over the weekend I took a table at our local coffee shop. two tables opened up right next to me and, by coincidence, one table was used by a middlebury interviewer, the other by a dartmouth interviewer. I was most struck by the gap in communication skills between interviewer and interviewee. The interviewers were very gentle with the kids but it was almost painful to watch. My favorite moment was when one of the kids interviewed first with middlebury and then dartmouth, the dartmouth interviewer asked “why middlebury?”
IMO, the biggest improvement schools could make would be to find interviewers that are a little closer to the age of the candidates. Both interviewers were 40+, clearly passionate about their schools but I’m not sure they understood current campus culture and the age difference made it more difficult for the kids to communicate.
the coffee shop plays music and it’s loud and busy so I probably heard less than 2% of the conversation but it seemed to me the best thing we can do as parents is have our kids prepare a couple of pocket questions:
“what did u like about your experience at school x”, etc.
So you think the purpose of these interviews is to give the applicants info on the current campus culture? I disagree totally on that point. But I agree with you that the applicants need coaching beforehand. The high school my kids attend has a volunteer-run interview skills program so they practice the ‘elevator speech’ and other components. This sets them up for success in both job and college interviewing.
How interesting. The noise level can’t have made it easier for already nervous kids. My son did a number of coffee shop interviews and the two that I accompanied him to were pretty well chosen I thought. One school’s interview location really bothered me though: it was an alumni interview at a private club in an area of town that is not well served by public transportation and which charged a $25 guest parking fee. I thought that sent all kinds of unfortunate messages to kids and parents who weren’t already metaphorically “in the club”.
@Otterma That sounds like an interviewer that is really out of touch with how many people live. Yikes!
From my kids’ interviews, the worst one in terms of location was a stairwell in the admissions office of a top 20 school with a senior student interviewer. I guess they were so busy that no place else was open. People were walking up and down the stairs during the short and rushed interview.
@quietdesperation Yes, every applicant should have several, engaging questions prepared to ask.
Quite a few of D’s interviews were with recent grads. One alum just graduated last year, one visiting AO just graduated last year (this was AO’s first prospie interview!), and another alum graduated within the last few years. I do think it’s helpful when the interviewer is fresh off the campus as things could change a lot in 20 years.
At least 2 interviews took place in favorite coffee shops, no problems. Quite a few took place at her school with visiting AO’s. I don’t know a lot of details bc she goes to boarding school but my impression is that most interviewers were pretty young. The “worst” thing she had to say about any interviewer was that she found one much “preppier” than she expected and it has colored her impression of that college, which she has not visited.
My daughter’s Stanford interview was in a coffee shop with an alumna who told her that Stanford was primarily a STEM school and asked her why she was applying since she was interested in studying history. There are a lot of interviewers and locales that don’t do justice to the schools they are serving.
@quietdesperation Actually it should be 3 way: applicant to interviewer, interviewer to applicant, interviewer to AO. But that doesn’t mean anything about “current campus culture” must be part of the exchange! An alum should be communicating the history of the school, and the value of its degree and network post graduation to the applicant. Tours, overnights, accepted student programs and other yield events are for “current campus culture” reconnaissance.
I absolutely agree that colleges need to find interviewers more in touch with how the current college is. Part of how I picked my college was based on how I felt welcomed and felt like I really got a good feel for the college based on the interview (Scripps only has student interviewers which I think is great and should be done more often!). The worse was Princeton’s where the interviewer was probably about the same age as the interviewers in OP’s post and completely out of touch. He kept questioning whether I could afford Princeton. I had to remind him several times that Princeton is known for a great financial aid policy. He also went on a rant about how people judge him when they find out he’s from Princeton and is “only” a high school teacher and how his degree didn’t get him where he wanted to go. Not to mention, when we got to the part where I was supposed to ask him questions, it became pretty pointless since I had prepared questions that made me look decently knowledgeable about Princeton, but he really didn’t know anything current about it. Yikes.
D’s interview with a small liberal arts college. Alum had graduated a few months earlier and this was her first time as an interviewer. Our dog had eaten sugar free gum (poisonous to dogs). It wasn’t much, but no one else was home, and D was worried and wanted to observe the dog, so she brought him along to the coffee shop with outside seating. Our dog was not a model observer, but they did have a great conversation. (and Dear Dog is fine)
D’s interview with her ivy league dream school was with a retired alum who shared how he had to take a break from college to serve in the Vietnam War. Per D it was an amazing story from an accomplished guy who really gave her some perspective.
D’s Skype interview with a current student from the admissions office at an east coast school while D is sitting on our lanai in 80 degree weather. D said the interviewer was wistful to mildly jealous. When D comes in from the interview, I notice she is wearing her ratty PJ shorts with a nice shirt. She says getting away with no pants is the best part of a Skype interview.
Massmomm, we had a similar experience with a different school, He told D1 history was useless and she should change to math (not her strong suit, but it was his major.)
Depending on the school, imo, younger isn’t always better. Imo, it’s good to have some smart questions, but if you have to go to an interview to learn about the school, in general, oops.
“Tours, overnights, accepted student programs and other yield events are for ‘current campus culture’ reconnaissance”
“if you have to go to an interview to learn about the school, in general, oops”
D was not able to visit most of the colleges to which she applied, so interviews were her only live contact. I think most or all of them were informational rather than strictly evaluative. Feeling a connection with current campus life was a substantial focus of her interviews vs. say, a more global or theoretical exploration of her future life after graduation.
The best that kids can do to prepare for interviews down the road in their lives is to be socially comfortable in various environments. it is not just couple hours of preparations, it is part of communication skills that are developed thru the person’s life. My D. had many pre-college interviews. She never prepared for them, she just remained herself and truthful during interviews. I got a sense that she actually enjoyed them. Interviews are also a way for the applicant to see which place fits them the best. Do not loose this opportunity to ask questions relevant to your own decision making.
My daughter interviewed at 3 schools and found them to be drastically different, but each good in their own way.
School #1: Coffee shop in our area with an admission rep.from the school. This was her first interview and she was fully prepared for what she would like to “sell” about herself as a candidate and how to answer the “Why this school?” question, etc. Instead she found it was mostly the rep providing her info on the school and why it would be a good fit for her. The rep seemed more interested in answering her questions. Very pleasant experience, but she was a little disappointed she didn’t get to sell herself! Lol It just wasn’t needed.
School #2: Interviewed on campus with a senior student at the school. This was by far her favorite interview. She felt the student’s passion for the school and learned a lot of about the school from a student perspective. She was asked great questions and felt like she really was able to tell the school about herself while also learning about the school. (This ended up being her first choice school and where she is going in the Fall.)
School #3: Interviewed on campus with an admission rep. The most formal of all of the interviews and probably her least favorite only because she discovered the school really wasn’t for her which is definitely beneficial as well.
I found it fascinating the different approaches the three schools took to interviewing, each beneficial in their own way. I was skeptical about a school using a student to interview, but that one was a great experience.
My D just completed her first interview in a coffee shop with an alumni that had graduated in the 60’s, so he was in his 70’s. That said, it was a great interview and went for an hour and a half. He was very interested in her and could speak about the campus today because both of his kids had gone there.
Massmomm, I am sad to hear that about the Stanford interview, and my mother, who got a Ph.D. in history there, will be heartbroken. Stanford had a world-class history department for generations and now it seems that the university has decided that STEM is the only thing that matters.
D had varied experiences. 5 interviews so far…2 on campus with current seniors (one was very nice and the other was such a bust that D only applied to the school because her essays were already written.) 1 on campus with admissions officer. That one went so well that when they came out after almost an hour, the admin kept switching to “when your daughter” comes here and then saying “I mean if.” And apologizing and at the end actually said “I’m sure your daughter will love it here when she attends.” After that interview, this school shot to D’s #1 choice. It will be a real blow to her if she doesn’t get in.
1 was with a travelling admin at a local coffee shop, which went very well. 1 was with an alumnus at his house. That threw me for a loop, but I guess it went well. He was older and said he would definitely recommend D for admission but during the interview he kept saying that she should have applied to another college where her academic frame of mind would be much better than for his “preppy” Alma mater. Weird.
My son’s most memorable interview was at Reed College. It took place on a swing and his favorite question: If you were an ice cream, what flavor would you be?
