Both in person interview and Skype interviews. What is the dress code for Skype interview?
Depends on where he/she is applying.
Check the particular forum for the individual school.
It also depends on how old you child is currently - if she/he is still newborn, you likely have around 18 years to prep, and the answer is far more complicated than anyone could fully describe here. 
Thank you @3puppies My 16 years old will be interviewing for the first time. Would you like it better if I call her a young adult?
No shirts with rude things written on them. No shirts with the names of other colleges written on them. No garments so sexy that you wouldn’t wear them in front of your grandparents. It would be good if the clothing was clean, too. But this is not a job interview. You don’t need a suit or even business casual.
Tell her to put the I-phone away during the interview.
Tell her not to chew gum, don’t eat during the interview, nor smoke ANYTHING.
Control her flatulence (at least for the in-person interview, this is less of a problem for the Skype interview). She should eat enough ahead of time so her tummy doesn’t growl. But choose wisely - avoid garlic, be sure her breath is not offensive, etc. Brush and floss ahead of time - get the spinach out from between her teeth…
Sit still and don’t fidget - unless they ask to see her do a pirouette. Sitting still is important for Skype as they might not see her if she moves away from the camera.
She should practice answering a few typical questions that she might expect to hear - what was her favorite class and why, or how did she triumph over adversity, etc.
Tell her to be herself, relax, and remind her it’s only her entire future depending on this. BIL told my niece if she didn’t do well at her interview, he could save tuition and instead get her a stripper’s pole…
Or not.
Some interviews, for some schools and programs, are indeed important for admission.
Others, particularly alumni interviews for certain schools, are mostly a chance to exchange information and make the admissions process a bit more personal. They matter very little in admissions decisions.
The college website should be able to give you an idea of how important the interview is.
I didn’t do anything.
I assume we are talking college admissions interviews. Both my kids did a few interviews. We didn’t do much to “prepare” them, I did remind them to think about why they wanted to go to a particular school since it seemed likely they would be ask and to think if there were any questions they wanted to ask themselves. They both said the interviews were very relaxed. Most were done with a senior student, 2 were admission officers and 1 was alumni. As for dress - they dressed conservatively but not too formal (for him, dress slacks and polo shirt, her a skirt and blouse).
My D did a number of interviews in person and my S had a Skype interview for grad school…I’d suggest the following.
-For dress my D either wore a skirt/top or a sundress with flats or wedges or black pants with nice black boots and a blouse (depending on the weather to some extent). Of course nothing revealing, nothing with writing/designs that could be at all offensive etc. For the Skype interview I’d suggest that she wear a simple blouse (not a lot of design/writing that can be distracting) – the rest of the outfit won’t be seen.
-You or your D should google “sample college interview questions” and you will get a list of some things that are commonly asked. She shoudl also be prepared to talk about her HS academics, ECs etc.
-It would be good for your D to come up with some reasons she particularly likes each school. It would also be good to come up with a couple of questions that specifically relate to each school. Some questions can be used for more than one school My D put some questions/reasons she liked school on an index card which she brought to each interview in a folder in case she “froze”. I think it was kind of a security blanket and she never took it out (but she’d look it over before each interview). For the Skype interview a card or paper can be on the desk and it probably wouldn’t be seen (as long as she doesn’t keep looking down).
-My D always brought a resume to her interviews in a folder (with her index card just in case). If your D doesn’t have a resume there are samples online (google high school resume samples) and one can be done pretty quickly. Bringing a resume was very helpful as it gave the interviewer the chance to ask more questions more directed to her interests/activities etc. When my S did a Skype interview, the interviewer had the resume as part of his application when the spoke. For the Skype interview perhaps she could fax a resume to the admissions office with a note asking that it be directed to her interviewer.
-And the obvious stuff – phone on vibrate or off in purse, no eating onions before in-person interview etc.
The interviews all seemed to be low key and more of a conversation than anything else. Tell her just to try to relax and be herself.
Get them to the interview with plenty of time to spare. I screwed this up with D’s Stanford interview. Also, help them articulate why a particular schools is a good fit. This question will invariably be asked in one form or another.
Thank you everyone. A lot of good information here. This particular interview is for the national scholarship not affiliated with any school. Anyone has any experience with those? What makes it more difficult is that she is away from home for her summer research program and will have to interview from there. I am sure she will have plenty school interviews in upcoming year since she is a HS senior.
I’d think it would be basically the same type of thing except that instead of talking about a college she should be prepared to talk about why she is interested in the scholarship, how she is qualified for the scholarship, and how the scholarship can help her achieve her goals.
I have served for many years on a committee for a local, and large scholarship. My advice is two fold.
- Find out the purpose of this particular scholarship. You want to address how you fit what the committee is looking for. One candidate we had was a C student. She wanted to teach pre-school and had need along with a consistent desire to work with kids. We awarded her 10k. She fit what we were looking for. Grades and test scores were secondary to us.
- Be memorable in a good way. I am a big supporter of mission/ community service trips but, the same story has been told 1000 times. Mention it in passing, then move along to something more distinctive. My favorite interview candidate spoke about how his life had been affected by being so involved in his school's theater department. The topic didn't matter. It was his unscripted passion that came through. FWIW, my favorite essay came from a candidate who lived on his family's farm. His free time was spent restoring an old car with his father. (Not as president of any club) It was engaging. And, I believe, he also came away with a 10k award.