@HectoraB sounds like it went well! Mine lasted for 20 minutes as well, and I’ve talked to others, including a current Dual BA student and that’s around how long theirs lasted too. I had mine 10 days ago and had Patrick & the director of the Euro-America program, Mr. Olivier Ruchet, interview me. They were both very nice. Do you mind me asking where you applied from? Best of luck to you!
@vossari I’m from Sichuan, China(if u know where that is
@HectoraB I actually do! My chinese teacher made us do a project on chinese geography so I have a decent feel for it 
I had my interview a week ago on Tuesday; I made the trip from Philadelphia just for the interview, which I think they appreciated. I was quite nervous beforehand, and I was hesitant to post about how it went, because I didn’t think it went super well. It was just pretty okay, in my opinion. They kept up a poker face the entire time, so I really couldn’t tell what they thought. I sort of guided the conversation myself, bringing up current events on my own, like the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. They asked me about myself and why I applied for the program, of course. And they asked specific questions about my background, like my experience studying in Nice for the summer and my multicultural background (my mother is from the Philippines). The two most difficult questions they asked me (I say difficult, because my answers for these questions were the least eloquent) were how, as a diplomat, I would balance the interests of my own country with the interests of the world at large when they conflict and if I could be a historical figure in Chinese history, who would I want to be and why.
I’m surprised to learn that my interview was relatively long. It lasted forty-five minutes, definitely cutting into the interview of the person after me (I’m so sorry, girl I saw in the office after me). Honestly, I could have done better; the interview wasn’t bad, but I don’t think I did well enough to get into the program, unfortunately.
My biggest piece of advice would be to show that you are not one-dimensional! I really regret not talking about stuff that was not already on my application; I definitely made myself seem one-dimensional. I wish the best of luck to everybody else who has an interview soon! Feel free to ask me any questions.
Hey guys, I had my interview yesterday for Menton. It lasted 25 minutes over Skype. As @AllisonNelson mentioned they kept a poker face at all times which makes me believe that either I did bad or that they didn’t like me. None of my answers seemed to impress them which made me even more nervous. So many obvious things slipped out of my mind like when they asked about how I plan on integrating and make friends back at Columbia in years 3 and 4. They asked a few tricky questions about Syria. I hesistated on one and then answered incorrectly until the Menton guy gave me a hint after which I was able to immediately figure it out, correctly this time. The question was very specific and I haven’t heard it mentioned in the media recently. They asked about why I applied and about 2 activities I do. They asked about which book I read at school that I didn’t like and why. Spaced out on this question though there is a book I particularly disliked and ended up talking about another one. Overall it wasn’t my best interview. I’d say it was alright. I could’ve done better
I’m so glad to see everyone posting here, because it helps me feel better about my interview, and because I think you should all feel better about yours! First of all, the fact that you were invited to interview is already a massive accomplishment! Unlike most U.S. universities, this program invites only a few finalists to interview, quite like the Oxford interviews. I see many of you stressing about what you could have done differently, and trying to second-guess what the interviewers were trying to get you to say, etc. I am the one person that always always does this, but I can tell you that you should try not to! I’m sure that all your interviews went much better than you think they did. Waiting sucks. I, for one, am still waiting for answers from 5 universities, but that’s life. Best of luck to all of you!
@vossari Thank you, I actually have been stressing A LOT about how my interview went, as you probably guessed from my earlier comment. I have basically given up all hope of getting in and generally making myself feel miserable.
You reminded me to stay more positive, so I really appreciate that.
Thanks @vossari for your encouragement and positive attitude. Glad to hear that I am not the only one who looks back and constantly questions my answers. I applied to 16 schools. I heard back from 2 and awaiting on the rest. If the Columbia Sciences Po program had early apps I would’ve applied ED. What annoys me the most is not being able to be considered for regular Columbia acceptance, unlike Berkeley. The wait is so long and tortuous. Often times I find myself worried and losing sleep over all my college apps. I am glad I found this thread. Good luck to all, I would love to meet you at accepted students day. Lets stay positive
To all: it’s normal to stress out and review every minute thing you said or didn’t say as well as what you could have said, but it’s pointless torture. What’s done is done, and how you perceived things is unlikely to be how they perceived things.
(And yes, even if you try not to and even if you get in, you’ll still think about it for a while).
Second, it is an official policy to keep a poker face. They can’t encourage or discourage, express surprise, pleasure, disappointment, and they can’t eye-roll or gasp or smile (except for the perfunctory smile to denote politeness.) So DO NOT read anything in the poker face. That makes it very hard for students to figure out what the person thinks - but that’s exactly the point!
The most important thing is to sound confident and answer every single question the best you can.
Just got off from my interview a few hours ago! I’d heard the Menton interviewer was brutal, but it really wasn’t too bad. I think it went better than I expected and the poker face was at times disconserting, but overall I felt pretty good.
@DualDegreeSeeker @AllisonNelson you’re welcome I know how you guys feel! Just a heads up, I applied for the Reims campus, and in my interview Patrick Martinez said they would be interviewing people up to March 4th, and they would get back to me by the end of the month. Not sure if he meant that for the Reims applicants or in general, but I assume it will be similar for all of us!
@vossari my interviewer also said they’d get back to me by the end of March. Going through previous years’ threads, it seems like they released their decisions around March 25th. Does anyone know any current American student at Menton for some insights? Not to sound partial to Americans, but international applicants have a different college perspective than Americans just because the American educational system is so different than most anywhere else. I would take any insight from anyone at Menton though
@vossari I asked him about when we could expect to hear back, and he said March 25, which has been the date for the past few years (although officially, it is April 1).
@AllisonNelson @DualDegreeSeeker thanks for that update! I have an American friend at Reims, he had said that the main shock for him was the French system which is much stricter in its structure than the US one. Hope that helps!
^can you develop ? as if your friend spoke of “main shocks”, it’s likely many kids here would experience the same and would like to be warned or would like to prepare themselves.
@MYOS1634 he basically said that he loved it, but the main thing he had to get used to was the way of writing essays, which is incredibly structured and very different from the U.S. style, and the harsh way of grading. They also take attendance so you can’t skip class, no matter how much you may want to. There’s no way to prepare, just keep an open mind!
Has anybody applied to any of the other dual-degree programs with Sciences Po? I applied to the one with UBC and have my interview on Tuesday; I know others have mentioned the other programs in this thread.
Hey guys! I also had my interview a few days ago. Not sure how it went, but i really hope it went well because this is my first choice! I didn’t apply to any other dual BAs I also heard that the French system is quite different, but I think it will be fine. If French people manage, we can also! Do any of you know how many hours a week we get lessons in French? I applied to Reims!
@ntnationa I believe that no lessons in French are compulsory, but you can choose to take them. I could defs be mistaken though!
Hi @ntnationa,
My name is Laetitia and I am a current fourth-year student in the program (I studied at the transatlantic program in Reims). If you are a non-native French speaker, your fluency will be assessed once you get to campus and you will be placed in the corresponding French class. If you are a complete beginner, you will be doing 6 hours per week of French. If you are at the intermediate level or above, you should have 2 hours of French on average per week (at the minimum). In general, students take approximately 22 hours of class per week in total.
Laetitia