<p>Hi CCers,
For those of you who interviewed with an alum in your area, what questions were you asked? How did it go? is it more casual than formal or vice versa? I would love to hear what you think.</p>
<p>my questions ranged from open-ended questions to those that were more specific:
why columbia?
academic background
what field of study interests you most?
SAT-scores (section breakdown), SAT II scores, and gpa
extra-cirricular activities (3 most important and why)
how have you enjoyed your classes this year?
literature you've enjoyed recently.</p>
<p>come prepared with questions that you might have about the school, since it's also a time for you to clear up any issues you may have. it was pretty casual, since we met in a starbucks. oftentimes, i would answer a question and she would respond with something from her own experience that was related to the topic. it's more or less a conversation, rather than a straight-forward interview.</p>
<p>thanks so much!</p>
<p>Bulletproof's experience is typical of a Columbia interview. Be prepared for academic and EC related questions. And be prepared to 1) talk about Columbia and 2) ask questions about Columbia.</p>
<p>There are 5,000 interviewers. So, there's no "standard" interview. You could get wierd stuff.</p>
<p>Favorite classes in school?
What you do after school (extracurricular activities)?
What you'd like to study/do at Columbia (intended major)?
What classes you take this year?
What you'll do next summer?
What other schools did you apply to?
Specific questions about my school (because he graduated from my high school).</p>
<p>There were so many questions asked because my Columbia interview especially felt like a conversation.</p>
<p>I havent been called for an interview yet? Should I be worried? Am I a shoo-in or "shoo-out"?</p>
<p>Too late. Interviews need to be done by this weekend. No, you shouldn't be worried. You're a shoo-nothing. No conclusions to draw.</p>
<p>umm...my interviewer asked my opinions about animal testing, affirmative action and the iraq war...is that normal?</p>
<p>bob, that seems a tad on the weird side. if your interviewer had opposing viewpoints, couldnt that hinder your admission?</p>
<p>Asking questions about current events is fairly common. Interviewers want to see if you're aware of what's going on in the world, how you handle yourself discussing something complex and controversial, whether you can articulate your views, etc.</p>
<p>Should it hinder your rating if you disagree with the interviewer? No. Could it? Maybe. Interviewers are human. I tend not to ask controversial questions because I don't find it fair to the student and I'm not convinced that I can be fair -- I may to think less of someone who I disagree with.</p>
<p>
is that true, because i have an interview next week...</p>
<p>The deadline for submitting reports is Feb 28th. When is your interview?</p>
<p>my interview is tomorrow. and so are a lot of kids at my school. we all have it at the same place and we all have on hour time slots...</p>
<p>Ok, that's fine then.</p>
<p>a lot of people had the option of doing their interviews on tuesday too. does this just mean that the interviewer will have a ****load of work to do in order to meet the deadline?</p>
<p>Yes. It will likely mean that he won't write very much about anyone since he'll probably have to write a ton of reports at the same time.</p>
<p>okay thanks, and sorry for hijacking the thread.</p>
<p>Most of the posters on this board asked broad and pertinant questions relating to the interview. I just want to offer a word of friendly advice for all college applicants on this board (in response to one of the above poster's comments about his interviewer's "inappropriate" questions). Watch what you say about your alumni interviewers on CC, especially if you can be easily identified (i.e. your locale is listed). I noticed this type of interviewer-gossip was happening on the Princeton forum as well. Alumni enjoy reading College Confidential as well!</p>