Interviewing Tipas

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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These tips are mine alone. They are not official nor endorsed by Penn.

  1. Clothing: Wear clean clothes. Males could wear pants and a shirt and/or sweater. Females could wear a blouse/sweater skirt/pants. Suits and ties are not necessary. I actually wear jeans and a Penn T or a Penn sweatshirt to the interview to level the playie field (50 -75% of my applciatns are eligible for Pell grants.)
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@amanivy Has the interview process started?

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Interviewing Tips Continued (sorry computer or I lost it there).

But I do tell all the applicants that I am dressing casually, that I do not care what they wear, and that my dress choice is to lower stress levels. Sometimes kids come from athletic practice - in their smelly clothes. That is fine by me.

  1. Be on time.
  2. Be polite. Two years ago one young applicant screamed (yes screamed) at me saying "Why are you interviewing me - you are too old.) That was not polite and lost her many many many many many brownie points.
  3. I know the website is upenn, but alums, students, faculty call it Penn. Recruiting materials from Penn, even CC screen calls it Penn. To call it upenn might seem like you aren't too observant. No big deal but why take the chance?
  4. Asking questions that could have been answered on the first screen of Penn's website isn't a good be spoon fed. hat you take initiative.
  5. Don't be arrogant. Look you are smart. But there is always someone smarter, nicer, better looking, kinder, ... than you. I have met Nobel Prize Winners that are more humble than some of you. I do make allowances because you all are young, but....
  6. Playing hard to get when the interviewer calls you to set up an appointment. Yes, you are busy. So are we. It comes across as very self-important, poor judgment, and not interested.. I give applicants a choice of 3 different times for the meeting - it you cannot find the time with 3 choices you might be seen as inflexible, not interested, ...
  7. If you are unable to make the appointment - let the interviewer know before not afterwards. Sitting around waiting for an applicant is a waste of my time and is impolite. I know some will get sick or whatever. Fine. Let me know before!!!!
  8. Be who you are. Not who you think Penn wants.
  9. Easy for me to say but try to relax. The interviewer is human, has gone through the process at one time, and does this because we enjoy helping our alma mater. It is our job to make it easier for you but trust us.
  10. The interview, for Penn, is the last time you get to "talk" to Admissions. Let us know if anything has changed. Maybe you won an award after the application deadline. Maybe your grades tanked because of sudden bad health, family problems, death in the family (God forbid), etc. Let us know!
  11. Don't insult the interviewer.
  12. Keep racist/xenophobic comments to yourself.
  13. I don't want to hear bad mouthing of other kids, other schools, etc. Calling another school a druggie school, for instance, does not endear you to me. I probably know anyhow.
  14. Good luck.
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ShaunakK98:

We just got a email today form Penn advising of changes to the portal, etc. So thing are gearing up but not quite started… I do not have access to the chairs’ view of the portal so I do not know how many applications have been received. I have not received any assignments yet but I am moving and do not know the new chair and how and when he starts the assignments… Most wait til a few days after the application deadline - when the field is near completion… Sorry. I cannot be more helpful.

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No problem! Thanks for your help on this forum :slight_smile:
Could you tell us when the process starts?

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It varies. Some chairs (alums who do the assigning) start when the portal starts to have applicants. Some wait til about 3-5 days after the application deadline because it take a few days for the applicant to be available on the portal.the interviewers access. My new chairs wait til the end…

I thought interviews started as previously stated in an earlier email from Penn in mid October. Hmm… They end about 1 month before applicants are told of their decision. I cannot find out the interviewers’ deadline. We find that out usually when we get assignments,. It is usually a few days before Thanksgiving.

Applications trickle in but the big push is at the application deadline. It is easier to do the interview assignments in one fell swoop.

I know it is annoying and confusing. And stressful.

Penn is a bit slower than MIT. MIT sends the interviewer name to the applicant when they complete their application and the applicant arranges the interview. So each school is different. I only know Penn and it seems I might be as confused as all of you.

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Gee. I am truly sorry for all the typos. I cannot type now I cannot read. Sorry!!!

Funny and true story I hope. I broke into the computer industry in the early 60s. I was the only female in the group. One day one our secretaries was out and my boss asked me to type something. I noticed he did not ask the guys. Weirdly enough my typing skills left me and never came back…

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@amanivy
“I don’t want to hear bad mouthing of other kids, other schools, etc. Calling another school a druggie school, for instance, does not endear you to me. I probably know anyhow.”

Is this completely out of bounds? What if I were to be talking about my struggles living in a poverty ridden neighborhood and I mentioned my school and its students, would that be going too far?

I am not applying to any ivy leagues this year, but I am considering transferring to one… Do you interview transfers or are ‘they’ more reluctant to offer this opportunity?

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What I think @amanivy is referring to as badmouthing other universities (such as other Ivies) just to show that you support Penn over other colleges.
Think of it as cheering on your favorite football team and saying its fiercest rival ‘sucks’

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I was referring to both high schools and universities. Kids will say something like "well I am hardworking and I don 't take drugs unlike Susie at some name hs. (I am probably also interviewing Susie btw.) So that is a gratuitous slam.

Talking about your struggles in the interview is appropriate. We probably know that anyhow ; buty thst does not mean that it is not appropriate to talk about it.- it you have been interviewing for while you get to know the hs in your area. As I specialize in those types of areas/schools I am familiar with the hardships/struggles you have had/endured.

The interviews are for freshman. Transfers do not get interviewed.

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Tips are immensely helpful @amanivy

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To @amanivy and any other Penn interviewers: Son applied ED and will have his interview next week…very exciting for our whole family. We read amanivy’s interview tips over the dinner table tonight!

Q: Do interviewers see the applicant’s transcript, essay, other details of the application prior to the interview?

How appropriate is it to send some materials to the interviewer in advance (say his essay, and/or a particularly meaningful letter of recc from a Penn professor — both are relevant to Physics, which is Son’s intended major and interviewer’s field as well)?

Of course Son does not want to overwhelm or boast obnoxiously.

thank you.

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Interviewers do not see anything in your appiication - GPS, SAT/ACT scores, essays, etc.

The converstion/interview is only to find out a little about who the applicant is. However, vocabulary, depth of thought, sentence structure, etc. can pretty much give us an idea of whether the applicant is reaching or not.