I had my interview during school hours (and i go to a private catholic school) so I basically played it off as I left school early (which i did) to go to the interview. I wore school khakis, white button down, tie, and a sweater over it.
Actually, I had my interview 30 minutes ago for Georgetown. The guy was very open with me and made it easier to talk with (though I stuttered one or two words in the middle of the interview >.<). I know some people have been asking about gtown’s interviews so I’ll tell you what happened with mine. Basically I arrived 5 minutes late to apparently his office (which was really messy and crowded and had papers flying out everywhere) and he immediately told me not to be nervous and how his office should show how much of a relaxed guy he is. Anyway, I tried to be real honest the whole time (which I did for the most part) and he wrote down everything I said for the most part. Asked about my childhood, including all the schools I’ve attended and my family situation. Then went on to ask about my future goals and whatnot, talked about my religion (I’m not Catholic but have attended Catholic school forever). I mentioned how I consider myself Catholic blah blah. Nothing really unexpected, but at the end he asked if I really wanted to say something that I didn’t get across in the application or throughout the interview. Anyways, he said it makes him sad interviewing potential students because many of them are qualified and usually 1-2 of his get accepted (I’m guessing he interviews around 10-15 people). Anyway, the talk was very casual, though I felt wierd because of what I dressed in.
The Georgetown interview was evaluative - for those of you who wanted to know plain and simple.
Good luck to everybody =D and don’t be nervous like I was. (This is my first and I guess it was good practice because this isn’t among my top few schools). My suggestion would be to practice talking with people you feel uncomfortable around - that’s the biggest part in my opinion.
Scrabble, your question of what to wear has been answered numerous times on these boards. Anyway, I would go with pants rather than a skirt. That’s just from what I hear. No hooker heels, so try flats.
interveiws are so overrated, as mine didnt go so well and I still got into college…but then again, i already had a pretty strong app anyways
i have an interview at the university for the honors program.
what should i wear a suit perhaps?
rice interview–just had it couple of hours ago…
uhh surprised it lasted only like 30-40 mins…but then again the lady was like she had to watch the bcs title game…but i left out a lot about “me”…eh, w/e don’t have much of a chance anyway…oh well…
Personally, I got into my early school and I fear that this may come up in another interview and that I will have to answer such awkward questions as why I thought the other school was a better fit etc. Any thoughts?
I had an interview with Whitman yesterday, with one of their admissions people.
I feel it went well, we talked for about 40 minutes, and it felt pretty relaxed and casual. She asked pretty straightforward questions like:
“What is your high school like?”
“What are your interests outside of school?”
“Why did you apply to Whitman?”
“What do you think your teacher said about you on your recommendation?” etc etc
I am glad I prepared some before hand so I knew what I was talking about and had some questions, so overall it went pretty smoothly. I asked her if she could change one thing about Whitman what it would be…she said she was pleased with all aspects of it, except she wished it didn’t cost so much. =P
I had an alum interview for dartmouth today. It went really well. There were three alums who were asking me questions. First they started out with my SAT scores and GPA, and then asked me a lot about my family life, interests, and ECs. We talked for about an hour. The atmosphere was relaxed, and we had a few laughs. I strongly suggest that you guys bring in a EC resume at the least. That way they can look at it over the interview, and have something to talk about.
I love Dartmouth. Most likely I will be rejected (not because of the interview), but meeting the dartmouth alums was a very positive experience.
I have an interview for Harvard next week, and I’m already really nervous.
I’m probably going to wear jeans and a nice shirt, look professional but still like a high schooler, you know?
Any advice? This will be my first ever interview (schools, job, anything)
So I might do my first and only interview, and have it be at Vanderbilt…but I’m scared of doing interviews.
Do you think I should?
Yes. Do some practice interviews with your parents or with adults who are mentors.
It’s important to learn how to do interviews. You’ll have to do them to get jobs, to get into graduate or professional school and to obtain other opportunities. The more experience you get with them, the better you’ll be.
Interviewing for colleges also shows interest and can help you get acceptances and merit scholarships.
Check this thread, elsewhere on the CC archives and other Internet sites for tips about how best to prepare for college interviews.
Confused-
Vandy doesn’t offer on campus interviews.
Futurenyustudent -
I just interviewed for Wesleyan - really fun and easy in fact. We just talked about educational policy, the philosophy of competition, and a little about me. Just a very interesting person to talk to… albeit my guess is at Wes most everyone is really liberal… which isn’t a bad thing, but political diversity is always a good thing.
What do you wear to an interview at someone’s house? My interviewer is a 20-something year old, female alumni, so I’m assuming that she’ll be casually-dressed.
i have an interview for harvard this friday…anybody care to share any experiences/thoughts/questions you remember about your harvard interview?
Anymore details on Johns Hopkins interviews?
I’ve done a Harvard and a Northwestern interview, thus far.
Northwestern said outright that the interview meant less than recommendation letters do, but I still think it helps to have a good interview.
I guess just sort of get a feel for the person you’re talking to? With both interviewers I felt comfortable enough to joke a bit (tasteful joking, not the kind that sends them into uproarious laughter but the kind that warrants a genuine giggle or two). I think the best advice is to be truthful…don’t try too hard or anything. I had “Science Camp Counselor” down on my resume, both people asked about it, and for both I simply said, “well, it was sixth grade science camp, so the sciencey part of it was limited to small activities like hiking and some scientific nomenclature for plants. a lot of it was just fun activities for the kids, and my job as a counselor was to blah blah blah.”
Don’t try and play small things like science camp up as like, “well we went into the physics of it, and I calculated the velocity of…” because these people are actually human and they can usually tell when you’re lying, or when something sounds fishy.
Everyone I’ve interviewed with has been incredibly laid back and “chill”, so I think there’s more stigma around the interview than there needs to be.
My UPENN interview is on Saturday–I’ve already talked to the guy on the phone and he seems very laid back…one of my friends who already interviewed said that the guy said, first thing, “Yeah this is less of an interview and more just me making sure you’re not a crazy person…”
So…just act normal!
My interviews…all laid back, all went well, but each with a different personality
Yale: Scary for a first interview! It was at the women’s house, and we just had a great conversation for an hour and a half. I guess she asked me a few questions, but I don’t know that I really answered them or that it even mattered. Lots of fun…probably my fav. interview.
Carleton: Sweet, but less outgoing interviewer. At a coffee shop (and yes, she offered me a drink and I accepted. It’s really not that big of a deal…plus I like having something to do with my hands and having a drink makes it seem more natural to me). Basically all me asking questions, which was a little tough because at a certain point I was reaching a bit for stuff to say. Covered what I wanted to cover, and she repeatedly said how good of a fit I seemed to be for Carleton. Again, about an hour and a half.
Brown: Most normal of all the interviewers. Was at a tony private school downtown and was only about a half an hour, because of all the people they had to interview (kind of sucked because it takes an hour to drive and park downtown and it has been freeeeezing here the past week, so the two block walk to the school wasn’t so nice). She asked me a good amount of questions (Why Brown?, etc. nothing too tough) and was pleased with me and my answers, I think. A lot of talking and information for only a half an hour.
Princeton: Good, though most unique of all my interviews. Was after school at the woman’s office, and I think that I wasn’t quite in top form as far as eloquence goes, just because I was kind of tired. I spent a decent amount of time talking about my parents, who are both Princeton grads. I felt like the burden was on me in this interview to prove that I wasn’t just applying because Mommy and Daddy said to (especially since I didn’t do ED), and she did indeed ask me, kindly, if my parents were pressuring me about Princeton. I answered truthfully–that my parents think that Princeton is great, but do not think that it is not the only great place or the only place where you/I can get a great education. She seemed to believe me. I also talked quite a bit about academics, including all of the AP courses that I had taken/was taking. The best parts of the interview were when I was talking about my parents (I like to tell stories) and at the end, when she asked me what I would like to convey to the admissions committee about myself (that I am a passionate learner who will come to Princeton and be engaged in class–you would know that I was there!).
I guess my general advice about interviews is that mostly it’s just normal people who probably enjoy talking to young adults. Yeah, I am sure that there are some weirdos (I read the interview horror stories), but assume that your interviewer just wants to get to know you. At the same time, it’s your time to prove yourself–to prove that you can carry a conversation, that you are more than a standardized test machine/academic grind, and that you are honestly interested in X college. Especially at the most selective places, you NEED to show them that Mommy, or your best friend Johnny, or the USNWR rankings did not just tell you to apply and so you did. It seems like common sense, but while I was in my Brown interview, my dad was sitting in the waiting room with some ancient alum that they had to talk to the parents/kids while they were waiting. This guy asked one of the kids why he was applying to Brown, and the kid say “Uhhh, because my guidance counselor said to”. If you can prove to them through your app and your interview that you have actual, good reasons to apply to the school, you will stand out.
okay, now have had 2 interviews…
Hamilton–student intern–nice girl; we chatted for ~45 min about my activities, the school environment, what i liked about the school, how college is different from hs, etc…pretty standard…(on campus)
princeton–alumnus, at his house in my hometown–oh, how i love thee…wow…princeton was in my top 3 beforehand, but now it’s pretty much #1…he asked a lot about my activities and leadership, and we chatted about the town we live in, and about how our high school had changed (he went to the same one i do!), etc…but then he let me direct the conversation which was awesome, and we talked about how princeton defies the typical Ivy stereotype, and that financial aid can sometimes be “tweaked”…b/c $ is a big concern for me with possibly going there…and we talked about balancing working w/ school and that it’s incredibly common at P…all in all, a great interview…hour and a half(!) of just talking, and one of the more intellectual chats i’ve had recently…great experience!
quote Suman:“UPenn - not so hot…held at Starbucks…this guy was given a list of questions and basically asked all of them and wrote down every single answer…some questions were so weird and harsh like why should we accept u…they asked me that directly…so i was caught offhand but i worked my way through…”
Yeah, I had a very similar interview with this guy at starbucks. He asked me to restate the motto of Penn (which I answered perfectly, although I was told no interviewer in the WORLD would ask for school motto). He also had a long list of questions asking interesting questions and basically putting me ON the spot with EVERY single question.