The Thread for College Interviews

[wudanyan]

i had my brown interview yesterday, and i am so glad there was no mention of current events.

aoshi, if the current event was really major it might hurt a bit, but if it wasn't, it probably wouldn't break the whole deal (your interviewer is focusing on you as a wohle person! so dont sweat it so much)

[worth2try]

I just had my U of Rochester interview yesterday and it was unusually short - 20 minutes. I said everything I wanted to say in a way that I wanted to say it and was prepared for almost all of the questions. Did I not talk enough? I'm scared. He just smiled, looked at my interview form, which listed my activities, classes, etc, and asked questions.
I was somewhat unprepared for the "Where do you see yourself in 5 years" question, but I think I did alright with that as well. He asked me if there's anything else I'd like to say at the end of the interview, and I asked him about his experience at U of Rochester and what not. After that, he asked me that again, and I just kind of said "no." He did ask where else I was applying and I said similar schools and gave the example of NYU, not saying my top choice (Cornell).

[Aoshi898]

o crap, the current event was kind of major lol shoot. but she said that it's fine i couldnt answer it, it was just not my thing. dam i hope she doesnt write a negative rec!

[Nishkid64]

I had my interview with JHU on Friday. I hoped we would talk about some current events and stuff, but we stuck mostly to academics, extracurriculars and what I planned to do at the university.

For Hopkins, you have to tell them about yourself, your town, your school, etc. and then say how you would contribute to the school.

[Joycelene]

I just had my interview for Bryn Mawr today and it went SPLENDIDLY Much better than my Reed one, in any case. This time it was in home territory and so I got there about 20 minutes earlier than I was supposed to and my interviewer was a bit late anyway so yeah It was at Starbucks and I offered her coffee and all that lovely stuff (she declined but the thought was a good one lol). She brought her baby which was why she was late and I played with her a bit and that was good My interview went for about hmm 2+ hours and it was basically a conversation. She asked me the typical interviewer questions like, "what's your favorite subject this year?" and "how are your ecs?" and "what other schools are you applying to?" and all that but it was really relaxed and she did a fair share of talking as well. I feel much more confident about my application to Bryn Mawr now, knowing that I definitely am suited for the environment Yay *is dancing on air*

[JCMom]

How did your Yale alumni interview go? My D has her interview later this week. Was yours at the interviewer's house? Did your mom or dad come along to meet the interviewer? I'm sure my D would appreciate any info you'd like to share. She is very nervous. How long did your interview last? Good luck to you. JC Mom

[Northstarmom]

When it comes to Ivy interviews with alum, Mom and Dad should not meet the interviewer. The interviewer is only interested in the student. If Mom and Dad come along, that would make the student seem less independent, and it also could lead to the interviewer talking more with Mom and Dad than the student. Mom and Dad's presence also could add stress to the student, who may feel less comfortable being their interview independent self if Mom and Dad appear to be watching over her/his shoulder so to speak.

If Mom and Dad have to drive the student to the interview, they should wait outside or drive far enough away to be out of sight, and then have the student call for a pickup after the interview.

Even with on campus Ivy interviews, it's a good idea for Mom and Dad to let the student go into the interview situation by himself/herself. If Mom and Dad are at the interview site, the interviewer probably will shake their hands and exchange some polite words, but I think it still is best for the student to seem as independent as possible by going to the interview location without Mom and Dad in tow.

There's plenty of other good advice/info about interviews, especially Ivy ones if you use CC's search function.

[chatterbox673]

Just had my Yale interview!! The interviewer was really nice, outgoing, super-friendly, and asked me about 3 basic interview questions before asking me to ask her questions about Yale. I asked her everything I could think of- good thing I'd prepared questions, or the interview would have lasted about 5 minutes... :-)
If I could do it over again, I don't think there's anything I would have done differently. I prepared for a lot of questions, including some tough ones, and I think it's good to over-prepare for interviews in case you do get thrown a curveball.

[peindre?]

My Swarthmore interview went amazingly. The guy even told my dad that he thought Swarthmore would benefit from my presence or something like that. I'm a bit of a cynic, but I don't think he'd say that about just anyone. I hope. :-D

The Swat interview was the only one where I was asked about current events. He asked me what I thought about the latest elections, and I in my typical fashion rambled on about stuff. When I brought up the VA senator race he responded, "well, I think you're right about Jim Webb, but my friend from Swarthmore Senator Carl Levin says that..." etc etc etc. That's the kind of place Swarthmore is, I guess. It tripped me out. Our interview went for an hour and then when my dad came back the three of us dicussed politics for another hour. Overall...yeah, it was pretty great. Maybe the best one. And I didn't have to sum up my ECs for the umpteenth time cuz Swat sends you a thing to fill out to give to the interviewer that has all that info. Yay. :-D

Saturday....Barnard! I think it'll be good.

[JooX]

I have my alumnus interview for dartmouth tomorrow at a coffee shop, and I'm just wondering - who buys the coffee? I'm not sure really what I should do. Any tips/ past experiences would be really appreciated!

[writonthetransom]

I had 2 alum interviews today. It was crazy, but I didn't have much of a choice. Brown called about a week ago, and we scheduled it then, but I'm applying RD. Then Chicago called on Wednesday, and since it's my EA school, I needed to schedule it within the week and today was really all I could do. So I had the first at 11:30, the second at 3:00, both at their houses. Both went well, I guess. I wouldn't say amazing, but it was fun to talk about Chicago for 2 hours. I wish I'd had more in common with the alumni (besides liking the schools). Both were econ/business guys, which I'm not too interested in. Luckily, I'm taking econ, so I knew a little, and I was able to talk about Milton Friedman for a couple of minutes with one. But my confession that my dream job would be as a naturalist for a travel company so I could travel to cool places for free was sort of a pleasant clash of interests. Different, but he seemed amused and interested. For Chicago, he asked barely any questions, so I just kept coming up with questions. It was a big change later when we talked mostly about me, and then he asked me once if I had any questions, I asked one, he answered and then he ended it, saying I could e-mail/call with more questions. I'm glad I got both out of the way, though.

[MusicNut07]

I just had my alum interview yesterday and it was horrible. Not that I did anything bad, but my interviewer was, no joke, 90 years old, had trouble hearing, and, since I had visited the campus, said that he wouldn't answer any of my questions because I shouldn't have any. It lasted 1.5 hours and I know his whole life story, but the few questions he asked me I don't think he even heard, though I spoke slowly and loudly. I'm not in a tizzy, but it was just so lackluster I'm, well, feeling disappointed. And he told me that out of his long interview career he has only had one kid get accepted. How's that for a confidence booster. Where are all the cool, coffee-house interviewers I hear about ?

[gladlybeyond]

I have a Brown interview tomorrow, and I was just wondering if I'm supposed to bring anything to the interview?

Some people have suggested bringing a short version of the activity chart, a resume, etc, but I'm not sure if I should bring anything.

What do you guys think? Thanks.

[hemingwayisdead]

I had my U of Rochester interview today, and it went twice as long as my 'Deis interview--45 minutes or something. I guess that's a good thing?

My interviewer was very nice, and responsive, but we had totally opposite interests--she had a science background and when she asked for book recommendations, she had only heard of East of Eden. I totally understand that, but my Deis interviewer's *favourite book* was East of Eden, and she also loved Chaim Potok. She was an anthropology major too and had a background in activism. But, my Deis interview I felt could have been much better. If I could have been as prepared, as sure of myself, and had concentrated my passions, as I did in my UR interview, but with my Deis interviewer, that would have been a phenomenal interview.

Overall I'd say it was very good for what it's worth.

[noril07]

Im not clear on how to initiate an interview. Do you first submit the app and wait for the college to assign you an interview or do you contact the college seperatley and ask to set one up.