I had 3:
Princeton: I drove an hr for a 20 min. interview, so I was a little disappointed with that. The guy was a bit of a dick.
Brown: The guy and I really got along. It took about an hr and a half.
Harvard: It was kind of boring, but I think I did alright. It took about 1:10.
I just had my Princeton interview. The lady was very nice. We met at a cafe and talked about Princeton a lot, and I sort of led the conversation because I was so curious. She seemed fine with it, pretty happy with my enthusiasm really, especially when it was raining outside. In the end, we talked for about an hour and a half. Very nice, very laid back. She said she would do all she can to get me in but explained that it was probably not worth that much.
I thought that was very sweet of her. 
I’ve had interviews for Yale, Harvard, USC, Olin College of Engineering, Albany Medical School (for the 7 year accelerated program), and an informal one at U Pitt. Before every interview, I always look up the school online to see if they’ve been in the news recently and I look at their website to get some background on the department I applied to (engineering) and anything else I’m interested in related to that school. Another good thing… always have a couple questions to ask. If you say you don’t have any questions, it’s difficult to keep the interview going and you might come off as boring/not interested. All of my interviews except one have been 45 minutes or longer. The one that was shorter (only 20 min) had to be cut down from a 45 min interview because the interviewer double booked–rude on his part, considering I had to drive two hours to get to the interview. Anyways, this is cliche… but try to be yourself. Don’t act like a genius if you’re not because you’ll sound stupid. And RELAX! seriously. Don’t stress about them; interviews are conversations with people who happen to be strangers. =) good luck!
Just had a Yale interview today.
Questions asked (in order):
I think that was about it; all the other questions were more in response to what I was talking about. The interviewer was really nice. We just talked for about 40 minutes–'twasn’t a big deal! Anyway, hope that helps if anyone was curious about what (exact) questions might be asked.
Harvard interview: most strange/bizarre and unbelievable interview I had.
The more I think about it, the stranger it gets.
UPenn alum interview - not good. I got quizzed on politics and government, nothing about me
Justbumming- I was so scared of that. I brushed up on politics/current events before my interview… luckily I didn’t need it at all.
the purpose of the interview is to get to know a person outside of their essay… not to figure out who they’re voting for and why!!
funniest thing, guy went on about how awful fast food is and what it’s doing to our culture. Walks me back to my car and spots a mcdonald’s bag in the front seat. Perfect end to a not-so-good interview.
oh and I also had interviews at colby and union, went much smoother. I felt very comfortable and not nervous whatsoever. Student interviews I think are really the best because you feel more comfortable and also I hear they are tougher on the interviewee than hired interviewers.
Too funny about the Mc Donald’s bag, Justbumming. Did that really happen?
My interviews:
Tufts: Went well; usual questions.
UPenn: Great business professional; low key and easy interview.
Princeton: Low key, but very probing of ideas; talked about European history and travel. Long interview. Said that they want students who are going to make the most of the opportunities at Princeton, not just the ones who can easily get in on merit. Told me I had a “good shot”. Only interviewer who really offered a tidbit like that and he seemed sincere.
Cornell: Very enthusiastic interviewer; a cheerleader for how great the school is. Easy interview.
Brown: Very bizarre interview. Guy had “driven an hour” to meet with all the kids in the area. Spaced interviews about 15 minutes apart it seems at a very busy coffee shop. Nothing gained from this one. He wasn’t rude, he just seemed interested in getting his paperwork done (and disinterested in getting to know me). He had ‘his questions’ didn’t want to know about ECs, etc..
Yale: No call for interview; still upset about this one as it is my 1st Choice, barring the Princeton big envelope. Don’t understand it.
interviews…let’s see. i didn’t actually end up applying to ALL of these schools, but here are the ones i can remember doing.
St. John’s College - i got the feeling she just wanted me to gush about the school. it wasn’t much about what i wanted to bring to the table. a little awkward, held in an office that felt like a underground cave.
hampshire - very pleasant! done by a current student who understood where i was coming from. she was pleasant, slightly nerdy, and made me feel at ease. however, she let me know a lot of what she was taking note of, which was weird. i felt like i knew exactly what the admissions committee was going to see. i should have known hampshire would be the one to ask creative questions.
bryn mawr - i was so nervous for this one, it was my first choice. i got all my stuff into the conversation that i hoped to mention, and got across my passion for the school. HOWEVER, when she asked me to name something quirky about myself, i completely blanked. and let me just say, i am WEIRD. i was so nervous, i didn’t know how weird she wanted me to be…i talked about karate, which is stupid. after i left the offices i thought I’M OBSESSED WITH THE LORD OF THE RINGS! I SPEAK ELVISH, I DRESSED UP TO SEE THE MOVIES, I OWN AN EXACT REPLICA OF FRODO’S SWORD, STING! i wanted to die, i felt like she didn’t totally get a good idea of who i am.
reed - weirdest interview ever. held in a coffeeshop, and i seriously suspect the man had a crush on me…or something. he literally never made eye contact with me, and kept repeating himself and stuttering. it was really odd; i was uncomfortable.
susquehanna - now this guy made eye contact TOO MUCH. he was a very happy guy, though, it was pleasant. he also brought my mom in at the end, apparently that’s customary for them? i felt weird, i like maintaining an aura of independence, and my mom was really nervous. my poor mom…
brown - best interview of the bunch. i felt like he really got me, and afterwards i looked up the strategy the brown interviewers are supposed to use, and it was very subtle. i hoped i expressed enough interest in brown, i didn’t want to come off fake. we just talked about a lot of different things, and he asked me for a book recommendation because we like the same authors. something about him made me feel more adult. by the end, i had almost forgotten i was at an interview. he said brown would be “the perfect place for someone like me”, but he also said it’s nearly impossible to get into nowadays. still, i felt good. even if i don’t beat the odds, and i’m rejected, i don’t regret having that whole conversation. it was nice.
The only college I applied to that wanted an interview was NCSA (North Carolina School of the Arts). They sent me a short list of questions to be prepared to answer, such as why I was interested in filmmaking, which films/directors inspired me, what my favorite books were, and so forth, with the recommendation that I dress as if for a job interview.
The interview itself was preceeded by a tour, information session, and a creative writing exercise. I was interviewed by the heads of the producing and directing film concentrations, and I don’t think the interview could have gone much better. They had me read my creative writing piece, asked a few of the stock questions, then went on a pretty long tangent regarding how my Christian faith would play into my work in the film environment. Since I had written my high school junior thesis on just that topic, it worked out wonderfully. At the end, the directing head told me that “I would do very well there,” and I left on an adrenaline-high.
My only regret? I repeated myself once from nerves.
I only had 2 interviews, ivy leagues, all in the same weekend, alk about coincidence !
Columbia :
very causal, its was just likea conversation. She seemed to like my jokes and we got along. Though at the end, she was like any more questions iand i sheepishly said no. I had already asked like 10 throughout the einterview and was burned out by the end. haha but it was only like 20 minutes, that was the only time allotted.
Penn: LOVED IT! the lady was super sweet, and it was really easy to talk to her. she thought i was some brilliant prodigy haha. and also, turns out she was like you remind me of antoher really bright girl i interviewd 3 years ago.. its was my mom’s friends daughter so that was cool. also, she was like i would be honored to write you a good report. i pretty mu felt like gold after that,. plus, i love penn so i had alot to tlak about with her. she said i was really the most genuine person shes ever met and one of her best interviews. the interview was over an hour. very fun!!! and im glad it went well because penn is my top choice. .. too bad its so freakin hard to get into 
so overall, all my interviews were chill and good. best word of advice.. dont rehearse, seriously. i saw so many poeple who looked like they were dying before the interview from nerves and it really shows. just be relaxed, shoe that youre interested and let yourself shine!! research so you have questions, talk about your campus experiances, and dont be afraid to go into detail about your activities and youself. the whole point is so youre nmore than just a paper application.
oh and to avoid awkardness.. DONT WEAR A SUIT/TIE. its only alumni. and i saw people who did and the interviewer felt awward.. you could tell because he wa sin jeans. this is for columbia btw.
The only interview I had was a Harvard one and it was awesome! It was so much more fun and relaxed than I expected it to be. We talked not only about Harvard but also about our personal lives (to be honest, I was quite surprised that she voluntarily told me so much about her life). Throughout the interview, she complimented me on my communicational skills and how I’m a great “people person.” When we realized that we’d been talking for 2 hours, she finally asked, “Why Harvard?” (we had diverged from the regular stuff that interviewers are “supposed” to ask) and at the end of my response I said, “I know Harvard will be the perfect place for me.” Cliche, I know, but she replied, “I cannot agree more.” She promised to write me a great recommendation and the rest. I honestly don’t know how much an interview affects one’s chances, but I’m hoping it has enough impact(:
i had four interviews:
**swarthmore:<a href=“held%20in%20a%20tiny%20office%20on%20campus%20by%20two%20admissions%20officers;%20really%20nerve%20wracking%20but%20went%20well”>/b</a>
**northwestern<a href=“a%20group%20session/independent%20interview%20held%20at%20some%20private%20school%20on%20%22the%20main%20line%22%20of%20pennsylvania%20basically%20the%20rich%20area%20that%20i%20am%20completely%20unfamiliar%20with,%20a%20lot%20of%20people%20came%20with%20parents…i%20didn’t.%20%20a%20room%20had%20a%20flat%20screen%20with%20a%20nw%20info%20video%20on.%20the%20alumni%20were%20really%20nice%20and%20started%20telling%20funny%20stories%20about%20their%20time%20at%20northwestern.%20plus%20they%20had%20CHOCOLATE%20COVERED%20PRETZELS!%20%20i%20liked%20the%20group%20introduction%20but%20then%20we%20split%20off%20into%20our%20private%20interviews.%20i%20was%20the%20only%20person%20there%20for%20the%20school%20of%20engineering.%20%20my%20interviewer%20was%20a%20sweet,%20young%20and%20recent%20grad%20('06”>/b</a>. he was really easy to talk to and unpretentious…unlike this kid that we could hear being interviewed in a classroom next door. “…I AM ORGANIZING THE NEW SCHOOL PLAY, I AM A LEADER BUT I LOVE TEAMWORK” my interviewer looked at me and i swear he suppressed a laugh
…i also saw this gorgeous guy…but he was being interviewed for the medill school…go figure…
penn: met on campus, was really laid back. as kindred science nerds he connected from the get go. we talked for an hour about school, movies, music (she had great taste in music and gave me her email to give me songs), campus radio station, people, know-it-alls, and lasagna made with american cheese (she was awesome)
brown: met in starbucks (i had a four dollar chai tea frap. that almost killed me). the woman was really cool. she was local and talked about her brown experience sincerely and openly. <em>and she actually responded to my thank you letter and sent well wishes which i really appreciated</em>
lastly yale: held on oscar night (which also killed me but it was the only time my interviewer was available) really interesting interview.it was held at his house. during the interview he asked a lot of questions about my family and background (where i grew up, etc.). i liked him because he was actually human. he didnt put on airs or anything. you could see that while he enjoyed his yale experience, it did not define him.
interviews:
georgetown: guy was soooooo cool. he went to my same middle and high school. the questions he asked were interesting, but casual. best part: he said that in the years he’s been interviewing, he said i was one of the best candidates. too bad interviews don’t count more. length: 40 min
harvard: very hard questions. lots of specifics relating to the judicial system and supreme court decisions (i’m applying as gov. major). nice guy though. length: 45 min.
yale: nice, really old guy. he was really interested in my ECs. almost no questions at all. he’s followed up with a letter and he sent a mention of me in the newspaper to yale. lenth: 2 hours
rice: i didn’t know that i had this interview actulaly. he just happened to be at my school. very nice man. length: 20 min
UPenn: this was my most recent interview. she was very young and nice, asked very basic questions. length: 40 min
Columbia: this, with Yale, is my top-choice. like yale, the lenth was 2 hours. the guy told me all the pranks he pulled in Columbia and taught me parts of the other Ivies dirty fight songs. haha.
Dartmouth; along with Georgetown, one of my best interviews. she knew my thesis mentor and thought i was an excellent candidate. lenth: 30 min
Princeton: business lady. very cool. she introduced me to one of her coworkers who also went to Princeton. length: 45 min
USC Engineering: General questions, not very difficult. Talked about origami for about ten minutes - 1 hr
Princeton - Lady came about twenty minutes late to The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Easy questions. Talked about Eurpopean cities we’d love to see, safaris, languages, a book we’ve both read, and her life (she was raised in the barrio and got a 100% scholarship to princeton). ~1.5 hrs
My Princeton lady was 15 minutes late coffee, too. She was really nice and spent a good 25 minutes talking about how awesome the university is and the housing and such. She just asked me about things that I do outside of school and what I’d like to do at Princeton and after. I don’t remember how, but we got onto the subject of Barack Obama and we talked about politics for a little. Some one told me once that that’s complete interview suicide, but I did it anyway and she seemed to enjoy it. She said it was a smart discussion and she’d be writing me a glowing letter to the adcom. It was about an hour and 20 minutes because some guy from her office showed up with notes she had to review.
I have had four intervies so far: harvard, upenn, princeton, and tcnj/umdnj 7 year med program.
One of the things I have learned from the interviews that I would like to pass on is to be confident. The interviews don’t expect you to be amazing or the next einstein of this planet, they just want to know a bit about who you truly are.
They ask why u chose that school? you could be like me and say the honest answer, or you could suck up. I dont know what truly works, but if i think they would appreciate honest in a more professional way. What I mean by this is that if an interviews asks: Why princeton/harvard/this college?
If i had to be genuine i would say: The text book answer is that because it is a great school, but i would like to go to your school because your school has a good reputation and i have good chances of getting a job out there if i attned your school.
College interviews are (after the essay) your only chance to make yourself known to the college. You should use them wisely, and see what works for you.
(haven’t read whole thread- sorry if it’s already been mentioned)
Would not getting an interview hurt your chances? In my case I was never asked for an interview from Harvard, whereas one of my peers from school was (so I know there are alumni in the area). If I’m not even given the opportunity, does that mean my application did not merit an interview or did the alumnus not have time to interview me or what? In any case, could this have negatively impacted my application?