<p>I have an interview this sunday. I have no idea what to do!!!!!!! What do I do? How do I answer the questions?
I'm a girl. What should I wear????
Thanks!</p>
<p>You should already know a lot about Columbia and why you want to go there and what you hope to get out of Columbia, but if that isn't the case you should do your research. Other that, what you do is have a conversation with the alum and answer the questions that you're asked.</p>
<p>Wear something nice, like what you'd wear if you went with your family to a fancy restaurant or a school awards ceremony or something.</p>
<p>You could think about some of the questions that you know he/she'll ask you: why Columbia, what will you bring to the community, etc. Don't memorize answers or anything, but consider them so you're not at a complete loss because you'll almost certainly be asked them.</p>
<p>Before my interview, I sat and throught about my "message", the storyline I was trying to tell to the interviewer. For maybe 20 minutes, with a sheet of paper, just jotting notes. My case went something like...</p>
<p>(1) I thought about what my selling points were: </p>
<p>-> Motivated almost exclusively by challenges and pressure
---> taking advanced classes (as in, calc and physics C in 9th grade) as evidence of this
-> Demonstrated success at all analytical subjects
-> Clear passion for softer subjects like history, journalism
---> the variety of my interests is why Columbia in particular appeals to me because of the lack of specialization in its curriculum
-> I'm an iconoclast, a shoot-first-ask-questions-later kind of guy with an entrepreneurial spirit, who won't sit around and suffer BS. Columbia wants and needs people who will challenge old ideas with new ones
---> evidence for this includes experiences with debate team, student govt, my approach on certain projects, my teamwork history (esp in math/science teams) etc.</p>
<p>(2) I thought about my strengths and weaknesses, and how to help my interviewer "understand" my high school experience:</p>
<p>-> Grades were low out of boredom - I clearly had the ability to get an A whenever I cared to, and pushed myself on the hard classes while lacking motivation on easy ones
---> at columbia, every class I take, i'll be motivated for, thus not an issue
-> My experience dominated by unique projects that I got carried away with:
---> Coordinating my french class to put on a french musical, including staging, set, music, a translation projector screen, and actors/singers
---> Science fair project - my dad took me out of school for a week so I could pursue something rather extraordinary, and I picked up the pieces later
---> Success in a audition-based Concert Choir led us to make a trip and tour through Europe over spring break (had to get a job to pay for it, etc)
-> I took a full-time job after my junior year (finished HS requirements in the evenings at a local college), and learned a ton in terms of professional skills and maturity
---> (talk about details of it - he'll want to hear a whole lot)</p>
<p>(3) What do I want to get out of the interviewer?</p>
<p>-> Understand what made Columbia special for him
-> Why is he still doing interviews, what makes him still feel a connection
-> Describe his estimation of the entrepreneurial atmosphere at the school - does it facilitate people going off and doing whatever they want to do? Does it reward unusual ideas?
---> Is the bureaucracy really as bad as its reputation?
-> What brought him to live in [my hometown]?
-> What were his favorite memories of the place? What hidden gems did he still recall, or recommendations he could make?
-> (maybe 3-4 other questions i had at the time)</p>
<p>I actually brought that paper inside with me, so when my memory ran out of questions, I looked it up just for a few additional discussion prompts.</p>
<p>We talked for maybe an hour. He was an old doctor who had done CC and then Columbia med. His wife brought me tea and we started off talking about the magazine on his coffee table (the Economist), which my parents get and I love.</p>
<p>He didn't have a list of questions handy, he just mostly wanted to find out the way my mind worked. The more I relaxed, the better the conversation got (perhaps obviously). I walked in with the attitude that I thought I was hot s**t and didn't feel much of a need to prove it, and as a result found myself just kinda gently explaining my previous 18 years on the planet, rather than worrying about whether they were good enough or the 'right answers', etc.</p>
<p>Afterwards, I made sure to mail a thank-you note, which is customary (these guys don't get paid!) and very nice.</p>
<p>Hope that gives you a sense of what the experience was like from the interviewee end for me. Obviously, on the other side of things now, it's quite an eye-opener. This might be the only interview you ever have where what you say matters more than how you say it, although both are important. Concentrate on giving the most honest answer you can, and make sure you get enough sleep :)</p>
<p>Best of luck,</p>
<p>D</p>
<p>I don't know how likely it would be to get this, but my son's interviewer asked him what he would do if he had a hundred dollars to spend on a day in NYC.</p>
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my son's interviewer asked him what he would do if he had a hundred dollars to spend on a day in NYC.
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<p>Of the 5,000 interviewers, I bet this guy is the only one who asks that. I should try it. Maybe someone will say "go get a fake ID in the West Village, go over to alphabet city to buy some some ecstasy, and hit some club in the meatpacking district."</p>
<p>Yeah, it probably isn't too common. S said, go to Mets game, then dinner, then a jazz club (not sure 100 would cover that).</p>
<p>Or, for that matter, you're plan!</p>
<p>C02, if I asked that and got that response, and the guy wasn't clearly a crackhead, I think my evaluation of him would go up just for the wit and attitude displayed.</p>
<p>The absolute best thing you can bring to an interview is an (age-appropriate) sense of humor. I've seen people at my firm decide to hire candidate X over 10 other people because they had a "refreshing sense of humor".</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help! You really got me thinking about what I can say and talk about. I even made my own list. Thanks a lot!!! I appreciate it!</p>
<p>I found this great article in the Columbia alumni newsletter. It has a lot of answers about the process:</p>
<p>Good luck hope to see you next year!</p>
<p>Very good article-- accurate and comprehensive. One screwup:</p>
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Each year, the College receives between 15 and 20 applications for each space in the incoming class, so many qualified candidates must be turned down.
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