| What to do at your interview
A friend of mine who has his interview next week asked me for some tips on what to do at his interview. I sent him this email, and thought some people here might find it useful as well:
The first thing is that the interviewer needs to see you as somehow different from everyone else. Depending on where you live, interviewers can have a wide range of number of interviewees (ie, if you live in an area with many alumni, each alumn will have fewer people he or she has to interview. If you live in a place with few alumni, then each alumn may possibly have to interview many people). So the trick is to stand out -- even if you come across as a little crazy (as long as you don't actually leave a bad impression).
Second -- show you have a passion for something. Even if you are into 20 different things, pick one ahead of time to focus on. Passion is important to these people, so if you can work it into the interview, show that you really care about one or two things. You don't have to list all the extra curricular activities you do concerning your passion(s); just try to make it clear through conversation how you feel about them.
Don't talk about grades, even if they are good. People tend to want to use their grades as a crutch, because they think the interviewer will form a positive opinion right off the bat based on the their academic standing. This is not the case. The point of the interview is to form an opinion about you as a person, and whether your drive and passions (see above) will fit in at Columbia. If your grades come up in conversation then you can mention them, but don't try and steer anything in that direction.
Be prepared for the basic questions ahead of time. You are pretty much guaranteed a few stock ones, like "Why do you want to go to Columbia?", "What are your interests and passions?", and even possibly "What do you think you can bring to Columbia?" (they probably won't ask that last one, it's kind of a tricky question to answer without sounding pompous). There may be some curveball questions, but you shouldn't worry about those. They aren't going to ask you to list Hemmingway's works in alphabetical order, or recite the first 20 digits of pi. Just be ready for the basic ones.
That being said, come in prepared with a few of your own questions. When you ask the interviewer a question, it gives them a chance to talk (which most people love to do), and it gives YOU a chance to sit back and relax for a few minutes. I even looked up my interviewer ahead of time with Google, so I could ask him things I thought he might be especially interested in. Your questions could range everywhere from "What was your favorite thing about Columbia?" (kind of a cliche question, but good nonetheless) to "How did you feel about the core curriculum? Do you feel it helped you, after you left Columbia and went out into the world?" (it's a good question, trust me).
Keep in mind that in all likelihood the interviewer is on your side. He or she will probably *want* you to get in -- they will see themselves reflected in your eyes, and think back to when they were on the other side of the table many years ago. You can play to that.
Lastly, remember that the interview is not the most important part of the admission. If the interviewer reports well on you, then great. It will help your application. But even if things don't go well, it won't hurt you very much as an applicant. Which means you shouldn't stress about it.
In summary:
Stand out
Be passionate
Be prepared for the basic questions ahead of time
Come prepared with questions of your own
Remember that they are on your side.
Good luck!
| 
![bbtitle]](/images/misc/cc_logo.gif){kind=logo}
