Just ask questions that you genuinely want to know, that you can’t get from the website. Think about trying to create a conversation going, not just a question-answer session. I had a lot of fun in my Carleton interviewer, who was fun and told me a lot of funny stories about his time at Carleton. Perhaps you can ask your interviewer to share some memorable moments he/she had and you can get a conversation going that way. Sometimes the interviewer is the one who starts off the conversation by asking a question like, “How’s school going?” and then the conversation might go on to whatever. Make sure you give your interviewer a firm handshake and thank him/her for the opportunity and his/her time! And remember that the interview really isn’t that big a deal. As long as you don’t say anything completely inappropriate, you’ll do fine.
I live about 6 hours from the colleges I would like to interview with
I live in the sf bay
I want to interview at
pomona
claremont
usc
occidental
anyone interviewed at any of these schools before???
Is it worth a 6 hour drive to go for an on campus or should I just do an alumni interview???
Also who conducts on campus interviews, is it an admissions officer or a student???
If anyone has taken both in which ways do they differ?
It is NOT worth a 6 hour drive to have an on-campus interview when you can just have an alumni interview. Even if you go on campus, you won’t necessarily be interviewing with an admissions dean. When I visited Swarthmore, I interviewed with a senior there (he hasn’t even graduated!). That might be because I did a fall visit program, where there were a lot of students, so the admissions deans were too busy to do the interviews. Still, I don’t know if you’re guaranteed to interview with an admissions dean. There’s not much of a plus in interviewing with the deans anyway–the alumni are trained to interview like a dean would.
I had a Reed admissions dean interview me when she visited Seattle. Often I would say something and she would scribble stuff down. I don’t know whether it was her personal style or something that all Reed admissions deans do for interviews or whether it’s something Reed admissions deans and alumni do for interviews. I can say, though, that the Reed person asked more about what I’m reading in school and stuff than the alumni did. Of course, this could be just that Reed is a really academics-oriented place and not necessarily because she was an admissions officer and not an alum. But there’s not much difference really. Plus, the interview is so not important that it’s not worth a 6-hour drive either way.
The admissions deans of many schools travel; your off-campus interview may be with one of them.
Thanks for everyone’s advice. My interview went really well today (I think?!) and it was more of a conversation than anything. A Bates professor conducted the interview and never once asked about GPA, rank, or test scores.
I have 2 interviews coming up in the next 2 weeks, Harvard then Yale…a bunch of qs, hopefully at least a couple can be answered 
<ol>
<li>Has anyone had either of these interviews, any details? Length? (Yale is with students…) </li>
<li>Does anyone know if either of these are meant to be informative? I assume they’re evaluative?</li>
<li>Harvard sent a letter saying it’s casual and that resume/transcript are not required, but I think I will bring them anyway - is that ok?</li>
<li>For transcript, etc. materials that you have brought, do you ask them at the very beginning if they would like to see them, or bring them up sometime later during the interview?</li>
<li>I keep hearing no jeans…how about polo + dark jeans + brown flats?</li>
</ol>
Thanks!!!
<ol>
<li>Yes; they're just like the other interviews.</li>
<li>Probably evaluative.</li>
<li>Yes.</li>
<li>Whenever you feel is appropriate.</li>
<li>I don't know the proper attire for females, and it depends on the situation you have, whether it's at a cafe or on-campus.</li>
</ol>
thanks a lot dchow
oh and for #5 they will both be on campus
kjj17 or anyone who can answer:
how are you guys able to schedule your interviews so early? i’m definitely going to apply to both harvard and yale, but i weren’t aware that the interview process for these schools (or any schools) began in summer! please help me out, i want to get these going as soon as possible
for Yale, I got an interview notifying me that on campus interviews were taking place this summer, and I don’t remember if they provided the link or I just went to the site to schedule
for Harvard I called to schedule
^^^^
I have 2 schools that interview and now I’m worried that I might have done something wrong 
what did everyone wear to their interviews? I’ll probably have one next month for hotel school at cornell, which is mandatory. I actually got a pin stripe white blazer and dress pants, but i don’t know if im being too formal? But at the same time, it feels like i should present myself in a formal manner since it’s a hotel school interview and all.
Here is the info from the Yale site. I also just check and unless they add slots or have cancellations there are only two left, both for Nov 14. Yesterday there were 7.
“A limited number of on-campus interviews are available for high school seniors. These interviews are conducted by current Yale students at the admissions office. The 2008 summer on-campus interviewing program runs from June 25 through August 22 and the 2008 fall on-campus interviewing program runs from mid September to mid November. If you are entering your senior year of high school in the fall of 2008 and are planning a trip to New Haven, you are welcome to schedule an on-campus interview using Yale’s online interview scheduler. The online interview scheduler is now active for summer interviews and a limited number of fall interviews. We will continue to add fall interview slots as space becomes available, so please check back in late August or early September if no spaces are currently available.”
“what did everyone wear to their interviews?”
I think you’ve got the right idea: wear what fits for the school, and do your research so you know what fits. Dressing too far up or down could mark you down in the “fit” category at schools for which “fit” is important.
ooh typo, I received an *email not an interview. lol. duh
If you are doing an interview and tour in the same day, what do you wear? You want to look nice for the interview, but you need comfortable shoes for the tour…
General advice is to wear the clothes you would wear to a fancy dinner.
Wow, are “nice” shoes necessarily uncomfortable? You poor women! How about a second pair of shoes in a large purse?
“General advice is to wear the clothes you would wear to a fancy dinner.”
Unless that would suggest a misfit for a particular school.
what did most girls wear to their interviews (the ones that were being evaluated)?
kjj17:
Maybe a late response, but hopefully it’ll help.
<ol>
<li>Although I didn’t apply to those, I did apply to other Ivies. Mine was 2 1/2 hours.</li>
<li>They usually have a list of questions that the school gave them, but you can ask them questions too. My alumni kept checking the website to make sure he asked every needed. </li>
<li>Bring them if it makes you feel safer. Since your interview is early I dont know if they have your info, but during my interview they had it all. </li>
<li>I wouldn’t show it unless they asked</li>
<li>I wore dark jeans, a pink decent shirt, some flats, and a purple bag!! Haha maybe because Brown is more liberal that Harvard and Yale, but just look comfortable. Wear your style but a bit classier.</li>
</ol>