What makes for a good interview?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Georgetown University
1

<p>I joined the Georgetown AAP (Alumni Admissions Program) over the summer, and I'll be conducting my first interview for Georgetown next week. While the process is certainly less stressful from our side of the table than it is from yours, interviewers want to do well too, and our memories are a little fuzzy on what it was like to be interviewed, so I thought I'd ask and see if people were interested in sharing what would make for a good interview experience.</p>

<p>For those who don't know, Georgetown doesn't distribute a script or tell us what questions to ask you - the goal is just to have a productive conversation. So, first, what questions do you wish you had been asked/hope you will be asked that give you an opportunity to shine and share about yourself? What questions are dead ends? What is the ideal balance between asking about you and talking about Georgetown/letting you ask questions? How much research had you done on Georgetown before going into the interview? What else would make for a good (or bad) experience for the applicant in the interview?</p>

2

<p>I interviewed earlier this October, and it went very well. I would start asking basic questions, like family/grades/test scores/extracurriculurs/goals/dreams, etc. to get a little knowledge about the candidate and to make him or her feel comfortable talking about things that should come easily.</p>

<p>Toward the end, you can give them the opportunity to ask questions, although my interviewer didn’t specifically ask me that and I didn’t make it a point to ask a question just for the sake of asking a question (I didn’t really have anything I really wanted to know from my interviewer.) </p>

<p>I honestly think there is zero pressure on you (at least from our standpoint). We are trying to make an impression on you so that you write a nice recommendation to Georgetown. If the interview goes well, I would tell the student at the end that you are recommending him or her. I think a good performance on the part of the student would make for the best experience for both parties.</p>