<p>Wow, I cannot say this enough, Thank you so much, Northstarmom. I totally did not expect anything constructive to come out of all this venting, but what you said totally just convinced me that i was wrong, yet again. Thanks!</p>
<p>Best of luck to you, blueducky. I take back what I said before about your needing to go to a nurturing college. Your response to my pull no punches critique of your interview demonstrated that you have the ability to learn from experience, something that you'd get plenty of opportunity to do at a place like Harvard. </p>
<p>Wherever you end up going, appreciate and seek out friends and professors who take the time to give you straightforward critiques (but not mean, name-calling ones) because those really are people who care about you and whom you can learn a lot from. Often such people have far more respect for your capabilities than do the people who give you unlimited praise.</p>
<p>Haha OK, to be fair here people, I can see why blueducky was a little nervous about the interview. The interviewer does seem like a no-nonsense, forthright type of guy. I think I would have felt a bit nervous too...where do I go?? Berkeley, AKA sink or swim town. </p>
<p>But I would say that one should enter such an interview expecting to feel like a complete fool in the face of a giant in one's field. The humility accompanying such a feeling will allow one to speak to giants and learn from them. In a sense, it should be easier to take a blow from someone godly in one's field than from a peer, because we EXPECT one to be vastly more knowledgeable.</p>
<p>Heheh, my Harvard interview went well except that the interviewer questioned my ability to read and kept emphasizing on how much reading there is to do in college.</p>
<p>I can see why blueducky was upset about the interview. </p>
<p>I mean the whole Vietnamese-Chinese comment...out of line. And I can see how his other comments (on the computer engineering and etc) while from some people could've been harmless jokes, could have been rude as well.</p>
<p>Why would you feel that by scheduling it two days in advance - which is a good amount of time - that you didn't have time to prepare?</p>
<p>Since when are you supposed to prepare for interviews? Granted, yes, you should know everything you can about the school and why it's a great fit for you, having specific examples of programs or facilities in your memory bank. But if you have to "study" and solidify a speech about what you've done the past 4 years, it must not have been very impactful. I get the sense that interviewers want to see who you are as a person, just being yourself, because that gives them a better idea of whether or not you'd be a good fit for the school. You can't really practice for a conversation that could go any direction, can you?</p>
<p>Just my thoughts. And by the way, blueducky, the "you's" i wrote were not aimed at you at all, per se, but just general "you's". :P</p>
<p>I needed more time for emotional preparation lol</p>
<p>Plus, if I had more time, I might have googled him beforehand and found out that he was an expert in the field I was thinking about entering. Or that he was a former professor. </p>
<p>Despite what I said earlier, I didn't hate the guy at all---a lot of the things he said were pretty blunt, sure, but they would have been pretty funny if i wasn't the interviewee.</p>
<p>I like how everyone takes a stab at this interview differently...</p>
<p>I mean don't complain since you didn't really have a problem and don't fret too much about it. Sometimes the interviews that seem to go well don't result in anything worthwhile, sometimes the interviews that seem difficult result in opportunities because of the interviewees ability to handle it.</p>
<p>How can anyone think that Northstarmom gave a good response? The poor kid just had a bad interview, and all NSM can do is tell him how Harvard (which she name drops repeatedly, incessantly, and obnoxiously) is a dog eat dog world. Get off your high horse, and have a little compassion.</p>