<p>Well, long story short, after begging the admissions office, I finally secured an interview, and it did not go well at all (at least I don't think).</p>
<p>First, my interviewer showed up in jeans. He also asked me to bring a copy of my resume. He said that he wanted the questions to go back-and-forth, and literally, that's what we did. </p>
<p>This interview was unlike any other interview I had. I hardly got a chance to talk about myself, and all his questions seemed very un-interview-like. He asked me things like how well I got along with my classmates, what my favorite college teams were, and what other colleges I applied to. Nothing about my accomplishments, overcoming struggles, etc. Whenever I would try to relate any of my activities to my answers, he would cut me off.</p>
<p>Whenever I asked him a question about Duke, he turned his answer into something about the sports and social scene at Duke. The interview was over in about 25 minutes, and his final question was something about how I felt about the speed of information flow to today's teenagers. </p>
<p>I have won some writing competitions, and when I asked him if he would like to see any of my writing samples or at least keep my resume, he waved them away and said that he doesn't take anything from interviews.</p>
<p>Did anyone else have a strange interview experience like this? I really felt like I blew this big time, but I also felt like I never had a chance to protray myself well. Can anything be done about this?</p>
<p>Though my interview experience seems to be quite different from yours, I can relate. I expected my interviewer to ask me questions about the kinds of activities I am involved in etc....instead we ended up talking more about the housing market and realty. It's not like this even has to do with my major, since I am heading into a science based profession. I too had a short interview, and felt horrible about it afterwards. I believed that I also had not portrayed myself in the way I would have liked. All this being said, people tend to be over critical of themselves when they're apprehensive about things. I wouldn't worry too much, because all my worrying didn't amount to anything, and I ended up getting accepted. I am sure your interview was fine, and I doubt it will affect your acceptance anyways if you are a good candidate.</p>
<p>Hang in there - don't let it get to you. So people have a theory that they "just want to get a feel for a person" when they interview, and scorn things that are too "interviewy" - i.e. what you've done.</p>
<p>My d. came away from her Duke interview knowing a ton about her interviewer's kids, school situation, and got a big pitch on why Duke is great. She figures out of an hour interview, maybe she talked 10 minutes. It's all kinda wild, and you just have to roll with it.</p>
<p>Wow....my interview was 2 hours along and we talked pretty much about everything. Maybe he was in a rush? I'm sure he won't write poorly of you.</p>
<p>Don't worry about the content of the interview or whether you got to tell all about yourself. Every interviewer's style is different. The goal is to get to know the candidate beyond what appears on his/her application. The interviewer comes in knowing nothing about your grades, accomplishments, etc.--The admissions committee gets all that. What the interviewer was probably trying to accomplish was to put you at ease and generally get a feel for how articulate and confident you are, how mature your responses are, what you know about current events, etc. Although the interviewer really is not supposed to ask you about other colleges, he was probably just trying to make conversation. In any event, don't fret.</p>
<p>I think that it's normal to critical of one's interview. Plus, I've read from A LOT of sources that interviews don't really hold THAT much of a weight at all. If you think about it, not everybody has the opportunity for an interview (location, timing, etc...). No worries! :)
I can completely commiserate (woah alliteration) with you, since I had a HORRIBLE interview in October. You really can't blame yourself. Usually, it's because the interviewer isn't the best at asking the right questions.</p>
<p>I honestly don't think you blew it...if it was even you, actually. If anything, the interviewer himself was rather strange. But it's all right. My interviewer (even though it wasn't for Duke) was in jeans as well. The interview overall was pretty casual, and perhaps your interviewer just liked to focus on the social aspect of things :) I wouldn't worry about it. And besides, the interview itself doesn't affect admissions a whole lot.</p>
<p>My interview with Duke was rather odd too. My interviewer asked me one question: "what I think I would contribute to duke" And that was it. So I ended up trying to elongate the interview by trying to continuously ask him questions (it was over in like 35 min). Also, he didn't know a lot of the answers to my questions cause he went for grad, not undergrad.</p>
<p>You didn't blow it and are ENTIRELY overreacting.</p>
<p>And honestly, this may come across as entirely rude and abrasive, so don't take this the wrong way -- interviews are to get to know the candidate as more than just accomplishments and statistics on a sheet of paper. The interviewer doesn't know them and quite frankly they probably don't care since it's not up to them to judge whether or not the applicant is up to snuff academically, but the admissions committee certainly knows them. What the admissions committee doesn't know is what the kid is like as a PERSON -- how the kid relates to new people, new situations, what they have to contribute to conversation topics they may not know a lot about/are interested in, because let's face it, that's what Duke and the real world is like. Which means being able to hold a conversation about something making major headlines currently (housing market/ real estate/ mortgage crisis whatever) even if you're going into a completely different and unrelated field of study.</p>
<p>To the original poster - sure I'm a senior now (and fully plan on volunteering to give alumni interviews next year if I'm eligible), but I can tell you that for every school I applied to, I was asked in an interview where else I was applying. At my Duke interview sports came up and I was asked if I was thinking of rushing a sorority. And honestly, the question he asked about getting along with your classmates is actually a pretty great interview question. I think questions about overcoming struggles aren't good college interview questions because the answers are always so canned and rehearsed, and clearly, this guy was trying to steer you away from those sort of answers by asking you surprising questions. </p>
<p>He knows you're smart and talented and highly accomplished.</p>
<p>My interview was different too. After introducing ourselves, the first thing he said was "Duke interviews are much different from other schools. This will count for 40% of your admissions decision. The committee didn't tell me anything about you, because they want me to make an unbiased decision on your admission, and they will make the final decision."</p>
<p>I was pretty shocked but I enjoyed the interview. It was more like interviewing for a job. He kept repeating how Duke trains leaders, and so if I went there I would be expected to do this and that. Everytime I tried to tell a story that relates to me as a person, he would interrupt me and steer it towards how does it relate to Duke, specifically.</p>
<p>I left the interview very impressed actually, and very interested in going to school there.</p>
<p>FORTY PERCENT?? Of your admissions?? Are you kidding me? Duke has never emphasized their interviews. Anyways, what about the people who are unable to have interviews? I'm not questioning your credibility, but 40% is really high.</p>
<p>The interviewer was probably just seeing how you'd react under pressure - by making you think the interview is an extremely important part of the interview process. I can assure that the interviewer is NOT given a percentage as to how important or unimportant the interview is, so obviously he just made up that figure.</p>
<p>RE: Bluestar7's post.</p>
<p>1.) You are eligible to interview as soon as you graduate.
2.) Duke interviewers are specifically told not to ask where else the applicant is applying unless the applicant brings it up. However, this point is buried, so some people probably miss it, or just disregard it.</p>