Hello,
Is anyone else applying to this program? Thought it would be nice to have a thread for us (if there is anyone else!)
I did. I received my interview this week and was wondering if anyone knows how the structure of the interview works?
The interviews will be conducted with a Columbia admissions representative and a Trinity faculty member from the specific department to which you applied. The questions will be content based and cover the academic program. Students should be prepared to discuss their program choice at a reasonably academic level. For instance, an applicant to the History program might be asked why they chose to study history, what time eras/historical occurrences interest them, what historians they follow, which regions of the world they might like to research, etc. In addition to these kinds of questions, interviewees should be prepared to discuss why they are interested in the Dual BA Program and how it fits into their future life goals.
Hope this helps!
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If I have not heard about an interview yet does that mean I will not receive one and that I will not be considered for the program any longer?
@GSTourGuides If our chosen degree choice involves a language should we be prepared for the interview to be conducted in that language? Or will there simply be questions around why we want to continue studying that language?
You should have received an email by now about interviews, as they tend to notify everybody at once. Check your spam folder and try signing into the application portal to see if there are any updates.
It would be made clear in the program requirements if you are expected to be fluent in the language already in order to be in that degree choice. So you shouldn’t be surprised by having to do the interview in that language, but certainly you should be prepared to discuss why you want to continue studying that language.
@GSTourGuides What should we wear? And how many people can we expect to be there for the interview? Thanks for being so helpful!
Business casual should suffice! You want to look presentable, but don’t feel the need to be too formal with a three-piece suit or anything. I personally wore a dress (nothing too formal, appropriate for office attire) to my interview for the Sciences Po program, and I’ve seen boys wear blazers and/or button-down shirts to interviews. I think the dress code is similar for the Trinity program.
Interviews are typically with two people - one representative from the Columbia admissions team and one from the partner university (in this case, Trinity).
Hello!
I registered for a virtual interview, but when I received the confirmation email with the hyperlink for the site used, there was no link attached. In other words, when I tried clicking the little “Click here” hyperlink, nothing would happen. Is anyone else having this problem?
Thank you, and have a great day!
Perhaps you could email back to make sure there’s no error!
@GSTourGuides, Thank you! I’m also wondering how much in-depth knowledge we should have of our area-study. For example, if I am interested in Middle Eastern and European Culture and Language Studies, do you think they will ask specific questions on current events, or more general opinions? Thank you for all of your help!
They wouldn’t expect you to be experts (you are interested in the department to learn, after all). However, they would likely want to see that you have some demonstrated interest and knowledge in the region, which could also include current events. Again, you don’t need to be an expert, but you should be able demonstrate your academic interest and curiosity in the area of study to which you applied.
@GSTourGuides Do you know how many people were offered interviews and how many people will be offered places?
I’m not sure how many people were offered interviews, and it’s not decided yet how many students will be interviewed. Since this program is still new, it has more applicants this year and more students interviewing as well. The admissions team is expecting an overall 25-35% acceptance rate this year, but again it’s still being sorted out since the program is new and the numbers are different this year.
@GSTourGuides, can you please tell us how many students applied to the Trinity dual BA program? thank you!
This year, for the class of 2024. Thank you 
Hello, all. To give a bit more clarity on the interviews, I’ve reached out to a current student to hear a personal account of what the interview is like.
He dressed business attire (nice shirt, jacket, and tie). The interview was about 30 minutes long with one representative from Columbia and one from Trinity. Generally they will ask questions to assess why you would be a good fit for this dual-degree program. They may ask you about your department choice and some content-based/critical thinking questions relating to your program to see if you have demonstrated interest and some exposure to that subject. For example, if applying to the European Studies program, you might get questions about Brexit. But aside from those, they may ask you more broad questions to get to know you better as a person (your interests, hobbies, things like that).
Hi! I know for other schools we can send an email to thank the interviewers. Is there any way to follow up with a thank you after this interview? Since there are a few interviewers, what would you suggest to do? Thank you!
Most likely you won’t be able to get the contact information of your specific interviews (unless you do some digging on your own). I can tell you most students didn’t write a thank you email afterwards (and I didn’t either when I applied to the Sciences Po program), so it’s okay if you don’t get to follow up. If you’re very motivated inclined, you can try finding their email, but this isn’t necessary.
In the future, however, I would strongly encourage you to send thank you emails when interviewing for internships/jobs! 
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