<p>I just got an email invitation to a "meeting " with a Cornell grad. She said it isn't a formal interview, but I'd like to ask you very knowledgeable CC'ers. </p>
<p>I have accepted her offer, and decide to do the interview/meeting/whatever as best as I can. Since I have never done anything like it before, I'd like to inquire what's the best way/strategy to go about this.</p>
<p>What do you mean strategy? You don't really need a strategy to meet someone, lol...just be yourself.</p>
<p>It really doesn't have any weight in the application if it's an informal meeting like cornell's are. But for interviews in general:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Dress nice, but not too nice. Think polo and khakis.</p></li>
<li><p>Be polite. That includes being ontime, aka 5 or 10 minutes early if it's at an admissions office. Be punctual if it's a meeting at someone's house, or a prearranged phone conversation.</p></li>
<li><p>Be confident, not arrogant. You need to display yourself as an excited outgoing person, but not a snob.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep talking: I had 4 or 5 interviews, and at none of them was I asked any of those wierd questions like "What do you think is one important step toward world peace," or "what is your favorite color;' why?" These questions are ice breakers, they're meant to 1. give insight to your personality, and 2. make you think so much to find an answer you forget to be nervous.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The general pattern of an interview I've found is:
1. Whats your school like? (atmosphere/people)
2. Describe your academic interests and courses
3. Describe your ECs and non-academic passions
4. Anything else I should know about you?
5. Do you have any questions for me/about this school?
(these are all paraphrase of course)</p>
<p>that seems to be the gist. I had a FEW of those see inside your head questions ("At lehigh, there are many opportunities. Some students expand their knowledge base to new heights in their current field. Others search for and grasp at new interests to enjoy. Which of these types best describes you?") I naturally answered both after 8 or so seconds of thoughtful expressions. (I really was thinking). Be honest unless your answer is going to be "Well my favorite thing to do on weekends is rape men in the butt" or something like that. You always have the "I don't feel comfortable answering that" option, but in that case the admissions officer probably shouldn't have asked the question.</p>
<p>Pick 2 or 3 intelligent but OBSCURE books if you haven't read any books outside of class recently. If they ask you to list all the books from the past year, list like, all 2 you read and then go off on a tangent about one being awesome and how you "loved ____ character's interactions with _____ character and how thought provoking it was with regard to the modern day issue of________." But, don't make 5hit up, that can get you in trouble if you forget it later on.</p>
<p>On that note: Be yourself. Talk like a normal intelligent teenager. Neither the East Compton nor the Windsor Palace dialect/diction is a good choice. Don't be excessively verbose, though descriptive adjectives, etc. you would use in REGULAR SPEECH with perhaps a teacher are good. Don't lie, or inflate the grandure of your activities. College don't wan't a. to accept, as I said before, arrogant narcicistic snobs, or b. to read your app and find something totally contradicted by your interview notes. So, yeah, don't lie, theres a good chance it will come back to haunt you. You can be humorous, but don't tell the joke about the gay iguana your 14 year old brother told you yesterday that you ACTUALLY though was funny. In fact, don't joke at all. You can be humorous without joking. </p>
<p>Come prepared: If you want to give them a resume, it's good. If you don't thats fine too. Unless you don't bring a resume and they've requested you bring one, it won't hurt. However, if they know what to ask you about, like the year you spent as a ghanain goat herd's assistant, thats helpful, and helps prevent you from having to answer bullshi+ questions.
Also, read up on the school. know the general requirements, programs, and some useful stuff relating to your areas of interest. Don't talk about wanting to join the taekwondo team there to continue your passion and how TKD is essensial for a school you'll apply to if you don't know if they have a taekwondo team. They might not have one...
Have a few questions ready, too.</p>
<p>THIS SAID, Cornell interviews are informal; they don't count as an admission factor. They let you know more about the school. And the interviewer files an "alumni report" in which they say some good and bad things about you. But unless you're an applicant teetering on the edge of a pin between the acceptance and wait list pile, it should not cary any effect. Have fun. I think i'm going to post this in another forum. "The Interview Guide"</p>
<p>make sure you smell amazing. she might turn the interview into that scene in that Axe commercial where the guy is in the room with like 4 different babes</p>
<p>on a serious note:</p>
<p>dont ask questions to which answers could be found online (usually "how many.." questions). a question my alumnus really liked was "what quote best describes/fits your cornell experience" or "...the aftermath of your graduation". sth creative. make sure you know stuff about your tentative major (im doing engineering and my guy asked me how planes flew, then followed up with a question asking how do acrobats fly upside down then? real stumper, so i told him frankly,"thats a good question. i dont know the answer but ill be happy to get back to you." to which he just laughed a good laugh, told me that was a good response, knowing a tough question and not bsing it, and then he promptly answered it). also im sure youve been told this, but have a good reason as to why you wish to go to cornell.</p>
<p>good luck, and as sparticus said: Have fun</p>
<p>but make sure she is having more fun ;)</p>
<p>Hahahaha...is this an interview or a date?</p>
<p>haha, why not make it both and save some time? youll need it for studying. haha</p>
<p>lol i actually dreamt my interview to be a date, I wish!!!</p>
<p>Okay, thanks guys for all the great tips, especially from sparticus and polter (though I may not take on the date idea, what's the average age of these people anyways?). This is a bump, so keeping adding 'em. Make it a interview guide thread.</p>
<p>my alumnus was like 70ish. he graduated a looooooooong time ago. his son also graduated like five years ago, so he has been updated. the old guys/gals are great. they are so passionately supportive of cornell that they can write amazing letters in your favor!</p>
<p>Do you think it makes like a BIGGG deal if your person hated you? I think mine did!!!!!</p>
<p>cornell says that the interview does <b>NOT</b> play a role in the admissions process. yeah, hehe i believe that, hehe</p>
<p>Well they could write "do not admit this person under any circumstances" and that'd probably hurt you, but no, it doesn't matter, the sole purpose of it is for YOU to get a better look at THEIR school. At least that's what it seemed like to me. And if there's anything on your admission thing that you sent in that changed, or you wanted cleared up, TELL THEM, because they can inform the important people and that'll help.</p>
<p>do you play final fantasy... you sn...so familiar... IT'S THAT KNIGHTSWORD!!</p>
<p>Ragnarok is actually from Norse mythology (you know, Odin, Thor, the other guy that starts with an F) and Final Fantasy borrowed the name. It generally is used for sounding all "cool" (well, among fantasy-philes) for saying Apocalypse. In Norse mythology it is the time when the gods walked the earth as mortals or something, which signals the end of days, which is funny, because I've never heard anything about the time before the onset of the "end of days." I guess not much happened.</p>
<p>oh... just as kewl man</p>
<p>Well my guy didn't like me. Dang...I want a new one! :(</p>
<p>i cried at my interview lol. she asked me about this trip i did to brazil to work with habitat for humanity and i was like 'oh it was fun' and she was like 'thats all you can say?!' so i started to go into detail about the people and everything and i just started to...cry lol, it was so weird</p>
<p>wow, that must have helped your app. what an experience, and what a show you performed. </p>
<p>i hope you weren't applying for cornell theater...with that crying...i don't know...
jk</p>
<p>Hahah dang, I should have tried that :p</p>
<p>haha it wasn't a show! i think all the nerves and everything you know</p>