<p>Hi all-</p>
<p>This is my first post on CC, but I just wanted to let all of those worrying about interviews (as I definitely was) about my experience, because it was nothing like I thought it would be! Hopefully this is helpful to someone out there. Maybe we can make this into a thread where those who want to share their experiences can do so? I know that reading about the experiences of others throughout other threads was really helpful as I was prepping! </p>
<p>(Please excuse any typos- I’m sort of half asleep but want to get all of my thoughts in before I forget!!)</p>
<p>My interviewer and I met at a coffee shop, and we ended up talking for an hour and fifteen minutes, cut short by an appointment she had to run to. It started off a bit stilted and awkward, as I think both of us were a bit nervous (it was her first year conducting interviews), but as soon as we found common ground I was astounded by how relaxed our conversation was.</p>
<p>I wasn’t asked any specific questions, but I did bring a resume, so we started out by going through my activities and interests as she prompted me with a few questions here and there- this lasted for probably about 25 minutes. I’d like to think that I’m pretty passionate about my extracurricular endeavors, and I made a point to elaborate on “why I love what I do,” which seemed to be more impressive to her than me just telling her my position titles and what I did. I did include my academic info (GPA, SATs, Subject Test scores, awards/honors) in a small section on the resume, but she sort of glanced over it and we didn’t speak about it. I got the impression that she was more focused on my interests.</p>
<p>After that, we spoke about her experience at Yale. I think that one of the things that she liked was my clear enthusiasm for the school: I talked about visiting the year prior, what I liked and didn’t like, various tidbits that I had found interesting while stalking the website/YDN/blogs, etc. I asked A LOT of questions about undergrad life and she was very honest with me in her answers, which I really appreciated. It reminded me of when an admissions rep spoke to my school at an info session and told us that they were looking for three things throughout a student’s application: “consistency, authenticity, genuineness.” From my perspective, Yale seems to really value people who are “real,” and my interviewer sort of solidified that for me.</p>
<p>My advice would be to NOT STRESS. I am a big worrier, but I soon realized that my inability to sleep the night before and my mild panic attack pre-interview were entirely unfounded. The experience was, on the whole, a really positive one, and it made me even more excited to receive my decision in a couple of weeks!</p>
<p>Also, I wrote a quick “thank you” email the night of the interview, which she seemed to genuinely appreciate, so I would definitely suggest doing that!</p>
<p>In conclusion: if you’re anything like me, this site can make you a bit (or very) crazy at times. Everyone’s experience will surely be different, but I have a feeling that the upbeat and stress-free energy of my interview is not uncommon with Yale in particular. :)</p>