Hi, I’m debating whether or not to schedule an alumni interview for WashU but I’m worried it might go poorly. What kind of questions are usually asked in these sorts of things? And could a bad interview negate the demonstrated interest shown? Thanks.
I’m an alumni interviewer (recent-ish grad).
I tend to do interview fairs (that seems to be common in my area), so I’ll interview 6-7 kids in a row, all in a day.
It’s an incredibly low-stress interview. To sum it up, I ask prospective students just to tell me about themselves; what they like to do, their passions, you name it. I’ll talk about my experience a little (I tailor it to their interests for the most part; a prospective art student isn’t going to care about engineering labs, for example).
And then I have them ask me questions. I’ve gotten everything from questions about grades to questions about the party scene. Again, this is not to stress them/you out. It’s to make sure I cover all topics of importance that a prospie can’t necessarily get a feel from from looking at a brochure or school stats.
As an interviewer, I do this on a volunteer basis. I have no buy-in to the process and I get no perks from a student being accepted/choosing to attend (other than a warm, happy, bubbly feeling - I’ve kept in touch with a few as they’ve started at WashU). While I am there to help sell the school (but never mention anything negative about other schools); I myself am a huge believer that you should find the best fit for you, even if that means you have to cross WashU off your list. In other words, I’m pretty honest with the kids I sit down with.
From the above, you can probably guess how I’d answer the last part of your question: It’s really difficult to have a “bad” interview.
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If you sit there blankly and respond with one word answers. Or don’t ask us anything at all. This has never happened to me, but I saw it once and it weirded the interviewer out like crazy. Questions don’t have to be intricate (or even a “question” at all). They can be as simple as “Tell me about your favorite project with XYZ Student Group.” Seriously. Don’t sit there silently. It’s weird and off-putting.
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This has happened to me, and it was really upsetting. After I had spent 45 minutes with this one girl, she left to go meet up with her Dad. Somehow she got it in her head that it was then okay to start blabbing while still in earshot of everyone and she said something to the effect of “the interviewer was nice, and it was a good warmup… it’ll be good practice for the schools I actually care about.” In other words, she had just wasted 45 minutes of my time. Time I could have spent with someone else (the event was full and people had been denied interviews) who actually gave a shit. I’m sure several kids I’ve interviewed have had WashU low on their lists, but please don’t be stupid enough to say something negative like that in front of your interviewer…
Hilariously enough, I had already filled out my form for the girl I mentioned above in scenario two, so I never even told WashU about it. She was in fact admitted, but chose to attend elsewhere.
Long story short, an alumni interview likely won’t make or break your application. We do fill out forms on each kid, but they’re fairly straightforward. However, it is an additional way to show interest (and learn more about the school!), which can really only be a plus.
Also interviews aren’t necessarily considered “fair” since if you’re from an area with no available alumni, you probably won’t have the chance for an interiew. Counting that against you would be unfair. From my experience, it’s really more of an opportunity for you to learn more about the school.
Many people I knew including myself never had an interview.
@Johnson181 I’m planning a visit and an interview soon so this really helped me! Thank you!