Hi, I’m an international student intending to apply ED1 for Smith this November. Last week I emailed the school to request for an interview, and they replied to me saying that an admission officer would fly to my country to interview me this September. I totally don’t expect that (I thought they would arrange an online interview) and I am very nervous right now as I don’t know what to prepare. My interview skills really suck. How should I dress for the interview, and what kinds of interview questions should I expect? I appreciate any help, thank you!
Can you reach out to a current Smith student or alum who also came from your country? Someone who had already negotiated that transition may be able to help you prepare and organize your thoughts. If an AO is coming this fall, then the college obviously finds it worthwhile to travel to your country to meet potential students, so there are probably quite a few. Good luck!
In their reply email they told me explicitly that there is no Smith alumna in my country, but it is possible to arrange an interview, and I think this is already their final arrangement. I think that being interviewed by an alumna may be less stressful for me to a certain extent, but since this is an admission officer (I checked on their website and knew that she is a senior admission officer in Smith), I’m super nervous right now.
Dress would be business casual (nice pants and blouse or something similar). You can probably find some college interviews to watch on youtube. Ask a teacher if they can help you practice for the interview…this will help you feel more confident. You will do fine! Most admissions officers will try their best to make you feel comfortable.
Thanks a lot for that!
Agree with @Veryapparent. Dress nicely - and in something you’re comfortable in. This is a great chance for you to meet the AO and to show her who you are, beyond anything that can come across in your application. Try to shake off the nerves and be concentrate on being confident in what you’ve already accomplished and what you’ll do if you attend Smith. You can practice a little but try not too overthink the whole thing. Ultimately, both you and the AO are hoping for a great interview/conversation - so you already have that in common!
Good luck.
There are a lot of threads with good advice/insights on college interviews. Peruse through some of them. Dress nicely, but comfortably. There is huge latitude here. Main points, have a clear idea what you want to talk about and come armed with anecdotes, but avoid sounding scripted or robotic. People love to hear stories, less so recitations of lists. Have questions in mind about the college that you cannot find by just looking at the admissions website. Treat the process as a “conversation” and not a strict Q & A. The goal is to engage with the interviewer to fill in the blanks on what will make you a desirable member of their community beyond what is in your application. Have fun and good luck.
From their website: https://www.smith.edu/admission/pdf/interview.pdf
Thank you for all the advice!