<p>There is a ton of information on Yale’s website if you search around. That being said, ask honest questions, not what you think are clever questions.</p>
<p>To T26, Admissions Addict, or any other alumnus interviewer,</p>
<p>Is it okay to arrive early to the cafe? Say, 30 minutes or an hour early? Just so I can order a drink, read a book, and mentally calm myself (I’m sure I’ll need it by then). Would I just be making it more difficult for my interviewer to spot me, or vice versa, rather than if I arrived on time and had to scan the room?</p>
<p>Also, it wouldn’t be looked down upon if I’m reading the Lord of the Rings? I want to seem smart, but I really don’t want to read Jane Eyre to look sophisticated. Rather, I just want to avoid seeming unsophisticated.</p>
<p>I tend to think I am overthinking this, but it’s my first interview and I’m exceedingly nervous. Thanks!</p>
<p>yeah you’re probably overthinking it. I’ve had two interviews in coffee shops and I arrived first both times(but only by 10min.) Both times it was very easy for the interviewer to spot me. An 18 year old sitting on their own looking sort of nervous is pretty easy to spot.</p>
<p>and I’m not an interviewer but I wouldn’t judge you for reading LotR… actually they’re fairly challenging books</p>
<p>53 Pages…</p>
<p>53 Pages to look through before my interview this Friday…</p>
<p>ಠ_ಠ</p>
<p>Is there a condensed version of selected advice? Or… am I just going to have to sift through… 53 pages…?</p>
<p>What constitutes bad reasons to go to Yale? Is talking about its campus, resident system, clubs, the fact professors teach classes good reasons? I mean many top ivy schools offer these same things, so should we just be saying why Yale is a good fit, not why it’s the best fit? I would think reputation is a bad answer, but what about its level of education? Especially in liberal arts?</p>
<p>@AustHung: I think it’s fine. Like litotes said, it’s not difficult to spot the student awaiting an interview – in 20+ years, never missed one. Funny thing: I’ve run into other students waiting for interviewers of other colleges! embarrassing! – still, they are easy to spot! </p>
<p>@firstlast: bad answer: reputation/prestige. It’s bad b/c it’s so shallow and shows zero depth. Practically anything else is fair game IMHO</p>
<p>Hi there. I don’t think being out of town is a problem. I just sent an e-mail to the applicant I have to interview and gave her a lot of options for interview times, along with a lot of locations (my office, Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, the library). I would never try to pin a senior down to an all or nothing date (isn’t your senior year stressful enough). I don’t believe that any of the interviewers would do that. We do interviews because we love interacting with and meeting candidates, not to make your life more stressful.</p>
<p>So, wait for them to contact you and if it is a time you can’t make, send back a response ASAP asking for an alternative.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I would say to read whatever it is you would normally read and not something to impress the interviewer or “make yourself look smart”. The interviewer may well ask you about the book and why you are reading it. If you are reading Harry Potter for the hunderedth time, that may very well be a conversation starter.</p>
<p>Just my thoughts.</p>
<p>I have been doing alumni interviews for years.</p>
<p>Is it a terrible idea to mention that i have a full scholarship to another school? I tend to use that for the “biggest accomplishment” question so if i get asked that it might just come out…</p>
<p>but obviously if this is a terrible thing to mention then i’ll just use something else.</p>
<p>@kevintothe55: I don’t think mentioning that you received a full scholarship somewhere is a bad thing, as long as the topic arises naturally during the conversation. That’s probably a sign to Yale that you’re a pretty desirable candidate. </p>
<p>However, I’m not sure I would use that as an example of ‘biggest accomplishment’ if I were you. But that’s a personal preference. I tend to like examples that you can expound upon and back up. Where do you go from “My biggest accomplishment to date is getting this full scholarship…” unless there’s a back story to the scholarship?</p>
<p>Noooooo I would 100% not use that as “biggest accomplishment.” Colleges are supposed to be stepping stones to greater accomplishments, not achievements in and of themselves. You must have done something awesome to get the scholarship, use that.</p>
<p>Alright then, i’ll only mention it if we somehow drift off into something somewhat related to that</p>
<p>and okay, i have other things i can say for biggest accomplishment so i’ll use those. Thanks for the help guys!</p>
<p>Hi, I have a question about the dress code.
My interviewer told me to meet him at one of the best and expensivest private “clubs” of my city. He didn’t tell my anything about a dress code, but I read on the Internet that everyone has to wear a tie and stuff like that in this club.
However, I’m too poor to afford all that… What should I do ?
Also, I don’t know how I will recognize him at the club. Should I ask for him at the lobby or something like that ? I’m not really used to these kind of clubs…</p>
<p>You should dress appropriately for the locale selected for the interview so blue jeans and a collared shirt are fine for a coffee shop but would be under dressed if you were meeting in a law office. For this interview I would borrow or buy a navy blue blazer and borrow a tie. If you can’t find one in a local resale shop, you can pick up a pre-owned on one ebay for $15-20. A navy blazer is a wardrobe staple that will be in style for decades. If you are looking for jobs in the business world or may go to professional school, you will likely need a coat and tie for those interviews too.</p>
<p>Slumom and Youdon’tsay, I saw your posts, and I didn’t want to resurrect your comments by replying. However, since you put it out in the open, I thought I’d defend myself. I assume that since you are both on other threads, that you too are “trolls?” I feel sorry for the posters on this thread who got hijacked by your inappropriate, childish comments. Clearly, they chose to ignore them, and I appreciate that. I also apologize to them for both of you. Their questions, as mine, were concerning Yale alumni interviews and just that. Have the both of you nothing better to do than stalk people? I wish I had that much time on my hands. Slumom, I would be very, very careful how you treat victims of domestic violence. I pray you are never in that situation. I did report your post to CC, because talking about other people’s personal information posted in an unrelated thread is unacceptable. Youdon’tsay, for your information, I was not on the Parents thread for years. I had posts on 2011 (that is not years), when I thought it was a useful thread; but once the talk turned to TV programs and what drinks you all were having on which day of the week, it was not of value to me. When you bully other people, you only belittle yourself and show your own insecurities. I’m sure you think this is quite funny, but it is not. I wonder how many other people on these boards you’ve “ganged” up on. My life and children are none of your business nor anyone else’s, nor are your lives and children any of mine. My children are much too precious to me, and I focus on them and only them. If you are both spying on every individual who is interviewing at the same colleges as your children, then perhaps you need to redirect your efforts and attention to more important things. There are many good people on College Confidential (on this thread and others), who have important questions, and there are other good people here to willing to provide answers as best they can. Your comments served neither. Let this be the end of it, and let the posters get the answers they want without you two trying to sabotage others. It saddens me that this kind of behavior goes on.</p>
<p>^ Wait, what?</p>
<p>uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…
This is common and even encouraged behavior, to make sure people are who they say they are. Reading the post that was linked earlier, there are a lot of inconsistencies in your story which is cause for concern for many people on here…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14851420-post8.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14851420-post8.html</a></p>
<p>If they ask why do you want to go to Yale, honestly what can you say that isn’t cliche?
I mean campus, prestige, student life are all things that other colleges have…
Is there something that particularly stands out about Yale?
Also, can you mention your achievements in your conversation?</p>
<p>Can I make a suggestion to applicants? List an “active” email address on your Yale application. My D, who is an alumni interviewer, has had problems more than once contacting an applicant to set up an interview because they listed an email address that they didn’t check very often.</p>
<p>“If they ask why do you want to go to Yale, honestly what can you say that isn’t cliche?”</p>
<p>This worked for my son – granted, he had an intimate knowledge of another school because his sister is a student there, but he said . . . </p>
<p>“Because it’s NOT Harvard!”</p>
<p>Although Yale has many similarities to their peer(s), Yale does things differently – in a better, more positive way. If you can identify the differences between Yale and another school and highlight them, you’ve nailed the answer to the question!</p>