<p>Well, for one thing, MIT supposedly has interviews <em>and</em> the questions I heard are pretty less than straightforward. On the other hand, there are other interviews where the process is very open-ended, and the student is allowed to somewhat dictate the flow. In this case, I don’t think the student would freeze up – unless this student were <em>SEVERELY</em> challenged in some way, but I think this would be an extreme case. I don’t like “strange” interviews either, because then it becomes more about interviewing skills than passion or academic maturity. </p>
<p>The reason I think there’s something missing is that while the teachers are a great resource, I think most teachers will write most based on what you were like in their classes. That tends to rather limit their perspective, I think. There are some who’re decidedly more talkative in class, know what I mean? I feel like being forced to explain what you’re about, and actually talking technical shows a lot about you. While many Caltech students may find it tough to talk about certain things in interviews, I’m pretty sure an interview really really focused on math/science/engineering would even be fun to the ones who’re really interested.</p>
<p>As a note, I don’t even know much about interviewing myself, barely ever had one!! But I think certain kinds of interviews can be helpful. :)</p>