<p>No, I haven't scheduled an interview yet...but just the thought of it makes me extremely nervous!</p>
<p>I'm nervous that my shy personality might ruin my interview or get in the way of having an extremely good interview. I'm not a very talkative person but during the interview I would try my best to be more outgoing then usual and to talk more about my passions.</p>
<p>I'm also a bit worried because I don't have as many extracurriculars as all the other applicants do, plus I am being homeschooled in the fall to allow for me to have more flexibility in classes and to take harder classes. For the past five years I have been enrolled at a very small private school...the school has about 80 kids in grades K-9, therefore it doesn't have any clubs, achievements, awards, etc.,. Am I at a disadvantage?</p>
<p>1) Does being homeschooled put me at a disadvantage at all? My parents are not the ones teaching me, I am taking courses through some really good places online & I will get math/science teacher recommendations.
2) I am on a competitive swim team, volunteer weekly at an animal shelter, and compete at MathCounts and Science Olympiad. Swim team & animal shelter are my main passions. :) </p>
<p>Thank you for taking the time to read this! </p>
<p>Being homeschooled, as long as you have the required recommendations and transcripts and as long as it is reputable, shouldn’t be a disadvantage. In fact, it might be an advantage, considered there are fewer homeschoolers, and the schools like to have diverse classes.</p>
<p>Additionally, since you are shy or even just for comfort, arrange a few mock interviews. See if you can find or write a list of suggested questions and give them to friends’ parents or parents’ colleagues. Go in one-on-one and interview and then have them give you pointers. </p>
<p>Mm it might be a disadvantage in the way that you haven’t really interacted much with students your own age at school, and it might work in your favor as pdl mentioned above. </p>
<p>@mrnephew: I’m being homeschooled for 8th grade year (unfortunately, I’m one of those kids that other people like to pick on), but before that, I’ve been going to private school. </p>
<p>@pdl100: Thank you for the advice! I’ll try a mock interview with my parents in the morning. </p>
<p>Andover and Exeter are the two schools that really are more like colleges than secondary schools in terms of environment and freedom; they look for applicants who can thrive with a great degree of freedom and who are “self-starters.” I think you should definitely work on interview skills so you can project the confidence and assurance that I’m sure you have. Also make sure that you talk to your student guide and not clam up there, because they also contribute to the process. </p>
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