<p>So i just found out today that I have an interview tomorrow. How best to prepare?</p>
<p>for any college interview, you need to have a really good and original/honest answer to "why X college" this was true in my Chicago interview. However, esp. at Chicago, let things get existential--my interview turned out to be a 45 minute discussion about the philosophical difference between how something works, and the reason why it works. </p>
<p>Also, a note, my interviewer sorta sucked in that he asked me canned questions, and didn't really have a conversation with me--be ready for either type of interviewer.</p>
<p>If you have an alumni interview (I interviewed on campus), just know about the school (Make sure you get the lingo right--in my Yale interview, I called the college system there the House system, an honest mistake as i've been reading too much on Chicago, but still not good at all. She corrected me right away, my face turned red...) Know what sterngths of yours you want to add more light to, and maybe the names of the buildings at U of C where those subjects are taught (makes you look like you are really into the school). Maybe a famous professor there and why you want to work with them/why what they did interests you. </p>
<p>The most important thing to know how to answer well is "Why do you want to go to X University?" That, and just be yourself! loosen up, if they see you being super formal and uptight, they won't like you--loosen up, maybe even crack an appropriate joke at the right time.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the best college interview is one where you wind up so off-topic that you're just conversing with the person instead of being interviewed. Obviously there are things about yourself you want to hilight, but don't make them probe you for questions- lead them, and be engaging. My Chicago on campus interview started with her asking my name and ended with a discussion on Sherman Alexie; it was engaging and fun, at least as far as I felt, and the interviewer left knowing a lot more about me as a person through the half interview half conversation than probably would have shown up in canned interview question responses or anything I wrote and sent in.</p>
<p>Don't worry about it, first of all. If you're overly stilted and constrained because of your nervousness, it won't be especially good.</p>
<p>And try to engage your interviewer in an interesting conversation! I couldn't have an interview for Chicago, due to my living in India, but at an interview for another university the interviewer more or less went "Hi, you must be [Noldo], do you like Mendelssohn?", and the rest of the interview pretty much went the same way -- fifteen minutes about music, ditto old British TV shows, half an hour's debate about the ethics of artificial intelligence. Fun.</p>
<p>try to anticipate the questions that they are going to ask and practice your responses.</p>
<p>Know who you are, why you're there, and where you want to go.</p>
<p>^ that just about sums it up.</p>
<p>how much weight is given to the interview?</p>
<p>hey</p>
<p>i had my interview today. it was great. we talked about EVERYTHING! It was so much fun. We ended up talking for an hour and a half. </p>
<p>yea, so anyone know how much weight is given to the interviews?</p>
<p>I always thought that they were really just a way to understand the person off paper. To see what kind of impression they get.
But I think that the emphasis is really on qualification and the candidates ability to follow orders rather than the interview.</p>
<p>what do you mean by the "candidate's ability to follow orders"?</p>
<p>sam -
the interview is a minor factor, but you can never tell what might tip the admissions people your way. It sounds like it went very well!</p>
<p>ohio_mom -- </p>
<p>do you mean that in general or for mostly alumni interviews</p>
<p>At Chicago interviews are considered, but do not play a prominent role. Many are admitted who have not had an interview at all (at least it won't go poorly!).</p>
<p>Do an interview if at all possible. I had a really wonderful on-campus interview with an admissions officer there at the end of my junior year. He gave me specific advice on how to improve my application for admission, whom to choose for recommendations, etc. He said I was definitely in the running for merit money and had me meet my regional admissions officer as well. I'm not so foolish as to expect an acceptance (forget money) after something as trivial as an interview but it definitely made me excited about Chicago and allowed me to construct a better application in the fall. And it was fun!</p>
<p>I think that on campus interviews that go particularly well have the ability to make a large difference. I tend to come across well in interviews, and I really think that my interview played a role in how I was considered as an applicant.</p>
<p>The one thing I wish I had known before my UChicago alumni interview is that it is really more for informational purposes than anything. The whole time I was really nervous because I thought I was being measured up, the best thing I could have done was to relax and try to learn as much about the school as possible.</p>
<p>It depends on who interviews you, too.</p>
<p>My interview was intense as all hell. It was this guy who'd gone to Chicago Law for Graduate and he asked so many hard questions. I kept pace really well though, it was a great interview. Lasted about an hour and five minutes.</p>