<p>So I've been reading about people's interviews from years past, and many students are happy that they were able to discuss current political, international, or economic issues with their interviewers. That makes me worried, because I don't think I really follow politics or the election as much as I should! I'm not completely clueless, but I don't think I'd be able to lead a meaningful conversation on these topics. I would much rather have my interviewer ask me questions about my personal life or experiences, and I believe I could say some interesting things about that. But is it kind of a significant weakness for me if I can't discuss political events?</p>
<p>In a word: Yes. See: [Sooo</a>… Tell Me About Yourself: Current Interview Questions: Harvard University](<a href=“http://www.soootellmeaboutyourself.com/2009/12/current-interview-questions-harvard.html]Sooo”>http://www.soootellmeaboutyourself.com/2009/12/current-interview-questions-harvard.html)</p>
<p>Uh oh…but thanks for that link! Really helpful! I’ll see what I can do.</p>
<p>My interviewer did not ask my anything about current events…</p>
<p>Wow, those are really great interview questions. Hopefully I’ll get some of those in my interview.</p>
<p>shelly: a lot is fair game – it’s really up to the interviewer. I interview for another Ivy. It’s really a conversation for me. Occasionally, I’ve asked their opinions on world events/politics – especially if they claim to want to study history, econ, polisci or journalism. But it’s certainly fair game.</p>
<p>The interviewer will probably not assume that you are an aspiring politico (unless, as T26E4 said, you say you want to study politics…) but I think you should be familiar enough about current events to carry on a normal conversation. There’s nothing wrong with answering a question “I definitely don’t know everything about ____, but…” and making some effort to carry on the conversation, rather than looking like a deer in the headlights. After all, one of the objectives of the interview is to show you can hold a meaningful conversation, something indispensable to the Harvard experience.</p>
<p>Also, being aware of current events isn’t useful just for college interviews but it’s also a basic life skill that you should hone at some point.</p>
<p>Honestly, as a current Harvard interviewer, I can say the answer is 99% likely to be no. Interviews vary based on the interviewer, but the main goal of the interviewer is to get to know you and understand what drives you. So, your interests will generally guide the conversation. </p>
<p>Also, help your interviewer help you, and bring a resume so they have a sense of what you’re interested in as well. We don’t get a ton of information on you beforehand.</p>
<p>Also, I’ve asked every one of the top 8-9 questions in the link above, but would never get so content-heavy as the questions further down unless they were of express interest to the interviewee. Example: if you say you’re interested in the rise and fall of the Roman empire, maybe then I’ll ask about the differences between today and the time of Caesar. I’ve talked to fledging art majors about specific artists they’re interested in, english majors-to-be about the differences between different epochs of literature, and future pre-med bio majors about some important ethical issues in medicince. It all depends on how you’ve presented yourself. We’re trying to uncover the real you.</p>
<p>I don’t want to sound like I know anything – and I’ve heard the milage can vary a lot with an alum interviewer (heard about one interview that was basically a political grilling) – but I don’t think it should matter unless for some reason you’ve said politics/government is a key interest of yours.</p>
<p>Anyhow… I think if you’re sufficiently smart spending 30min on the Times or Journal will give you enough to at least pretend like you know the world around you.</p>
<p>Thanks! Yeah, I actually had my interview last week and we didn’t talk about politics at all. Which was good, haha.</p>