<p>I have my 1st interview tomorrow, and as scheduling luck would have it, it's Harvard!! >_<</p>
<p>Anyways, what kinds of questions do you usually ask?
Do you usually ask academic type questions, or can you also ask things like campus health services, security, etc.?</p>
<p>Also, I've so thoroughly researched, I don't really have any questions. lol.</p>
<p>Thanks for any help or advice!!</p>
<p>(Oh and for "why harvard" - would it be too cliche just to say...well, it's the best. lol)</p>
<p>Even if you know the answers, I'd still ask questions, it shows your interest. Ask about his/her experience, what they did and didn't like. Have a good range from student life to class difficulty. Ask things you wouldn't find on the school's website and that can only be answered by someone who went there.</p>
<p>Ask questions that you genuinely want to know. If you know that the campus is secure, or don't really care that much, don't ask.</p>
<p>Thanks! I mean, I'm nto concerned about security haha, or really health services (though I haven't run into much information about that), my question is more I guess whether those would be inappropriate for an admissions interview :)</p>
<p>Most of what I really wanted to know...I have since figured out lol. But I guess I'll just try to elaborate :P</p>
<p>Yeah. If you know that the academics are challenging, you shouldn't ask whether they're challenging. It's not necessary to discuss a wide range of things. I'm sure you don't know everything about the student life there, and student life is important to know about. You can also talk about the interviewer's experiences if you can't think of anything else. And make sure you make the interview enjoyable for the interviewer as well. But you'll find more stuff on the interview thread.</p>
<p>thanks! :)
<em>big gulp</em>
wish me luck! haha</p>
<p>If you've done research, that's good. Use the information you've learned and ask add-on questions. That will show that you've done your homework in learning about the school, have thought about the information enough to have additional questions, and show unmistakably that you're interested in the school.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>thanks! :)</p>
<p>Let us know how it goes!</p>
<p>My own personal rule for asking questions in interviews is to listen crazy-hard to everything the interviewer says. And then ask a question about what they are saying, whatever that happens to be. When they are finished, ask another question about whatever they just said. You know, like a conversation.</p>
<p>No prepared questions dragged out for the sake of asking a question. The only time I'll ask a prepared question is if the interviewer sits me down and says, "It's nice to meet you, Cindy. What questions do you have for me."</p>
<p>thanks! I wasn't planning on whipping out notes haha</p>
<p>although - dumb question, would it be rude to take notes? I always take VERY COPIOUS notes on tours & at info sessions :P (which I consider very important b/c after 12 visits, all the info gets jumbled up!)
I wouldn't be scribbling as furiously at an interview, obviously, but would it be appropriate to have out a notebook and take a couple notes here and there, or would that be a terrible idea? >_<</p>
<p>Honestly . . . </p>
<p>When applicants take notes during an interview with me, I think it makes a very poor impression. Are they so mentally weak that they cannot remember what I said 8 seconds ago? Are they thinking they will need these notes for something later? </p>
<p>Nope. Hands folded neatly in lap, total focus and eye contact, questions that have something to do with what we are talking about that show that the gears upstairs are turning. That is what I like to see when I interview someone.</p>
<p>If you really need to remember something for later, wait until you are in the parking lot and then write things down.</p>
<p>"Are you quite sure you went to Harvard?"</p>
<p>thanks cindy, I didn't end up taking out my notebook :)</p>
<p>I talked to a woman I know who does interviews for Princeton. She says she likes to ask quirkier questions like, "what's your favorite super hero?". So don't be solely prepared for the typical what you can do for the school questions.</p>
<p>oh wow, that's interesting haha. I don't know much about superheroes :P
I actually hope future interviews to be like that though, seems much more interesting</p>
<p>"When applicants take notes during an interview with me, I think it makes a very poor impression. "</p>
<p>I like it when they take notes. It indicates that they care about the interview.</p>
<p>I also know that of course anyone who cares about an interview is going to be nervous, so taking notes may be helpful. I wouldn't view any high school student as being mentally weak if they took notes so as to not forget important things in an interview. After all, it's more than likely one of the first interviews they've ever had.</p>
<p>Heck, I'm taking notes -- why shouldn't they?</p>
<p>If they don't take notes, I don't count it against them. :)</p>
<p>"Hands folded neatly in lap, total focus and eye contact,"</p>
<p>I don't look for those things. In fact, I think that giving points for those things would be wrong because depending on students' cultures and personalities, they may not do those things. For instance,many people -- including me -- use their hands when they talk. Many cultures teach that it's rude to look authority figures in the eye. </p>
<p>The content of what people are saying would be far more important than how they use their hands.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, I didn't mean to suggest that students cannot use hand gestures. I gesture quite a lot myself. I meant they should appear attentive and engaged, as evidenced by things like posture and eye contact, rather than hunched over a pad of paper. Sorry for phrasing things poorly.</p>
<p>The other thing about taking notes is that interviewees sometimes take notes at the weirdest times. I think some of us note takers will jot something down when we have a moment to do so rather than exactly when it was said. So we can wind up with my saying some whimsical or unimportant thing, only to have the candidate start scribbling furiously. What on earth are they writing? I just find it distracting when someone is writing when I am trying to talk to them and get to know them unless I'm giving them information they need to record with some accuracy (like an assignment).</p>
<p>I don't take notes when I interview someone. I can remember what I need and record it on the evaluation form after they leave. I just make the next person wait 1-2 minutes before we start. After all, I'm not recording actual information, I'm recording my impressions and concerns. I want to focus all of my attention on them. (Then again, I'm not a huge note taker, as I find it distracting to listen closely and write and think all at the same time, so YMMV.)</p>
<p>anyway, your different take on things shows something important: You cannot know what will or will not turn off an interviewer, can you!! :)</p>
<p>Yes, it is very true that interviewers can have different styles and like different things. The info that colleges want from interviewers also differs. Some basically just want interviewers to sell the students on the college. Others really do want interviewers to rate the students in order to help admissions figure out whom to admit.</p>
<p>I take notes when I interview because my alma mater wants specifics like quotes from the interview. They want interviewer to back up ratings with specifics.</p>
<p>I can understand why a student might take notes while I'm saying something inconsequential. If the student is like me, they may be making a note to themselves so they don't forget to mention or ask about something important that may be unrelated to what the interviewer is saying. It can be very easy to get off track during an interview, and then totally forget to mention something that's important.</p>
<p>thanks for the different perspectives :)</p>