<p>I'm visiting 3 NE colleges with my D in July, and she has interviews set up with two of them. One of the colleges sent her a fact sheet to complete before the interview, and she is to indicate "two topics she would like to discuss". (It may not be phrased exactly like this, but something along these lines.)</p>
<p>D is nervous trying to come up with two topics. We don't quite know what to expect. Has anyone experienced this? Do they have in mind something, not necessarily academic, that the interviewee is interested in?</p>
<p>I have absolutely no experience with this/ knowledge of this, but my first instinct would be to pick one academic topic and one non-academic topic.</p>
<p>Two academic topics might make her look like a grind; two non-academic topics might make her look like a lightweight.</p>
<p>And I’d make the non-academic topic one that allows her to shine. For instance, say she has a lot of leadership positions at her school and wants to emphasize that part of her resume, then her topic would be “What kinds of leadership opportunities/programs/scholarship are there for students?”</p>
<p>I suggest that she list things that she really cares about and that reflect the best and most interesting aspects of herself. This could be anything from academic subjects, to ECs to interesting things about her family. </p>
<p>Sounds to me like the college is going out of their way to make sure that the interview focuses on things that the student feels best represent their best and most interesting selves. </p>
<p>I think that your D should pick whatever she feels would best do this. I don’t think that she should try to pick what she feels they want because if the college would reject her after she focuses on what’s most interesting to her, then that’s not the college for her.</p>
<p>Have her pretend she’s on a “blind date” with someone. What does she want them to know about her, so that they’ll want to “go out” with her again? This is her opportunity to breathe some life into what will become a flat paper application. Let her talk about her passions, whether they’re academic or not. If you have an interesting family history that she enjoys discussing, let her talk about that.</p>
<p>I agree that she should not try to decide what they “want”; usually that backfires. Let her talk about anything - her EC’s, the price of oil, her favorite subject, her favorite book, her favorite TV show - that she enjoys talking about. It’s that facet of her personality that they want to see.</p>
<p>I’d only throw in my two cents that the term “interview” in the college admissions process is a bit of a misnomer. Adults hear it and think of a job interview with a lot riding on it. College interviews are really more like information gathering sessions. They are absolutely no-stress situations, often with a current student at the school. Your daughter should think of the first two questions she’d like answered about that particular school and send them in.</p>
<p>ChiSquare, if your D is passionate about music, she should definitely include that! I agree with the posters who suggested picking the topics that are related to her interests. If she has no interest in politics and does not follow the news, she does not need to engage in discussions of the current situation in the Middle East.</p>
<p>In my experience, all of my interviews thus far have been really relaxed and a mutual exchange of information. Filling out that fact sheet with 2 topics to discuss should make your D MORE comfortable so she knows exactly what she’s going to be talking about–rather than being surprised by an odd question.
Definitely talk about what interests her (ex: music) and just have a bunch of questions ready to ask about the school’s music program or whatever else she would like to ask about.</p>