Are interviews necessary to boost one’s chances of admission? And what is the interview like, what questions do they ask, etc…Any feedback will help because I am preparing for some interviews this summer, and I am feeling nervous. Thanks in advance.
Interviews have little to no effect on the process unless you really screw up.
@ben69420 Then why do colleges have interviews?
It depends on the school, but a really good interview might tip the balance in your favor for admissions (again, like the above poster said, at super competitive schools with acceptance rates below 20% or so, it probably doesn’t matter as much). It shows demonstrated interest, which colleges who are weary about their yield rate pay attention to. It’s also a great way for an applicant to find out more about the school and have a one-on-one conversation about what the school is really like. Furthermore, it’s probably a good way for alumni to feel connected to their alma mater.
To prepare, google college interview questions and think about how you might answer some of them. Think about some experiences you might want to talk about. Don’t practice word for word what you’ll say though, you don’t want to sound like a robot. Have a friend or family member ask you questions so you can get a sense of how it will be. Also prepare a resume if you don’t have one already; you can bring it to your interview so that your interviewer will have things to ask you about. Also, prepare some questions you have about the school you’re applying to. You want to show your interest in the school and know why you want to apply. Part of this will be asking about specific programs and areas of interest, not just about “what’s the weather like” or “what’s the school mascot.”
Another tip would be to try to schedule your interviews in order starting with your “least” favorite school to your top choice. That way you can have some practice with some schools you aren’t worried about as much and be super prepared for your top choice school’s interview.
Another tip would be to try to schedule your interviews in order starting with your “least” favorite school to your top choice. That way you can have some practice with some schools you aren’t worried about as much and be super prepared for your top choice school’s interview."
You know, I think this is excellent advice. You will be grooming yourself for being at your very best mentally and psychologically when you interview for “the big one(s)”.
One of my kids (D1) was a great interviewer. She interviewed at several of her schools, and I think it helped. D2 had much better stats, but was honestly an awful interviewer. She skipped it at all schools (none of her schools required it, although some recommended them). She got in everyplace she applied. So if you are good at it, do it. If not, only do it if required.
Interviews are different for different schools.
The only real “awful” thing to do at an interview is the same as the “awful” thing you could do at a job interview - not remember the name of the college (company) you are applying for and not having done even a little bit of research into it.
The only negative interview reports I have written had that as the major point - not only did the person not want to be there, but they had no interest in the college and could not care less about what it would be like to go there or the opportunities afforded.
If someone is shy or nervous or forgets a few points, that’s fine.
As for “scheduling your interviews in order least to most interested”, good luck on getting that to work out. We generally have a week to schedule interviews in, and only let them slip more than that if the student is away or has significant sports or academic commitments that week. Admissions processes applications as they get them, and we get applicants every few days or so.
That is the other thing that bums me out - when I send out three sets of interview requests on the same day for three different students, and one answers the same day, one the next day, and the other takes a week to answer. That’s a strong sign that the student does not care about admission to my alma mater, and I’m not afraid to mention it in the report.
Certain schools will of course value it more than others. For example, I’ve seen MITChris say multiple times (I don’t have the quotes, it wouldn’t be hard to dig up if you were interested) ,paraphrasing, “The interview can be very useful in our decision process”
Along with that, applicants who interview have about a 10 percent chance of admission at MIT, while those who don’t have a 1% chance. (I think this is from the class of 2019…)
This is just MIT, but don’t accept the blanket statement that the interview doesn’t matter, try to do some research.
I think MIT puts emphasis on it to try to keep um… unusual (in a bad way) candidates out. I am not aware of other schools that do this.