<p>Absolutely the interview is about fostering a conversation. I absolutely try to get a free-flowing conversation going. I want the applicants to ask their own questions, to get my picture of life at MIT, and to let a conversation flow from topics that come up naturally during the interview.</p>
<p>During interviews I conducted last year alone, I ended up talking about surf lifesaving versus lifeboat based rescue operations, the pro’s and con’s of different interactive fiction interpreters, what to look for in a really good foreign language bookshop, political unrest in Indonesia, how to dress to improve your dating life, and a myriad of other topics. None of these were particularly of interest to me, but I am perfectly prepared at an interview to let the conversation flow where it might. Almost all of the EC’s I know feel the same way (of course your mileage may vary).</p>
<p>That being said, I would be hesitant to say we never “probe” for answers. If I see or hear anything that requires me to probe directly, then I probe directly. There isn’t a list of what may require me to push further. It is often an offhand remark that starts this (“Oh, LSD is for wimps”) but then I can ask questions until I am satisfied, and that can qualify as probing.</p>