RD Applicants: Interview Advice

<p>I actually asked my interviewer to grab me an orange juice, but I recommend against it. Your interviewer’s first priority is to making you feel comfortable enough to open up, but I suggest you get to your coffeeshop ten minutes early (to ensure a seat) and grab a drink while at it. You should be comfortably sipping your drink and making awkward eye contact with incoming customers by the time your interviewer comes in.</p>

<p>I’ve done alumni interviews with prospective students in coffee shops and agree with sushi that it is good form for the interviewee to show up early and grab a drink and a table. Then the interviewer can make contact, go get a drink, and return to the table.</p>

<p>Another alumni interviewer who likes it when student is already there and has bought himself/herself something to drink. I always ask if I can buy something, then students usually say no, but it doesn’t bother me when they say yes. Not a big deal any way you do it.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

<p>D showed up 1/2 hr early to interview at coffee shop to relax and not feel rushed to get to the interview, and the interviewer was already there! It probably started off the interview relaxed and unrushed.</p>

<p>Here are two posts with my Coffee Shop advice</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/283957-rd-applicants-interview-advice-post5194624.html?highlight=coffee#post5194624[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/283957-rd-applicants-interview-advice-post5194624.html?highlight=coffee#post5194624&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/246098-thread-college-interviews-68.html#post13490490[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/246098-thread-college-interviews-68.html#post13490490&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Hope this helps</p>

<p>just had my yale student on-campus interview:
it went pretty well, although I think I actually practiced too much so my answers might have sounded too rehearsed</p>

<p>D is doing Y interviews again this year, interspersed with her residency interviews, so she will be both the interviewer and the interviewee this fall.</p>

<p>I read somewhere on a thread that an applicant is competing against people in his/her region as opposed to people in the nation. How true is this statement?</p>

<p>Yale divides up the states for administrative purposes. So YES your first comparision is within your region: one reader sees all those in his/her region and moves forward a certain number of apps up the process. But given the no. that move fwd as compared to slots available, those on the margins wouldn’t have fared well anyway.</p>

<p>My s just received an email for an interview for Yale a few minutes ago - 11:15 pm (he’s up late doing hw anyway), however, the person didn’t sign their name (lucky it was on their email address). It was different from her other interview requests. This one just said “I am the Yale alumnus assigned to interview you about your application. I can come to your school or meet you at a restaurant on X day or Y day of this week. That would be best for me. Get back to me with a time and place.” And no signature :frowning: We did some research and the person is in his early 70’s (it was on a yale alumni reunion list on the website). Not that age matters at all, but my s doesn’t have grandparents as they all passed away when he was two. I think he might not feel so awkward about it, if the person was a bit more welcoming as the other interviewers have been. Also, since he transferred to this school last spring, he is not familiar with the area, and there are really no restaurants around there. He feels uncomfortable doing it at the school too, because he’d have to ask to use a teacher’s room (there’s no gym or cafeteria). All of his interviews with other schools (Duke, Georgetown, Brown) have been in our hometown which is 45 mins from the school and actually 20 mins from Yale. He can’t make it this week, because he has commitments one afternoon and the other he will be on a field trip. Should he address this with the alumnus or call Yale directly to ask if the interview could be done where we live rather than where he goes to school. The other interviews were done at Starbucks and the interviewer’s homes and went very well. They were very flexible with times and the universities gave the names, address and phone numbers of the alumni and had my s contact them. Is this usually the way Yale conducts interviews?</p>

<p>Medavinci, I thought you had a dd …</p>

<p>Youdon’t say - not that it’s relevant, but I have both. Why does it matter? My d is very ill. I’m not getting the connection.</p>

<p>Medavinci–This is not standard operating procedure for Yale interviews. They tend to be like the other alumni interviews you describe, although Yale requests that interviews not take place in houses. Yale does not send interviewer information to applicants, so that part is normal. I suspect this is just an old interviewer with somewhat dated ways. </p>

<p>I don’t think the interviewer would take offense if your son emailed back, explained the situation, and ask if the alum is available any other time. If the afternoon commitment is something inflexible, the alum should understand. If it’s something your son would prefer not to reschedule or miss, but it’s not actually a big deal, your son should be willing to take the interview on the suggested day.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1391589-fafsa-parents-income.html#post14851420[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1391589-fafsa-parents-income.html#post14851420&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Medavinci, on your post #8 on this thread, you describe all your problems and you never mention a son at all, only a daughter! Usually parents going through issues such as domestic violence would certainly mention all their dependent children. I can understand why Youdon’tsay brought up you having a daughter! On forums such as CC, many long time posters do go back & look at a poster’s history, to verify the poster is being honest and is not just “■■■■■■■■” as we call it. If posters give conflicting personal information, that may be a cause for concern. The poster might be fabricating his/her personal story.</p>

<p>Didn’t mean to create a controversy, but for years medavinci has been posting on the 2013 thread about her dd and never mentioned a ds. No researching her history needed. But having read the link that SLUMOM posted, I now see other inconsistencies and will happily not give this another thought. :)</p>

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I am having my Yale interview this weekend and I have a couple of questions that hopefully you might be able to answer for me! I am meeting my interviewer, who is a lawyer, at a coffee shop. I’m thinking about showing up early and ordering coffee for the both of us. Is this a good idea? If so, what should I get him? A double double or…? </p>

<p>Also, should I bring a resume? And should I wear a tie? Do you think it will be harder for me to answer why Yale questions because I’ve never visited Yale yet? I want to go to Yale because it’s my dream to be a lawyer and Yale obviously offers many great opportunities, but I’m thinking that answer is really generic. I mean, I also really want to join their debate team which is the best in the nation and be involved in their plentiful student publications and student government. Does that sound like a good answer AdmissionsAddict?
Thanks so much!</p>

<p>I wouldn’t order coffee for your interviewer. Fine to arrive early and order one for yourself.</p>

<p>I would not bring a resume unless the interviewer asked you to do so. If memory serves, interviewers are not supposed to ask for resumes, although many do.</p>

<p>For a coffee shop on a weekend, I don’t think you need a tie.</p>

<p>I don’t think being a lawyer is a good reason, but the debate team and student publications are. You can be a lawyer from coming from any college. Yale College is not Yale Law School. Not having visited the campus is not a disadvantage if you have familiarized yourself with Yale otherwise. Goodl luck!</p>

<p>Thank you very much!</p>

<p>Oh, sorry, another question AdmissionsAddict. Where can I find good information that will lead me to ask questions about Yale other than Wikipedia and Yale’s own website?</p>