over it at the beginning before proceeding to ask me about my extracurricular activities. I mentioned ballet, so then we went on a ballet tangent, which somehow flowed into a discussion about books (and Harry Potter!). Then he asked me the typical “Why Harvard?” question. There were a couple more questions but it really depends on the flow of the conversation. My interview was about an hour long. Just relax and be yourself! It’s really not that bad. Good luck! :)</p>