<p>i'm trying my best to prepare myself for the questions and what they do. anybdoy remember?</p>
<p>one question that was asked, that I found difficult to answer was:</p>
<p>In the applicant pool of students with high marks and amazing ECs, why do you think that you're unique and that Harvard should accept you?</p>
<p>That's a great question! I've got to add that to my list of questions to ask. :)</p>
<p>It's also the essential question that the student needs to make sure that their application reflects the answer to and that the interviewer needs to have their interview report document if the interviewer feels that the student is a very strong candidate.</p>
<p>Darn. I've made life a little worse for a couple of kids... m'eh.</p>
<p>It was a good question, though. Something that I was not expecting.</p>
<p>Your answer doesn't really matter. Say something that sounds reasonable. You get in if Harvard wants you, period. There's too much fretting about the interview.</p>
<p>yeah probably, but does anyone else remember any questions that were asked to them?</p>
<p>I would think anyone should expect the question that Davidrune heard, in some form, in the application process for any highly competitive college. As Northstarmom noted, that really is the core question of the whole application process: if admission were strictly by the numbers, you could feed your SAT scores and your grade average into a computer along with everyone else's, and know who was going to what college. It's the less quantifiable human differences that make all the difference among the amazing group of students who have Harvard-level stats.</p>
<p>Interviewers seem to have quite a lot of lee-way as far as what they ask about. I would say about two thirds of my interview was a discussion about the achievement gap (between whites/asians and other minorities) at my school and nationwide: my thoughts on it, what changes I'd like to see, how four years at my school has shaped my outlook, etc. Little to none of it had to do with my accomplishments or the kind of stuff Davidrune talked about. Although, in a more abstract sense, it was all about David Rune's question: she wanted to get into my head and find out how I reason and what my personality is, aspects very important to a college class but impossible to convey in writing.</p>
<p>Here's one that threw me off, although it wasn't from my Harvard interview:</p>
<p>"Describe a failure of yours."</p>
<p>It was so outta the blue, I think I botched it up. for one thing I didn't know what kind of failure the interviewer meant. If the interviewer was looking for something like, "Oh this one time I got a C on a test and it was just terrible! and this other time I missed a goal and I thought my life was over!" then that's too bad, but I don't consider those failures. It's hard to talk about true failures without getting really personal and... urgh.</p>
<p>"Describe a failure of yours" -- thanks! That's another good question to put in my arsenal as I prepare to interview more students. :)</p>
<p>It's a great way to find out about a student's values, honesty and how they handle adversity.</p>
<p>The question mentioned by SoWhatNow was supposedly a standard question on recommender forms for MIT's graduate school for a number of years. As one person who used to read applications noted in an online discussion, it was NOT a good recommendation if the recommender wrote, "This candidate has never experienced any significant failures." Take some risks; learn from your mistakes.</p>
<p>I'm not looking forwards to my interview at all. </p>
<p>The guy sent me a form for me to fill out with SAT, SAT II, GPA, rank, AP, etc.....I'm supposed to bring it to the interview.....BLAH......</p>
<p>My S brought his resume to his interviews (he had interviews at 2 different schools) and both interviewers looked at his resume and asked questions based on info contained therein. For example, one talked about one of his ECs. Another asked how it felt taking lots of college classes. They spent some time talking about their experiences and giving him advice on things like housing and advising. It was low key and relaxed. </p>
<p>The MIT application has a prompt asking the student to write about a failure or challenge. The Dean of Admissions actually said it was important for students who are considering going into engineering to be able to handle failure. But I think that, in general, it is helpful for high-achieving students who have done well in high school seemingly without a lot of effort to ponder reaching their limits or being only one among a cohort of other high-achieving students.</p>
<p>I brought my resume with me on my interview also. I'm not sure where my interviewer got his information about me outside of what I have on my resume, but I was surprised that he seemed to know about my sports records. We discussed my EC's at length and he really wanted to know a lot about my desire to be a self-taught sax player. He's also a musician and I guess he found the conversation interesting. After 2 minutes into the interview, I wasn't nervous at all, and actually enjoyed it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
she wanted to get into my head and find out how I reason and what my personality is
[/quote]
</p>
<p>that's so true. SUNY binghamton doesn't give interviews (sorry to be mentioning a totally different school!), but one of their reps came to my h.s. so us seniors could get some mock interviews in the fall, before we went on real ones. the guy was telling me that colleges just really want to see how you think, to see your thought process.</p>
<p>he gave me this question that i particularly liked. Northstarmom, maybe you'll like it too. </p>
<p>"if you could be any part of the bicycle, which would it be?"</p>
<p>i answered it truthfully. i said i guess i'd like to be the pedals, since that's where the power comes from. </p>
<p>"oh, you're driven," the guy said. i thought this was a little cliche then, so i came up with something different. "well, i wouldn't want to be the seat of the bicycle, for sure. i think i want to be the front wheel, where i can experience every little pebble in the road and 'taste' everything that comes along to the fullest."</p>
<p>Allure,
At first, I thought the bicycle question was sort of silly. Then, I answered it myself. I would like to be the handlebars so I could see where I was going, and I could help steer. To me, that reflects that I have vision. Which is true. :)</p>
<p>"but I was surprised that he seemed to know about my sports records."</p>
<p>He may have Googled you. :)</p>
<p>A question for you NSM:: </p>
<p>Do you think one of the reasons interviewers differ on what makes a good candidate is they're age?</p>
<p>I'm asking because my Princeton and Harvard interviewers were both VERY impressed with my achievements---small and big, and both graduated over three decades ago (when, I've heard, it was easier to get in.) Whereas my young Yale '98 interviewer didn't seem impressed AT ALL. In fact, she even yawned. </p>
<p>What do you think, NSM? Is it easier to get a good report if your interviewer was around before even your parents were?</p>
<p>How much the interviewers are impressed may depend upon how experienced they are interviewing current applicants.</p>
<p>Some interviewers also may be more enthusiastic in general. Others may be harder to read. The yawning interviewer actually may write a report that supports your entrance better than would an interviewer who gets excited about everything.</p>
<p>When it comes to a "good" report, what matters most is not just the rating, but how the interviewer documents the rating. Thus, an interviewer who rates you high on all categories, but says nothing in their report except that you are a highly verbal, energetic, nice person won't do much to help you (or to hurt you). </p>
<p>The interviewer who gives you an extremely high rating on one category and documents that rating using specifics from the interview that demonstrate that you have the traits that Harvard wants would be giving adcoms info that could help you gain admission. This particularly would be true if the information is not otherwise highlighted in the rest of your application.</p>