Interview!

<p>MIT is one of my top choice schools, and my interview is tomorrow. So for the past week or so, I've been like, "Ya, I got this handled fo' sho!" But right now I had the sudden epiphany: "I'm not special!" I've never done an interview before. I've tried thinking over possible questions. Does anyone have any tips?</p>

<p>Think over your life story and gather every little anecdote about your life that you can, and figure out a way to present them. My opinion is not an expert one, but remember it's about presenting yourself, not the way you think MIT wants you to be. The interview adds an extra dimension to your app, and if you just rehash your resume, I think that would be an opportunity wasted.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input zoogies. I will be doing that!</p>

<p>bring something cool. I'm gonna bring my laptop, and display my homegrown chess engine, as well as my other stuff(since I'm a CS junkie, very convenient).</p>

<p>What do I wear? I have the choice between jeans and a sweater, and a mid-length skirt and sweater... It's freezing. Would jeans be understandable?</p>

<p>Jeans are totally understandable -- wear something that makes you comfortable.</p>

<p>ahhh i have an interview this thursday! it's my first college interview so i'm pretty nervous. any suggestions? common questions? what should i bring, if anything? thanks for any advice</p>

<p>wear some of those nice new timbaland threads...oo so tight</p>

<p>If anything, MIT thrives on free-mindedness; if you understand it's culture, you know it's far from conformist or elitist. I'm not saying to show up in a thong...but you know... I mean my interviewer was as casual as you could ever imagine. Somehow we ended talking about the Jets game on that day. You can bring a resume, I did. But above all, be yourself, be calm and cool, and don't speak with a bombast of "like"s</p>

<p>i talked about my email address for about 10 mins... guys, you're way too worried</p>

<p>wats your email address?</p>

<p>yeah...i wouldnt worry about the interview too much. I did before mine...i guess everyone does, but once u ease into it, it'll be fine. My interviewer and I talked about music (rock bands) for about 30 minutes, and we discussed what concerts we'd gone to. It's pretty informal...they're just tryin to get a feel for who you are. Think of it more as a conversation, not as much an assessment</p>

<p>thanks for all the replies, guys! :)</p>

<p>I emailed my interviewer about a month ago (for some reason his telephone number didn't show up in MyMIT account), and have just gotten a response. I dunno, he just said that he looks forward to meeting me, and forwarded my message to his secretary and asked her "to schedule a 45 minute interview." 45 minutes?? Come on, MIT graduates are busy people, but not to the point where they limit an interview, right? I hope the interview goes well; it is sounding way too formal (being in an office and all).</p>

<p>haha don't worry too much about it :-D
if you're concerned, you can always think about some likely questions, like "tell me about yourself" and "why do you want to go to mit" and "what are you interested in studying" etc...</p>

<p>Hmm... My interview lasted for an hour and forty-five minutes. It would have been longer if my mother hadn't come looking for me thinking I got lost.</p>

<p>Definitely think up an answer to the "what makes you special?" question beforehand. I had no idea, and it showed.</p>

<p>yeah same here. the "what makes you stand out?" question kind of threw me off. i hesitated for a moment, trying to think of something without coming off as arrogant</p>

<p>My interview was smooth sailing until he asked, "Why should MIT pick you over somebody else of equal qualification?" I think I handled it pretty well, though.</p>

<p>I loved the interview. I was not worried at all, actually, and I did not prepare <em>that</em> much. In fact, I was really looking forward to it. My interviewer was cool and we talked for 1h30min. Just be sure to be motivated, think about what you really want MIT to know.</p>