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<p>Well, think of it this way – someone who’s otherwise a great math/science enthusiast could wreck his/her chances by not presenting him/herself well in an application. I’m pretty sure this happens to many, actually. </p>
<p>I honestly think the ideal way the interview should go, though, is to have it be somewhat open-ended, so you can really give an idea of your passion. I’d also prefer that the interviewer be somewhat versed in what you like. I.e., at least a biologist or chemist if you indicate you’re interested in biology. If you indicate you like math, not a biologist, maybe a computer scientist, physicist, or at best, a mathematician. </p>
<p>The student should ideally have a slight say on who should talk to him/her. This can’t be impossible to arrange, I imagine. </p>
<p>The thing is, if an interview is somewhat technically involved, then the student need not be a natural at answering interview questions or anything – the student should just be able to talk about stuff he/she is already interested in. I think this is probably not too much to ask. MIT’s interviews, from what I heard, could get pretty out there. They weren’t very straightforward at all.</p>