The Thread for College Interviews

Son had his first college interview last night. The interviewer asked him ZERO questions. She just said, “What questions do you have about [the school]?” After he’d asked his questions, she said he’s admitted and that he’d get a letter in two weeks.

What was the purpose of this interview? Just to look him over to see if he had any facial piercings or visible tatoos? That he knew how to dress? He visited the campus over the summer, so lots of people there have already met him.

Anyway, have a good list of questions ready in case this happens to you.

Missypie,
Sounds like your S interviewed at a college that uses interviews for information only: providing the students with info about the college, and encouraging students to apply. Such colleges don’t use the interviews as part of their process of evaluating students for admission.

I’m fairly sure that the U.S. News Premium College on-line site (that costs about $15 for full access until next Aug.) provides info about whether individual colleges use interviews as part of the admissions process.

I recently had my WashU interview on campus.
It had a very nice, balanced vibe, because my interviewer was my regional admissions director (basically the one who’ll be reading my app soon) but it was very casual.

She asked me a few basic questions about my ambitions, my interest in WashU, my high school experiences, etc., and then left it open to me to fill the rest of the time with my own questions for her. Overall, I felt like it was the perfect interview environment, and I didn’t feel stressed at all :slight_smile:

I had a Yale interview two days ago with an alumni. We met at a hotel, strange place for an interview huh? But we sat in the bar where there were other people. I was nervous but it went smoothly. We talked about things ranging from my family to my school. He asked mostly about the types of activities I am involved in at school. He even talked about himself, his family and we had a few laughs here and there. He asked why I wanted to go to Yale and if I have an idea what I want to major in, etc. It was consistent as I always had an answer to his questions. Sometimes, i even added more stuff as he scribbled on his paper just so things don’t get awkward. I hate sitting alone with someone and being tongue-tied. So yes, our conversation pretty much flowed well, took about an hour. I was sipping the apple drink he bought me the whole time to shake off my nervousness, worked for me!

Yesterday, I had another interview with an alumni from Harvard. We met at a Starbucks coffee shop. This interview was brief unlike Yale’s. We talked for about half an hour. She asked questions such as my reason for picking harvard, my family(which according to her she asked out of her own curiosity), my plans for college, school activities I’m involved in, and I asked questions for the last few minutes.

I think I did great in both interviews!!

Missypie,
Sounds like your S interviewed at a college that uses interviews for information only: providing the students with info about the college, and encouraging students to apply. Such colleges don’t use the interviews as part of their process of evaluating students for admission.

You’d think, but no. It’s a school with rolling admissions and son would have been admitted a while ago, but for the interview taking place. It’s a school that “requires” an interview, then it turns out to be a non-interview.

Hi, I need some help as soon as possible and thought this would be the place to come!

I’m going for interviews at Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Middlebury and Wellesley next week and it is going to be my first time in REALLY cold weather. I’m not really sure how to dress smartly but also be warm and comfortable. Will jeans, layers of sweaters and an overcoat be okay, or are jeans too casual? And what kind of boots would you suggest?

Sorry if my questions seem silly, coming from the Middle East I am having to buy an entire new wardrobe for this trip! I only own one sweater believe it or not!

Thanks!

Another question, I read somewhere on this thread that there is no need to take a resume for Swarthmore because they ask you for a list of your extracurricular activities before-hand. I scheduled my interview by phone however and havent been asked to list anything for them… They didnt even ask for my email now that i think about it. Did they ask for this list at the college itself or was it e-mailed to you? Thanks!

Anyone have any tips for what to say in a thank you note to an interviewer? It wouldn’t be awkward to say, “I really enjoyed talking to you,” would it?

riddhifromdubai: It’s really not THAT cold here right now. I live in CT and it’s been about 30-40 degrees for the past few weeks. I would recommend getting corduroys or thick chinos; jeans are a little too casual. A thick sweater over a polo or dress shirt with a coat should be plenty. It will be a little colder at Middlebury and a little warmer at Swarthmore. It isn’t really snowing yet, so you don’t need to get boots, but if you want to I suppose you could. I would suggest some nice loafers and socks.

thisisfurious: that’s not awkward at all. A thank you note doesn’t have to be very long. I would just say how you enjoyed talking to the person and maybe briefly reference your favorite part of the conversation.

My interview 3 years ago at an egineering school had “How would you go about estimating the number of gas stations in the U.S.?”. Of course, I realize now that the intent here was to have me speak out loud, going through the process of stating what info I’d need ("How many cars are there… how often fill up… etc) so that the interviewer could simply see how I would logically approach a problem. But I was 17 yrs old ad nervous as hell so I started trying to figure out a formula on the paper in front of me, which went on for about 3 silent minutes until the interviewer said “OK, let’s shelve this”. I did not get in.

Holy smokes… I just read most of this thread. Is it me, or does it seem that during the months of Oct/Nov/Dec you can’t swing a towel in a Starbucks without hitting someone who is being interviewed for college?

I interviewed with alumni from both Wes and Carleton last week, and I think they went well. It’s really hard to determine!

Wes: I interviewed with a man whose father and son also went to Wes. He’s still really involved in the school so it was interesting to see his point of view. He asked me all about myself, but also said that he was supposed to evaluate me in nine different areas (?). It was definitely an evaluative interview, but also informational for me.

Carleton: I interviewed with another alum who was very involved in the school. It turns out he knows one of my favorite authors (another Carleton alum!), and that was a nice connection. However, I am a manager of a small non-profit, and had to take a call partway through which wasn’t good for me :(. Overall, it was very informational for me and he sent a great followup email with articles on the things we talked about.

I have a quick question - my Yale interview is tomorrow and it’s at Google with a pretty young alum.

She told me that I could dress down because well, it’s Google, but I don’t know what’s cutting -too- casual.

Would a peacoat, jeans, flats, and a dressy grey plaid short sleeve be okay? Or what would you guys wear? I’m definitely not going to go in a suit though.

I have to request an interview for MIT by 12/10. What do you say when you contact an alumnus by phone to request an interview? (i.e. social “script”) Sorry, if it seems like a stupid question; I’m rather nervous.

Just got done with my MIT interview a couple of hours ago. My interviewer looked like he needed a HUGE dose of caffeine. I had to remind him of questions he had to ask. Overall, I think the interviewer was impressed by my profile. He even told me I had the highest SAT score of all the people he has interviewed this year.

I have my Wellesley interview on Tuesday… I’m so nervous!

Do interviewers already have a good background of you before the date of the actual interview? Have they looked or reviewed your application at all? Do colleges already group you into a “strong candidate”/“fair candidate”/“strong reject” categories before the interview?

Just wondering because economics is on my Princeton application as an academic interest - which it is, but i’m wondering if I should be prepared to give a dissertations on how our current economic crisis occured…

Question:

I have a Brandeis alumni interview next week. She asked me to meet her at a bookstore (which I am SO okay with because bookstores make me feel at home), but I don’t know what to wear. I had two interviews before where I wore a dress, cardigan, and flats, but they were at dressier locations (one was at a hotel with an admissions rep and one was at my interviewers studio). I don’t know what to wear for a bookstore! Help!

I just made an appointment for an interview…thing is…i think the interview is in the lady’s home?
is that even normal? im kind of scared now lol