So, I had my duke interview two days ago and it was quite awkward. Normally in interviews they ask me questions. But this time, the interviewer just talked and talked and talked non stop! After one and a half hrs he asked me if I had any questions. I asked a couple of questions and that was it. Do the Duke interviews always go this way? Thanks
If your other interviews have not been like this, why would you extrapolate that every Duke interview goes like this? You had a volunteer alumni interviewer who preferred to hear himself talk. All HIS Duke interviews probably go this way. Every school (and job) is going to have good and bad interviewers. You got one bad one and it happened to be Duke - that’s not a reflection on every Duke alum or on what the school is hoping to learn in the interview process. At least your interviewer did not bring a 2-year old along, as was discussed in another thread.
Yeah, agree with InigoMontoya, definitely not typical. But every interviewer is different, so probably that’s his style. It’s not like we’re trained in how exactly Duke wants it done, although they give general guidelines. The people conducting the interviews are alumni volunteers, so everybody has their own style. I try to do more listening than talking when giving interviewers, asking questions and then giving them time at the end to ask me some questions. In any event, I wouldn’t stress all that much about it – the interview is a very small component of the evaluation process, serving more as a reinforcement of previously established thoughts and serves more as a “tiebreaker” than anything else. It’s basically another recommendation – that often comes in after they’ve already made their decision.
What @bluedog said, plus one additional key point. Since the alumni volunteer obviously wanted to talk about Duke – and certainly did so – he may feel this was a GREAT interview, in which case @bademsi likely will receive a splendid evaluation. No, I absolutely do not conduct my interviews in this manner. However, an element of the process is to “sell” the university (especially considering that the interviewer may well be the first Dukie the applicant has ever met).
@bademsi No, all Duke interviews are not the same. My daughter’s interviewer, a medical student, was quite personable. Their interests happened to align almost perfectly, so the conversation was free flowing. She realizes that the interview is a small part of the admissions process, but she felt that it allowed Duke to see another side of her, and it allowed an alumnus to explain how Duke could be a good fit. Of course, not all interviewers are the same, and some are going to be better than others.
Whenever I interview I ask my questions and sit back and wait for the student to talk.
Everyone has their own style though.
@sgopal2 @wstrav @toptier @bluedog @InigoMontoya This helped a lot! I was just feeling bad after the interview and wanted to find out if this was the case with all the interviews. Apparently not. Anyway, thanks for your help!