<p>I'm a bit nervous because I was e-mail today regarding an interview. I have not contacted the individual yet. This is my first college interview, so I'm not sure what to expect (although of course college interviews are not the same for every college/situation).</p>
<p>I have a few questions. Please forgive me if they're a bit silly or have been answered numerous times on here. </p>
<p>1) What type of clothes should I wear? I don't have any ripped jeans or worn-out shoes that I frequently wear, but how are jeans an a nice short-sleeved shirt?
2) What type of questions should I expect? How did you confront those questions?
3) How long should I expect the interview to be / how long was your interview?
4) What type of questions did you ask regarding Penn or the interviewer?</p>
<p>Again, I apologize if these questions are silly; I'm writing this while my nerves are still at their peak. CC keeps not loading pages, so it's taking time for me to search for threads about Penn interviews.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>hello! :)</p>
<p>we’re both in the same situation! i have my interview for penn wednesday afterschool and i’m pretty nervous but i’m trying to prep myself. </p>
<p>anyway, here are some things i learned while browsing the forums:
- most people suggest AGAINST jeans, regardless of the fact that it is a casual interview. i think you should consider who your interviewer is and how he or she will be dressed; you don’t want to be under dressed but you definitely do not have to match their attire. i mean, we’re in high school, after all. i’m a girl, so i’m deciding on wearing a skirt, a cardigan, flats, and a button-up shirt or something. </p>
<p>2) it’s probably the general type of questions: why penn? what will you contribute? what are your interests? maybe they’ll ask of goals, of your school life, etc. from what i’ve heard, it’s very conversational, there isn’t a lot of pressure (unless you happen to be stuck with a strict interviewer or something) so just be honest and relaxed! know what you’re going to say and say it to them directly. show enthusiasm. i think you get it.</p>
<p>3) my friends, who have gone through interviews, say it can last anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hrs! however, the latter seems like an exceptionally long interview, so i don’t think it is very typical. i’m sure time isn’t something you’ll be worried about in the interview; people say that it goes by very quickly!</p>
<p>4) well, since it’s your chance to ask questions, look up what is important to YOU. ask them about their experience, what they did, etc. </p>
<p>i hope this has helped! i’ll probably post how my interview went in one of these threads. </p>
<p>just remember: interviews are NOT going to make a big difference in your application unless your stats are on the border and stuff. it could help, it could do nothing, but i don’t think it would hurt your chances, unless you come ill-prepared, rude, unenthusiastic, etc.</p>
<p>I haven’t done a Penn interview yet, but I’ve done several other ones. If it’ll help:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I wore jeans to all of mine actually. Every one of my interviewers were also dressed very casually, so it didn’t really matter, but this is something you want to check on beforehand (you may be able to figure it out from their jobs or whatnot).</p></li>
<li><p>The questions that animalcollective mentioned are all fairly common ones. Some interviewers apparently like to throw curveballs relating to current issues or history or whatnot, although I haven’t encountered them. Also expect to field a few questions that relate to what you tell them in the interview.</p></li>
<li><p>The shortest one I’ve had was 45 minutes, the longest a little over 1 hour. I think most of them were right around the 1 hour mark.</p></li>
<li><p>Can’t answer this one specifically. Research the school, see if you have any unanswered questions. You can also ask them more generic questions like “how is the transition experience” or something.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I made a post here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064001654-post3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064001654-post3.html</a></p>
<p>About the clothes thing; jeans, a nice unwrinkled polo shirt, and clean shoes should be fine. Most Penn interviewers are pretty casual. It’s only necessary to dress up more if the person invites you to have an interview at their office or if they are a lawyer or doctor and such. </p>
<p>On average interviews are about an hour, give or take 10 minutes or do.</p>
<p>Chillax. Dont worry abou the interview too much.
Most of the interviewers make you feel very very comfortable.
I had a penn inteview last week and it well very well.
Clothwise just wear something casual. DO NOT WEAR things like tuxedo, etc. It’s unnecessary unless you go to a luxurious restaurant for ur interview (which i doubt…)
Make sure you think about how your gonna answer some basic questions such as “Why Penn?” “Why did u choose the major you indicated?” “How will you contribute to Penn”, etc
Good luck to you :)</p>
<p>Thank you all for your suggestions! I’m definitely taking them into consideration. I have regular pants that I could wear (it will probably be much too cold for a skirt), so I’ll probably decide against wearing jeans.
I’ve been trying to think about those questions as well. </p>
<p>Thank you again everyone!</p>