How do you find out about interviews? Do colleges just send you an email and say “we scheduled an alumni interview for you for this time on this day…”? And can you reschedule it if you can’t make it?
Corvids: You have to take the initiative to sign up for these interviews. Each college has a different process. There are admissions counselors interviews and alumni interviews… and which one you will do will depend on where you live, or what is more convenient. You go to the college’s website, and fill out a form requesting an interview. The college will send you a reply.
Denebel’s pronouncement isn’t fully correct. For some colleges, (Ivies, for instance), there is no “signing up” – no “request form”. You just sit back and wait. You might get contacted, you might not be. That’s how it goes.
@CORVIDS - It depends on the college. Check their website, or google “College X undergraduate interviews”. Sometimes there is a request form, sometimes they email you. If very unsure, call.
I have had 2 interviews recently:
Carnegie Mellon University - super casual, but it was in the bank where my interviewer works. 30 minutes, completely informative. She asked for and looked at my resume but mainly answered my questions. Could be helpful to do before you apply because she asked if I wanted help on my essays and asked about what I wrote. There is a form interviewers fill out though.
Tufts University - This was an alumni interview at her house. It was evaluative, but she told me a lot about the college. The questions were unique. Some were: tell me about your school, how would people describe you, how would people describe your friends, what would you do with a 25th hour, what is your passion/wakes you up in the morning. This is actually pretty typical of Tufts. Oh, the information Tufts gave her was my name, high school, and the first two interests I put down on the application, but not the 3rd one.
When a college asks for a resume at interview do they just mean print off your full (common) application and supplements and bring them?
jam007, when a college asks for a resume they are referring to something that is very similar to a resume you would use to apply for a job. They want to see your GPA, your extracurricular activities, internships, awards, etc. It might be helpful to simply look at some sample resumes online and try to come up with something similar. If you have completed your common app then it should be very easy for you to do your resume since a lot of information repeats.
I just googled an example of a “high school resume” for you. <a href=“http://computype.bizland.com/high_s5.gif[/url]”>http://computype.bizland.com/high_s5.gif</a>
![http://computype.bizland.com/high_s5.gif[/url]](http://computype.bizland.com/high_s5.gif%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
For the interview be prepared to discuss everything that you put down on your resume. 
Hope this helps.
Does every Ivy League applicant have an interview, or is there any pre-qualification that takes place prior to the interview invitation?
Oh god Princeton just sent me an email
This is my first interview experience.
I’m so stressed even though the interview is far off.
Can anyone give me any advice? I don’t really know much about the school, and I don’t want to look like an uninterested candidate…
;_______;
I’m not even sure if it’s worth doing. They say not doing the interview has no affect on your application. but does doing the interview make your application any better?
@Stickmaleboy - As long as you are reasonably competent and able to speak to adults, do it. If you’re really Princeton material, you can do it. If your nervous, my first interview was for MIT, so I was super nervous too.
Before you do the interview you need to do two things: 1) Learn about the school in as many ways as possible, such as through their website, CC page, or whatever. Come up with a couple questions to ask the interviewer. 2) Read the threads about interviews here and on the Princeton forum. There are lots of tips - I’m sure you can figure this out.
Also, I had my Cornell interview today.
Very casual. I met him in a cafe near my school. He said that he sends a short two paragraph report, but it is really not an admissions interview. The interviewers will find out if you got in or not slightly before you do. If you interview for Cornell, have lots of questions. He told me about his experiences and answered my questions. He then basically said “summarize yourself”, and I think he will write what I said in his report.
I believe interviews are very important. They help round out your application and provide a golden opportunity to present yourself as a real person, not just as a name on a paper with grades, scores and extracurriculars much like the next applicant. Selective colleges are looking for a rich mix of students and abilities, but they are also looking what they call a “fit”, the type of student who will thrive and contribute at their particular school. An interview can help them figure out if the fit is right. I am certain that interviews made the difference for each of my kids when they applied.
Preparing for interviews is crucial though, and it’s not hard. It just takes some thought.
<ol>
<li>Clothes should be neat, clean, comfortable and reflect you. Don’t wear a suit if you don’t usually, you will look uncomfortable. Don’t show up in a bathing suit with a light cover up, either, as one girl did at Yale. She told everyone waiting for interviews that she had won all sorts of swimming awards and was trying out for the swim team that day, but I can tell you her look did not fly in the admission’s office nor with the person who interviewed her. She was in and out in no time, which was not a good sign. </li>
</ol>
My kids interviewed in clean jeans and whatever else they would have normally worn to school. One got into Columbia early decision and the other into three top tier schools.
<ol>
<li>Be sure not to slouch when walking walk in, when greeting the interviewer or while sitting during the interview. Greet the interviewer clearly and pleasantly and look the person in the face while doing so. It shows respect. Looking at the floor during a greeting or introduction is rude, but a lot of kids do it, perhaps out of ignorance. It leaves a poor impression. </li>
</ol>
Don’t chew gum or candy, don’t sneak a look at your phone. In fact, turn it off so you don’t get interrupted.
<ol>
<li>Have answers ready for any simple, icebreaking questions that might be asked. Dumb as it sounds, my kids went in prepared to say what their favorite color, book, movie or word was and why they liked them. Wellsley asked the favorite word question, I’ve forgotten where the other questions came up, but each did. </li>
</ol>
Think carefully about how you answer simple questions like “what did you do last summer”. If you just blurt out “went to the beach and played tennis” because that’s what came to mind as summer activities, you might come across as spoiled and privileged, whereas if you begin by saying you worked at *** and went to the beach and played tennis when you could, the impression would be completely different.
<ol>
<li>Be ready to talk about what you might be interested in studying at college, particular interests at school or what you do outside of school - work, volunteer, sports, etc. My son rattled on about computers and even showed them some programs he had written on his laptop, and my daughter expanded upon the wide variety of volunteer work she had done over the years and how interesting it had been. Both got compliments about their interviews, so I know did well in them. Several interviewers came out to tell me that my daughter was one of the more interesting interviews they had had in a long time. That was because she went in well prepared. Each often had interviews that ran far longer than the allotted time. I’d usually be told they would be back in twenty minutes and not see them until forty minutes to an hour and a half later. I have to believe that the longer interviews meant the schools liked what they were hearing because I’d see other kids returning from their interviews in ten to twenty minutes. </li>
<li>Make sure to have a few specific questions about the interviewer’s college to show sincere interest in it, because they will ask if you have any questions. Don’t make the questions anything that could easily be found on the college’s website. Think a bit about courses being offered, majors you might be interested in, clubs and organizations and you should be able to come up with some ideas. My son asked if he could start an archery club at one college which didn’t list one. (The answer was yes.) My daughter usually asked about volunteer opportunities. Asking about summer internship opportunities or study abroad programs might be good questions at any college.</li>
</ol>
If the interviewer is or was a student there, you could ask them about their experience - what was their favorite class, professor, dorm. etc.
Some interviewers are better than others. Hope for good ones. And, good luck!
Thanks for the info Hortense, but a day too late for me…
I just had my WashU interview today at 1. It went great!! My alum interviewer didn’t ask me the extreme curveball questions I was expecting. It was like a relaxed conversation, with me telling him about myself and him responding. My first interview was in November with Rice University. My interview with the Rice alum didn’t go so great. I was nervous, first, because he grilled me and didn’t seem to like what I told him. Maybe he’s just a dry person. But I don’t regret doing those interviews. They really help you with your social skills. I have Dartmouth interview next week (fat chance of me getting in), then hopefully I am done! Hope this helped!
do you have ANY tips for the interview?
I just picked my daughter up from a college interview. She had a look of confusion on her face. This is a confident, intelligent young woman so I was a little surprised about what I heard next. First, he said her name wrong, so she politely corrected him, but he turned his back on her and walked away. Secondly she was not cordially interviewed but felt rather attacked. She was shocked that the interviewer would take words from one answer to try and prove her wrong in another. My daughter claims that she said “my family is very important to me”, so how does an interviewer determine that if a student goes to school 6 hours from home that suddenly her family isn’t important to her? And tells her that. Then, because she likes statistics, he indicates that she must need a smaller school because on any given day, although she might have 560 facebook friends, she only speaks regularly to 6% of them, therefore this school is too big for her. And finally, because she indicated that she would like diversity, he continually badgers her as to why she isn’t applying to a school in New York City. What kind of college interview is this? I guess she’s not getting in.
@wonderbus - That sounds like a horrible interview. Wait to see what other posters say but maybe you should report him after decisions are out.
Georgetown Interview:
It went pretty well. I met my interviewer in a starbucks near his house. He asked very detailed questions, like what my parents did, about my family, where they went to school. I ended up speaking about Occupy Wall Street with the very conservative interviewer, but we spoke for an hour, which I think is long. He did compare Georgetown to the Ivies a couple times, and talked about the financial program extensively.
wonderbus: If I were in your shoes, I might contact the college even now. Given the extremely unprofessional nature of the meeting, your daughter might be facing a neutral write up anyway. If you feel she’s not getting in, your call may jar them into re-examining the file.
What sort of stationary are thank-you notes usually written on?
Plain 8.5x11? or a Hallmark card?
Calexico: you’re overthinking this. Paper, email, card, back of a twenty dollar bill – it’s all the same (well almost! :))
I wrote my MHC interviewer an email when I got home. I don’t think it matters how you do it, it’s the thought that counts
I received this e-Mail and wondered if it is according to protocol ?
"Dear Susan, I am an alumni rep in the Phoenix area for Princeton. I recently
learned about your application for admission to the university. This is
just a brief note to introduce myself as your local contact for information
about Princeton.
I will be calling you in a few days to arrange a time when we can meet,
and I can answer any questions you may have about the school.
In the meantime, would you please send me the name, e-mail
address, and phone number of your college guidance counselor? I would like
to speak with him/her also, so that I can gain additional information about
you and be an advocate for you in the admissions process.
Best wishes, and I look forward to speaking with you."