The "What other schools are you looking at" question

<p>Gee...I don't know what to make of this. Maybe this explains why so many people don't do interviews well. Preparation and practice don't mean being less genuine or more rehearsed. And being well coached in interviewing skills doesn't mean being ready with canned answers. Quite the opposite. But it's very interesting that there's resistance to the development of interviewing skills. To me, it's like public speaking: the point is to be more genuine, at ease, and engaging, and less focused on the script or tele-prompter. But if someone's afraid that being better at interviewing will mean doing worse at it...well I just can't argue with that logic.</p>

<p>The assumption that you're making, D'yer, is that AOs are impressed with students who are very skilled at interviewing. I would argue that AOs do not expect...or even enjoy...someone who is apparently very "skilled" at what is intended to be "a back-and-forth conversation." Particularly when interviewing younger students (much less so when interviewing a prospective PG), we expect that this is their very first interview experience of their lives, and treat them as such.</p>

<p>After years and years of interviewing hundreds and hundreds of 13- and 14-year-olds, I can honestly say that my favorite conversations have been the ones with students who were in their very first school interview. No practice, no preparation, they hadn't been to see 7 schools before mine, were a little nervous at the beginning but learned to relax... perhaps because <em>I</em> am a skilled interviewER (of teenagers). Well-coached kids often <em>do</em> sound rehearsed and come prepared with canned answers...I mean, of course I'm going to ask some version of the question "Why are you interested in attending a b-school?" and of course if they've answered it before they'll answer it the same way they did when they "practiced." I've even had instances when I've asked a student a question and he (/she) smiles from ear to ear because he's heard that question before and he knows exactly how he wants to answer it. Bo-ring!</p>

<p>I don't disagree that learning good interviewing skills would benefit these students for the entirety of their lives. However, I'd rather them learn good interviewing skills while they're actually interviewing for real. It's just more honest that way.</p>

<p>Are the schools able to determine what schools you have applied to, other than what you reveal during the interview or on the application?</p>

<p>If your family is applying for financial aid, the schools can see which other schools your SSS form is being sent to.</p>