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<p>Wow I wouldn’t have thought of telling S to bring all those things with him to his summer interviews. Glad I read this thread. Better for the student to have all those things with him and not need them, I guess.</p>
<p>Transcript and SAT reports are not needed for the interview at all. I dont think interviewers are supposed to see GPA or SAT information. Just in case the interviewer asks something like What was your course load last year? and the kid is nervous and cant remember all of his/her classes, a quick peek at the transcript will fix it. </p>
<p>The activity list is more helpful. It could result into the questions about the students interests, which they are more comfortable answering unlike generic questions like Tell me about yourself or What is your favorite music?</p>
<p>As an alumni interviewer, I ask people to email me a resume in advance. I helped my son create one. It included his major activities grouped together in areas. Since his grades and scores were so good, he led with GPA, Weighted GPA and test scores in just a couple of lines. This made the interviewer start by taking him seriously given a lot of independent study, partial homeschooling, off-the-beaten-track ECs. But I found it very helpful to look at a resume to help me ask initial questions.</p>
<p>Wow, wish I had this information before my D’s interview at Scripps. The interviewer was very nice and just had her talk about herself and her HS. Hopefully this will all work out. My D does not take too much to prepping for these type of things, it just makes her more nervous, but might have helped.</p>
<p>Looks like we only have to buy three books for her Fall semester. Everything else looks like it will be based just on the class room material. And the good news is that her toughest AP class will be in the Spring (AP Econ) So she has a better chance to pump up the GPA for the admisssion folks.</p>
<p>uh oh, there goes my oven alarm. Bread is ready now, so TTFN</p>
<p>We took the Cornell Engineering College tour, and I came away with the impression that Cornell does its best to give the students hands-on, real life experiences in engineering - and that for sure I’m too old for college - too many stairs!!
Our guide talked mostly about the project teams he was on and the competitions in his classes to “make the best” of something. He was a second year mechanical engineering student, so maybe he was heavy on the “hands-on” aspect, but he did say that every engineering program is designed to make the engineering education practical and useable in the real world.
The admissions person talked about how the engineering courses are laid out and the overall structure of the separate colleges at Cornell. One interesting thing I learned was that you apply to one of the 7 colleges at Cornell, not the whole university. Each college reviews its own applicants, and you can designate up to two colleges (one primary) to review your application.</p>
<p>Swarthmore just sent my son an email mentioning that they have a pre-interview form to fill out once he arrives. However, they suggested that to save his handwriting, he might prefer to bring to the interview a list of high school/community activities with pertinent information (number of years, role, etc), and they will just attach to the form. I also asked a college counselor we are consulting, and she suggested he add to the resume his scores and GPA so the interviewer would know S was a serious candidate.</p>
<p>During my past year on CC, I continually read that alumni interviewers are not to have the academic stats of the interviewee. Does this mean that the colleges do not provide the stats, but a creative way around it is for the student to put them on their resume?</p>
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<p>OUr excel sheet is color coded in the ACT/SAT blocks…green, yellow or not colored at this time…
and then I sort by 1) student’s general preference, 2) schools mid ACT, and then 3) schools mid SAT Math</p>
<p>S1 has interviews at three regional LAC schools while attending athletic recruiting events - one next week, and two more at the end of July. I am suggesting he begin by prepping with some basic questions.<br>
[College</a> Interview Questions - Be Prepared For These Common College Interview Questions](<a href=“http://collegeapps.about.com/od/theartofgettingaccepted/tp/college-interview-questions.htm]College”>College Interview Questions You Should Master)</p>
<p>Can anyone point to more meaty stuff for him to consider, please?</p>
<p>That’s a great list, I think. Having some questions ready is really helpful. Hopefully the conversation will just get going, and the stock questions will get left behind. Then you know things have really clicked.</p>
<p>I am starting to think that S and H may go on a two week college road trip by themselves and I will spend some girl time with D. There are currently 14 schools on the list to visit. (I know!! but we have already seen some schools, and I have a mismatched kid so we are casting a wide net) Multiple schools in some cities (DC, Pitts, etc). We can probably make long weekend road trips for some schools or fly (DC is inexpensive to fly to) to help cut the list back a bit. The list doesn’t even include schools on the west coast. The more I look at the list the more I realize it will not be a vacation for 10yo D. The problem is getting the visits in before football starts mid August and if we do the long weekend thing finding schools that give tours on Sunday.</p>
<p>I hadn’t considered having S bring anything to interviews, I guess I will have to add it to his list of stuff to do.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that there are two different types of on-campus interviews, and they can be quite different: the Informational Interview is more casual, designed for the student to have an opportunuty to ask questions and the Admissions Counselor to “sell the school.”</p>
<p>The Evaluative Interview is more of an assessment to see if you are a good fit for the school and a candidate they might be very interested in.</p>
<p>It’s a good idea to know which kind you’re embarking on (though my D treats then all as evaluative). Trust me, they all make notes to some degree when you leave the office.</p>
<p>fogfog - To address your question about scheduling application, schoolwork and EC deadlines onto one calendar. Fortunately I haven’t had to involve myself in the latter two for several years, but I have created an Excel spreadsheet for the seven schools my S currently plans to apply to. </p>
<p>I put each school in its own column and then put Administrative info first such as USERNAME, PASSWORD, SAT CODE, ACT CODE, FAFSA CODE, etc, followed by ED deadline components, EA deadline components, RD deadline components, followed by the Requirements section which shows whether the Common App is accepted, # of recommendations needed, what tests are required, etc. The cells will show the actual date things were done/mailed/rec’d. It is a work-in-process and right now most of the info is LYs b/c most schools don’t have their 2011 info ready yet. BOO HOO HISS HISS</p>
<p>Altho some parents may not approve, but I have chosen to take on the above task myself. I rather my S focus on doing the app, writing/editing the essays, tracking down recommendations and applying for scholarships. Plus schoolwork and ECs and chores. We will continue to meet every Sunday to see if he is keeping up with the deadlines. This is what we did during the college selection process. It forced me to not nag (OK nag less) during the week and he knew he had to meet his weekly deadlines every Sunday. MaMom - I use a lot of color-coding too, but I never thought to match it to school colors!!</p>
<p>Re: Seniors who have run out of classes at their school. One option might be virtual or online classes. Florida has a very extensive virtual program with a good reputation. Classes are free for Florida students. They have a lot of AP classes and different languages.</p>
<p>Re: Interviews - There are several websites that suggest questions to ask during interviews and questions students s/b ready to answer. We did mock interviews (including handshakes) before our college visits which gave my S confidence. He wore his normal school clothes, nothing fancy, but clean and somewhat neat. Some interviews were with students, other w/adcoms, all were fairly laid back. My S did bring his resume, transcript and school profile. He also made labels and business cards. The labels and business cards were big hits. Much better than trying to read or remember his name.</p>
<p>S1 has evaluative interviews coming up - first one is with one of the deans. He’s already done info sessions with admissions and campus tours with student reps. He’s looking to reinforce his interest via the formals at these 3 schools while he is on campus again for athletic events.</p>
<p>Wow, this is some great information. Will they need teacher recs as well? And what type of shoes should a girl wear to the interview? I have some granny-style flats, gray $1 ballet flats and some sandals. Are any of these ok or should I have to buy something else? </p>
<p>^ Good luck to your S btw</p>
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FIMathMom, I completely approve of the way you’re supporting your son’s app process. I’m doing the same for songbird. Our deal is she’s responsible for bringing home the bacon in terms of grades, ACT/SAT scores, ECs, strong LORs, and doing great interviews. I’m the administrative assistant, keeping track of paperwork, deadlines, what we’ve sent where, etc. Seems perfectly reasonable to me.</p>
<p>Some of her schools wanted the visit-day arrangements made by phone, and I wanted her to get comfortable with that. She was a little nervous at first, but we role-played a few times (I cracked her up a couple times, playing the Admissions Receptionist From Hell), but she has done great with these calls and it’s given her great confidence. HUGE thanks for sharing your spreadsheet system! I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to Excel, but this will give me good practice. Thank you!</p>
<p>What is an Admissions Representative from Hell? As in, what’s the worst you should be prepared for?</p>
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You won’t need teacher recs at this point. Technically, you don’t need to take transcripts or anything else. That’s just to help you remember info they may ask about (like your GPA, this year’s/next year’s course-load, ECs, etc.) My D took no paperwork (but she does tend to have all this info memorized). As for shoes, like the rest of your outfit, they should be comfortable (you’ll do a lot of walking around campus) and nice-looking, but not formal. My D usually wears a nice pair of black slacks (not jeans)or a casual skirt and a pretty top that’s modestly cut. Whatever you feel comfortable in that isn’t cut too short or too revealing is fine.</p>
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Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to worry yiu, I was just being silly. They really are mostly quite nice people. On a busy day (like any of us) they might be a little curt or abrupt, that’s all. Just roll with it, stay polite and calm, and you’ll be fine. If they say or ask something you don’t understand, politely ask for clarification. A phrase like “I’m a little new at this and I want to make sure I get it right,” will help motivate them to treat you with kindness and patience. It really is not a big deal. You’ll do fine!</p>
<p>Re: what to bring for an interview. Is it ok to “self report” your scores. For instance, putting on your resume: GPA: 3.x, SAT: 2000 ACT: 32 and not carrying an official school transcript with all this info on it?</p>