<p>I cannot comment on how important they are.</p>
<p>Considering the place of the interview in admissions, I don’t know if I should call it a “conversation,” but I think that the intent is to simulate one. My interviewer asked me (among other things) about my high school, reasons for considering Columbia, favorite books, movies, and what I think about the construction project in NYC’s Ground Zero. I asked him about his time at Columbia. It lasted about an hour.</p>