<p>I can picture myself describing my interview to the grandkiddies--twas a "chilly" Californian winter night by the beach, in a random coffee shop (Starbucks)...</p>
<p>I know my interview won't make or break me, but I'm nervous nonetheless. Any tips? Advice? CAVEATS!!?? Thanks :-D</p>
<p>Hiya, I had my interview last week.
And it was a really relaxed, friendly conversation with an alumnus.
He was a lawyer, and I went to his office..
Basically, my advice is don't try to "prepare" yourself..
Just be natural, BE YOURSELF. Just come across as genuine, honest and polite.
Once you start talking you won't be nervous.
The interviewer just wants to know more about you..So it's all in your hands to show him/her your positive attributes.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks silver. Some people have told me that most interviews are like a mini-informational session, with the alumnus doing most of the talking, describing the school and such. Is this true?</p>
<p>Probably depends on the person, but I think there should be an equal amount of talking on both sides. They want to know more about you and they want you to ask questions and get to know the school better. I think on average, you would talk a lot more than at an info session.</p>
<p>I had my interview this past week, it was the worst thing ever. I have no idea what the woman was doing, but she ended up telling me that there was so much work that she barely ever left her room and never saw the City, and she said that I should hope that I get deferred so that I'm not stuck going to Columbia. I had no idea why someone that didn't have a positive experience there would be doing interviews. I was pretty clueless on what to do to try to save the interview, because she wasn't asking any questions about me. All my other interviews have been great, so I'm bummed that the one that was most important to me was so terrible. Hope you have better luck than I did.</p>
<p>ouch that sounds terrible! very sorry for you daria</p>
<p>Ouch Daria...</p>
<p>But If I were you, I would definitely report that incident to Columbia adimissions...I believe they would help you out a lot. And you might even complain that you didn't learn enough about Columbia and you wish for another interview =). It's really not fair on the applicant's part.</p>
<p>Bummer of an interview, daria. I can't imagine why a person who apparently didn't enjoy her experience at the school and is so negative would be doing interviews. (Don't put too much stock in her comments - feedback from recent CU students suggests that although they work hard, they still find plenty of time to enjoy the City or other non-academic pursuits.) At some point, I'd suggest letting the admissions office know about your interview experience; perhaps you can spare future applicants the same disconcerting ordeal. Although I doubt that reporting this situation would affect your application, I'd lean toward waiting until you get your final envelope.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>well mine was definitely not an "information session"..
I led the conversation and he only asked about 2 or 3 questions which I then expanded on.. And i basically tried to convey who i was as a person, student etc... in 45/50 minutes.
I think the interview is really in your hands.. you can make it go really well.. it's up to you.
At the end, he did ask me if I had any questions and I asked some general things.. But apart from that the interview is really to get a sense of who you are in the flesh.
I have a few friends at Columbia and they say that they think this interview is quite important..
Just as important as the personal essay</p>
<p>Again Silver I have to strongly disagree with you on the importance of the interview on the basis that you are an INTERNATIONAL applicant, where top colleges value heavily on interviews because they lack a sense of who you are by only judging your surroundings.</p>
<p>I asked multiple Columbia reps (& my own interviewer as well) and ALL of them told me that the interview for applicants[domestic] doesn't make or break an application, and that they value much more on the essay than on the interview.</p>
<p>alright then.. yeh, my friend who said that the interview was important was also an international applicant.</p>
<p>anyway, where are you applying from Delfire?
Btw, my name's Christina.. lol.. so you can call me Christina rather than Silver :)
Cheers!</p>
<p>Hehe...you can call me David then. I'm applying from NEW jersey, USA, =)</p>
<p>what does adcom stand for? like a panel of admissions people that stare at apps? I'm so confused. I heard that each region has like their own admissions person - so do THEY make the calls?</p>
<p>ad com = admissions committee</p>
<p>Or "commissioner." Presumably when someone talks about an adcom telling them something they're not talking about Friday night bashes with the whole committee...</p>
<p>i loved my interview, it was great... i think it's getting my hopes up though</p>
<p>hehe sorry. my bad.</p>
<p>is is a problem that I wasn't contacted about an interview yet? I live in a pretty big city - Chicago. I'm getting a little nervous...</p>
<p>Dont worry abog a freind of mine had the same problem. He called the Columbia admission number and they said that sometimes in large cities it takes a while for everyone to get interiewed and that although some people may have been interviewed so far it's just a matter of luck-of-the-draw.</p>
<p>Are you sure about that, Witful? All of my friends who are applying to Columbia got their interview messages already. </p>
<p>Good luck, you'll need it.</p>