Hello, next month I will be doing an off-campus interview for a school that is my first choice. The interviewer is actually my regional representative, but also part of the admissions counselor (more heavily weighted than alumni interview). For that interview, do I have to give the person a resume? And could you guess give me some stereotypical questions asked by schools? Thanks!
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You don’t HAVE to give the person a resume but if you have on it could be helpful as a springboard for a conversation.
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You can google “college interview questions” and get a good list of typical questions.
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You should also have some reasons why you particularly like and feel you are a good fit for the school and you should prepare a few questions that cannot be answered by looking at the college website.
I would also have a few questions ready that you can ask about the school. These questions can either come up naturally in the conversation or at some point the interviewer will ask if you have any questions.
Think through and practice your responses to a range of questions. Ask one of your parents, a teacher/counselor, or a friend, to role play with you. Not so you can memorize anything, you certainly don’t want to do that, but so you can have something in your head when/if you are asked a question. You don’t want to draw a blank! Remember that this is a conversation, not an interrogation. Your interviewer wants to get to know you; he/she is not out to trip you up.
No need to bring a resume. This regional admissions officer has your application anyway. As an alumni interviewer I turn them down when offered even though I have not seen the application in that A) If the kid can’t communicate verbally what is important to him/her that is something I can write about that matters and B) I don’t need to refer to that when I do my write up since admissions should have that from the common app. I do think role playing with a parent can be helpful. I don’t care if they ask questions at the end (they often do) but those questions should not be something easily answered with a google search.
I would respectfully disagree with @YaleGradandDad fully understanding that every person and every school operates differently. As an alumni interviewer for a different Ivy school I am given very little information about the applicants and welcome a resume. In addition, if you are interviewing next month there is a reasonable chance that you will not have completed and sent in your application yet. When my D applied to LACs a few years ago all of her interviews took place early in the process prior to her sending in applications and she said that every interviewer (both alumni and admission officers) welcomed her offer of a resume.
I’m not saying the OP must have a resume, I’m just saying that if the OP has one it doesn’t hurt to bring it along and offer it to the interviewer (if the admission officer says no then nothing is lost – if the admission officer is happy to take it then it may help the conversation).