Hi!I’m currently in the process of applying to various boarding schools and although I know its late, I have my first boarding school interview on the 13th.I was wondering if anyone who had already done their interview could offer some advice if possible, thanks!
My daughter has already done several interviews.
It seems that pretty much universally, interviewers are hoping to get a good idea of what you are really like as a person. They are not looking for some ideal kid, they instead want to get a feeling for whether you would really thrive in their community of many different kids. I think this sort of evaluation is often scary for kids going into interviews, but fortunately being a little nervous is perfectly fine. As long as you focus on listening and giving honest, thoughtful answers, and showing some genuine enthusiasm when appropriate, you will do what you are supposed to do.
In terms of preparation, thinking about why you are interested in this particular school, and what else you could learn that would help you better decide if it is a great choice for you, is always a good idea. You do not need to know everything about the school, but you can study the sorts of things that particularly matter to you.
If you like you can also think about how you might answer some common sorts of questions. Things like what you see as strengths and weaknesses in yourself, what you like or dislike about your current school, things you particularly enjoy, and so on. But I really don’t think you want to go crazy with preparing answers to these questions. Just more understand how these can be topics and maybe think about them a bit.
Of course this is all just based on what I have heard and a handful of experiences. But I am pretty confident it is in fact consistent with what interviewers are looking for.
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It’s a conversation. The AO isn’t trying to trick you ,– they’d like to see you at your best.
In advance, do some reflection. What do you like best at school and why? Least? How do you like to spend time outside of school? What do you like to read? What do you want your high school experience to be? Why BS? Why this one in particular?
You can ask questions about things that interest you, whether it’s about private music lessons, intramural sports, more about living on campus, etc. Try to ask things that aren’t on the website.
Relax and enjoy – they aren’t trying to eliminate candidates but instead find reasons to admit them!
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Thank you so much!
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Thank you so much for your response!
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