italmom

I also need some advice on the interview process for my D.
Is it formal or informal?
What types of questions are asked?
How long does it last?
Does it help to interview on-site?

coteee

I'm pretty sure that they don't interview on campus.
I didn't do one myself, but one of my friends did.. she was invited to an alum's house. It was somewhat formal, but laidback, if that makes sense.
The only interview advice that I can really give is that.. you should ask questions that can't easily be found on the website.. ask about the school though. Curiosity is a good thing as long as it's not obnoxious.

spunaugle

Don't lock you keys in your vehicle at your Yale interview...
Haha but seriously now, The interviews vary quite a bit from just what I experienced. However, they were generally informal (business casual dress code) and consisted alot of asking about your passions and reasons for applying. The trickiest question I encountered was "What will you be about to contribute/bring to [Dartmouth] that is unique to you"

sparklicious

Do you mean an interview by an alum? Like coteee said, they don't do interviews on campus.

italmom

I recall at the Info Session we attended they recommended an interview. Whether it was at an Alum's house or on campus, I'm not sure, but it sounds like the former.
SO, next question,
can my D get an interview in the Bay Area or will we have to travel to Hanover.
thanks ahead for your reply.

spunaugle

It will be a alum interview probably at his/her residence or a neutral location like a coffee shop. As far as getting an interview.. all you do is apply and then the alum contacts you for one, you really can't arrange one yourself. However, if I there's an alum in Northeastern Oklahoma.. I'm sure there's one about everywhere :P

chal

Actually, there wasn't one in southwest Missouri, which I found a bit odd... oh well.

monroylobo

Mine was sort of a mass interview. They had about three alumni who were at a large office building. They did individual interviews in succession of around 30 or more people. I had to drive around 2 hours to get to the location though so I imagine people came from large radius around the state. My interviews for other schools were much smaller. Duke was at a coffee shop, Brown was at a lawyer's office (only me there), and Harvard was at another office with a much smaller amount of people than at my Dartmouth interview.

The Dartmouth interview was similar to the others in that they seemed to have the same sorts of general questions to ask. Though one might be tempted to reiterate all the information that is on the application, I think the interview is meant to add an explanation to the list on the app especially if you didn't delve into them in your essays. The interview is a way for them to see genuine enthusiasm in certain subjects and basically to weed out the crazies. I think the interviewers think they have more sway than they really do as far as getting you in unless you're being interviewed by a Rockefeller or something so it isn't really anything to get all nervous over.

Poisonous

All of the college interviews I did were inbetween, but more on the informal side. These are not business interviews, they are meant to give the adcoms a personal look at the applicant. Dress casually but nice and be prepared for a warm discussion.

My Dartmouth interviewer had a qustionairre in front of him, but I don't know if this is standard. In fact, it was the only interview I had where the interviewer had a formal questionairre in front of them. He asked about extra-curriculars, academic interests, why I liked Dartmouth, and about what ethics meant to me. From my experience the interviews are more like a discussion, and the interviewer asks relevant questions as they arise in the conversation.

The range is different with every individual interviewer. I had one (Yale) last 45 minutes and another (Princeton) last over 3 hours. Dartmouth was about an hour and a half, which is fairly standard.

I've heard differing opinions on this subject before. Some argue that if you can get an interview with a real adcom, and make a strong positive impression, that it is worth more than a statement written by an interviewer. I doubt that there will really be much of a difference though, unless you can make a VERY strong impression. But, it goes both ways. If you make a strong negative impression, your application could be hurt much worse than what a bad statement would do.

If there is an interviewer in your area, Dartmouth will arrange an interview with that person. Given that you live in the Bay area it is very likely that you will have a local interviewer. If there is no interviewer near you available Dartmouth won't hold it against you. If this happens you could ask for an on-campus interview, but it really isn't necessary.

1ofeach

Dartmouth no longer offers on campus interviews.

italmom

thanks for all the helpful info on the interview process

nicolerene02

My experience with the interview was that it was very informal and the interviewer (alum) was really just there to get a personal look at who you are behind your stats.

My interviewer emailed me and we set up a date to meet at my school. She lived locally and we really hit it off initially because she loves Harry Potter and I'm Head of Slytherin at my school.

It was a really great experience for me because I got to learn a lot about lesser advertised aspects of Dartmouth (i.e. How nice are the running trails?).

But BE WARNED, it's not completely informal. My interviewer actually googled my name and did background checks on some of the items I put on my resume. Be an authority on your extracurriculars or you will look like you just participated in them so you had something to put on your application.

Good luck!