<p>so i just had my interview at 5:30. it started at around 5:25 and ended around 5:45. i thought it was surprisingly short. this is how it went:</p>
<ul>
<li>he asked me about my school</li>
<li>he asked why Columbia</li>
<li>he asked me to basically list the activities i do in school and out of school. after i was done describing my 3 main passions/activities, he asked me if i had anything else. i felt pressured to list my activities that were on my application already, and i did so, but i mentioned that the first 3 were my passions</li>
<li>he stood up and concluded the interview before i had a chance to ask him some questions about his experience and show that i know a good amount of information concerning Columbia (he was a lawyer and he seemed to be busy)</li>
</ul>
<p>what do you guys think? normal interview experience? 20 minutes? no chance to ask him anything?</p>
<p>i understand the relative insignificance of the interview, i just really do not want to mess up in any possibly way my chances of getting into this amazing school</p>
<p>95% of interviews basically confirm what columbia has in their file for you. the goal is not so much ‘make an amazing impression’ (although that would be nice) as it is ‘dont eff up’. looks like you did fine. don’t even worry</p>
<p>thank you, thebeef, you don’t know how much your post alleviated my anxiety</p>
<p>wow that’s such a weird interview. the guy seemed rude.</p>
<p>Wow, everybody’s getting an interview; I submitted my application part 1 almost a month and a half ago and I haven’t gotten one.</p>
<p>my interview was very similar. It was very, very short, and i didn’t fully get to explain myself. The woman seemed to like me though? I’m iffy.
and yes, she did confirm most of what is on Part 1.</p>
<p>she took notes on the specifics I said. Is she to report those back to Columbia?</p>
<p>i think the interviewer is just supposed to make sure you arent the scum of the earth. If you have an amazing interview, it obviously isn’t going to outweigh the other parts of the app and sitting and talking for 2 hours with your interviewer doesn’t mean you had a good one. you did fine</p>
<p>Sounds like your interviewer was just very busy and didn’t think much of you whether good or bad. It shouldn’t affect your chances too much. My app to Columbia was definitely borderline, but I pushed it over the edge because I blew my interviewer away. </p>
<p>My interview (nearly 4 years ago now) was 35 minutes long in a starbucks, my interviewer was a recent grad and a really busy guy both work and interview wise, for most people the interview doesn’t really matter. For a few it can disqualify you if you really have a bad interview, and for a few (like me 4 years ago) it can definitely get you closer to Columbia if you show that you are brilliant / entertaining, fun, likable / going to take advantage of opportunities at Columbia no matter what, and hopefully it shows you to be all three at the same time. </p>
<p>To the OP: don’t think too much of the experience. To others, try to see what your interviewer is looking for, but above all try come off as a calm, modest, enthusiastic high schooler who is thrilled to be interviewing for Columbia, stay relaxed, be yourself and try to enjoy the conversation.</p>
<p>OP: While 20 minutes is short for a Columbia interview, many job interviews are 15-20 minutes with each interviewer. He’s a lawyer, so he gets paid to gather information from people and make judgments about their stories. I’m sure he was able to make an assessment about you in 20 minutes, so the premise of this entire thread – that the interviewer wasn’t able to assess you – is bunk. He could have liked, or he could have hated you, or something in between.</p>
<p>I generally know within 10 minutes what I think about an interviewee. (Why Columbia tells a lot, for example.) I’m open minded and sometimes really like a kid I didn’t like at first, but it’s generally easy to tell.</p>
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<p>Is this speculation, or did an adcom tell you why you got in? (My regional adcom told me why they liked me.) If it’s speculation, it’s baseless – and potentially inaccurate – speculation.</p>
<p>My interview was 35-40 minutes long, but it was over the phone on a Saturday morning with an older alumnus who I believe was a teacher, so he probably had more free time than many interviewers.</p>
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<p>LOL. Thanks for that. Self-congratulation masquerading as advice–hopefully your response helped you.</p>