<p>I've been reading Northstarmom's descriptions of Harvard's interview orientations: seeking outgoing Type A personalities. I'm just wondering if this is the way it works at the other Ivys and top schools. Also how much do the interviews actually count? What was your Ivy interview like (or your child's)? Do you think preparation is useful?</p>
<p>I don’t know about Ivys, but at my college, the interview did not neccessarily “count” for traditional students, it was purely voluntary. I think that any school where the interview is optional, the interview will not be a huge factor in admissions (if many students don’t interview because the interview is optional, then it’s not a fair standard). BUT interviews can be very beneficial in filling out a student’s experiences in greater detail than a resume allows, and that can give you an edge. </p>
<p>For example, two students might put “Plays cello in high school orchestra” on their resumes. But one student goes in for an interview, and in the course of their interview, they explain that they became interested in cello because of their grandfather who had a huge Bach collection and they would listen to cello concertos together every Sunday. And his grandfather bought him his first cello, and found him a teacher and never misses a concert. And kids always made fun of him for playing something dorky like the cello, but his grandfather would encourage him and push him to stay true to his own passions, no matter what." </p>
<p>So now you have two students. One who “plays cello” and one who has a passion for music, an appreciation of family/community ties, and a strong sense of individualism, even in the face of adversity. </p>
<p>If the interviewing student doesn’t have hte grades, it won’t matter that much anyway. But if they do, and they have a compelling interview that gives an in-depth look at who they are in real life (not just on paper), that’s a plus. </p>
<p>It’s good to be a little prepared, but having done interviews as an alum, I would caution strongly against being too rehearsed. Think about sample answers to sample questions “why do you want to go to X school?” for example or “what do you like about X activity” but don’t worry about drilling your kid so that they give the perfect answer. Admissions reps are looking for kids with “real” answers that feel like they’re coming from a place of honesty and an understanding of self. Just remind your child to try, try, try to avoid using “like” like every word.</p>
<p>One of S1’s interview was held in a classroom (after school hours). The interviewer arranged to meet him there. This interview was memorable because S1 described it as “hand grenades” being thrown right and left. I asked S1 if he felt that the interviewer got to know him, despite (or because of) S1’s feeling of being “off-balance”. S1 said yes, he thought having to think quickly on his feet, answering a barrage of (sometimes off-the-wall) interview questions, removed any “prep” and revealed his true self. Other interviews seemed to be very scripted.</p>
<p>My older son had two interviews - one for Harvard and one for MIT. They both seemed fairly low key and friendly. Neither knew anything about computer science so they couldn’t talk in great depth about the one subject my son can go off on. My son is not by any means a Type A personality - he’s somewhat quirky, shares a lot of traits from the Asperger’s spectrum, but he does understand emotions he just isn’t that interested in having lots of friends. He’s always been great with adults and the people who have hired him for freelance work love him. We did talk about questions that an interviewer might ask. He was always very honest. He interviewed in Feb. for Harvard back when the had SCEA. The interviewer asked why he hadn’t applied to Harvard early. I don’t think he was being accusatory - just thought my son was a great fit and a legacy. My son answered honestly that Harvard wasn’t his first choice. The interviewer spent a fair amount of time trying to sell Harvard to my son. When I came to pick my son up (this was before cell phones), the interviewer invited me in and we all chatted for another 10 minutes or so. My son seemed pretty relaxed. The interview was in the man’s house - I think he’d done them in public places in the past, but he had a broken leg. Older son isn’t exactly type A, but he is/was very focused on computer science and very good at it.</p>
<p>Similar set up for the MIT interview, except the interviewer didn’t talk to me. (Which was fine.) </p>
<p>BTW he got into Harvard, but not MIT, despite thinking MIT was a much better fit for himself.</p>
<p>Younger son has had interviews so far with U of Chicago and Georgetown. When asked “Why Chicago” he said the same thing he wrote in his essay - that he was initially put off by location and the fact that his uncle the lawyer had gone there. (He doesn’t think he wants to be a lawyer.) I doubt they’ll mind. He has an engaging manner and probably made it sound pretty amusing.</p>
<p>He prepared for both interviews by looking over the college websites again. Georgetown he had visited which made it a bit easier. His AP Euro teacher I know has talked to them a bit about interviews - specifically about shaking hands (always stand up and don’t give them a limp fish.)</p>
<p>Neither child has had the hand grenade type of interview.</p>
<p>DD interviews at different colleges can be summarized as follows:</p>
<p>Harvard: It was arranged very professionally by Harvard Alumni Group on a company campus over the weekend. It was a full day event with lots of children scheduled at the same time. The children and many parent of the children were there in the lobby and some parent waiting outside. The interview was conducted as much professionally as possible. Interviewer was old male but quite current with the Harvard and interview went fine as per DD. DD interview lasted for an hour.
Status - Rejected in RD.</p>
<p>Princeton: DD was scheduled wrongly in terms of communicating the time to her, so even though she was early, she was actually late and another student was scheduled after her so she got less time around 45 mins instead of 1 hr or so. But the interviewer was a young female and was able to relate her experiences with that of DD and it was more connecting interview and she invited DD for a summer internship at her work.
Status: Accepted in RD</p>
<p>MIT: DD was scheduled at a local coffee house near her school and interviewer was a female engineer from EECS, the dept., DD was considering. Interviewer was waiting before DD arrival and she was very resourceful about MIT and was able to address all the concerns DD had. The interview went for almost 2 hours and DD was very happy with the experience.
Status: Accepted in EA</p>
<p>Rice: DD was scheduled in a resturant inside a hotel. Interviewer was a young male who spent 2 years at MIT before transferring to Rice. Interview was suppose to be 40 mins but went to 1 hour delaying the person tremendously after her as he was a bit late to begin with. Interviewer was very resourcefull in EECS and was able to provide really good picture of possibilities at Rice. He also offered summer internship oppertunity at his company.
Status - Accepted RD with merit scholarship</p>
<p>I hope DD experience with different interviewer be helpfull to others. It was strange that even though DD applied for Engineering at all 4 colleges. The interviewer for Harvard and Princeton were not engineers. Harvard was buisness graduate while Princeton was a finance graduate. Both MIT and Rice interviewer were from EECS department, exactly what DD actually applied for.</p>
<p>I want to clarify what I mean when I say that Harvard looks for students who are extraverts. I don’t mean “extraverted” in the psychological definition, which means people who get their energy from being around others. </p>
<p>I mean “extraverted” in that they are able to carry on a conversation with an interviewer. The interviews aren’t supposed to be stress tests or examinations on arcane subjects. The interviewer basically is trying to get to know the applicant, including learning about their interests. </p>
<p>Interviewers are encouraged to ask open ended questions. I’d ask students things like, “Tell me about yourself.” A student whose response to that was to be frozen in fear or to say something like, “What do you want to know?” was not demonstrating much in terms of general social skills, assertiveness or confidence.</p>
<p>I’d also always say near the interview’s end, “Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you think it would be helpful for Harvard to know about you?” I found that even with a very open question like that, passive and dependent students wouldn’t reply or would try to get me to tell them what to say.</p>
<p>Younger S is an introvert, who tends to be shy in new situations. However, he seems to have felt that he did well in various interviews (none for Ivies) because he ended up talking about things that he cared about: extracurriculars, academic subjects he liked, people whom he admired, etc. In fact, after one college interview, he called me long distance to tell me about the long conversation he and the interviewer had about community service projects that each were involved in.</p>
<p>My oldest D’s interview consisted of questions like, “If you were a color what color would you be? and why?” “How would your 3 closest friends describe you?” “What motivates you?”
This was her interview at Brown. She thought by answering the questions that her true personality was revealed (and that was a good thing!) She was accepted and Brown was her first choice school.<br>
Her interviewer was not particularly friendly and so she was unsure of what would come out of that meeting.</p>
<p>Can a person’s personality/character really be understood in a 45 minute meeting?</p>
<p>I have read several interview reports for students that I’ve know for 5+ years – and I’ve been impressed that yes, a perceptive interviewer really does capture the essence of a person. Just to make this clear – I didn’t interview the students, but I was in the position of being able to read the reports. And they were spot-on.</p>