The Thread for College Interviews

Applying to College Admission Stories
1141

As an interviewer, I almost ALWAYS open with the ‘question’: “So, tell me a little about yourself.”

This isn’t just me but most of the other people who interview students as well. A good answer to this should take 1-2 minutes and be well rehearsed but not “canned.” When you eventually interview for jobs and such, this is probably the most common opener, so start learning to answer it now! A good answer can set the tone for the rest of the interview and it shows that you have cared enough to prepare for the interview.

The individual questions may vary, but keep in mind that at least at the university I interview for, I’m looking to answer 2 questions:

  1. Who is this person (not just words on paper), and what can he/she offer the University as a student?
  2. Just how interested in the school is this person?

These are 2 questions that tell us a lot about an applicant, but are really hard to get from the paper application.

Some other questions that I ask often:
Why do you think [school name] is a good fit for you?
How did you hear about us?
What do you think your (top 3) strengths are and why?
Tell me a bit about your friends.
Why do you wish to pursue [your given field]?
5 years from now, you’re walking across the stage at [school] graduating. What are the next steps for you?

The University actually in the last revision of the Interviewer’s Handbook gave us about 4 pages worth of questions that might be good to start conversations and gauge the answers to the 2 questions above, but to be quite honest, I only ever use about 5 or 6 of them. Most people I know are the same way and we all have our own set of questions that we find gets us the answer to the 2 questions we’re really trying to answer as alluded to above.

Since the last time I have been on here (which admittedly is a long time) I’ve gotten some requests for posting a list of the top questions I’ve asked in the past. Perhaps I’ll get around to posting that list over spring break! You can also look through my older posts as I talk about some questions in those. Nothing has really changed since then and the questions are still all the same!

Good luck in your interviews :slight_smile:

1 Like
1142

thanks this helped alot

1143

Are these interviews generally one on one? Or will there be multiple interviewers at the same time?

1144

Dora,

All of the interviews at my institution are one-on-one, and I would say that goes for 99% of the others. The exceptions that come to mind are for special programs and scholarships. For these, you may have a panel interview with multiple interviewers and in at least one case, even a panel interview with multiple interviewers and interviewees!

1145

I had two interviews, one form Columbia, and the other from Cornell, and man they were pretty interesting, even though it was pretty nerve wrecking… I really need to try making more smoother conversations with the college interviewers if I want to make a chance in getting in Ivy’s… hahaha

1146

Did anyone interviewed for Yale Eli Whitney program? How was it?

1147

so mine was for Swarthmore and I did absolutely terrible in it. I’m not the most outgoing person, and the interview was scheduled right after my last final so I was EXHAUSTED.
Because of finals I hadn’t been able to think on what I was going to say, and so I sounded like a blithering idiot. It was extremely traumatic. Plus I wasn’t thinking clearly because of sleep deprivation. This may have been a major reason why I didn’t get in…

they asked me stuff like what I wanted to study and why, what extracurriculars I did, what I was passionate about, etc. Not hard questions but I messed up anyway.. ughh.

But, even though my interview sucked, I still got in to some great schools, so don’t worry too much if you mess up :slight_smile:

1148

Can you let us know if you got in Swathmore?
Also, how did you mess up?
Did you stutter?
leave stuff out?
what?

Could you go into more specifics?
Thanks!

Also, did Swathmore send someone who sort of fit you? (LIke if you application had a lot of bio stuff did they send a current/former bio/biomed student?)

1149

Quick question…
Should I bring some paper and a pen to write stuff down during the interview?
Also, would it be ok if I bring a list with all my questions to make sure I don’t forget any?

1150

I would. IMO, it shows that you are prepared (especially if you have written down questions to ask the interviewer - it demonstrates interest and that you’ve done your research, provided the questions aren’t stupidly obvious/easy to find on the school’s website).

I personally have never taken notes during an interview, I’ve just written down questions I wanted to ask and jotted down a quick answer. I feel like it disrupts my flow, since I’m not the one who’s making the vast majority of observations.

1151

Bringing paper is perfectly fine as is a list of questions. When I’m being interviewed, I find that I never write down more than a few lines of notes, but some people write down a lot which is fine if it doesn’t interrupt the flow of things. To be honest, I have yet to find anyone writing anything down has interrupted the flow of things, but I know that I feel like when I’m writing things down, i perceive that I am slowing things down. Of course I’m usually the one giving the interview so I don’t care that much if I actually am slowing things down as I need it to write up the report later!

Also, you might want to consider an interview folio if you are going to be doing a lot of these. They are usually not too expensive (and they are often given away at conferences and such because of their utility) and would be a sound investment since you will be using it a lot throughout college and after!

Here’s an example. I in no way endorse these nor have I tried them, but you can find them at your local office supply store. I carry a leather one with my college logo that was given to me at orientation and normally goes for about $25 at our bookstore.

[Padfolios:</a> Find Leather Padfolios, Binder Folios & More at OfficeMax](<a href=“http://www.officemax.com/office-supplies/bags-cases/padfolios]Padfolios:”>http://www.officemax.com/office-supplies/bags-cases/padfolios)

1152

has anyone here every interviewed at Duke? I will be applying reg decision soon and this will be my first college interview and I am very nervous. From the info sessions I have been too, they’re not very formal, in fact many are held at a local starbucks or paneras. Thanks!

1153

Did anyone interview BU for their accelerated program & get in?

1154

I had an interview with Duke. I really enjoyed it. The person interviewing me was very helpful and gave me a lot of good advice in aspects of scheduling, and my career goals. I also think I left a good impression. I didn’t really get “interviewed” however. It was more of a casual conversation about my life as a high school student and her life as a duke alumni and what it was like when she was a duke student. It’s more of a learning experience, really. Any questions you have about Duke are answered during your interview and rest assured- I did feel a lot more confident with applying to Duke early decision.

1155

I’ve seen many stories about really awkward interview moments, and my three interviews were fine. My Vanderbilt interview was yesterday and we basically talked about the Commons being a lot like Hogwarts. It was what happened after the interview that I’m ashamed of. I sent my alumni interviewer an e-mail to thank her for her time. When I was composing the e-mail it looked blank except for what I had typed in. After I sent it, I noticed that the e-mail included the signature I had made like seven years ago! I just deleted the signature now, but it’s too late! This signature isn’t something she can just forget or disregard. It’s a loud, obnoxious, and crazy compilation of moving pictures and smiley faces and my name in all these different fonts and sizes, including an embarrassing nickname. She probably thinks I’m very immature now. There goes my attempt for a professional image.

1156

Had a very bad interview recently for an Ivy League. I’ve never done any type of an interview before, and I’m very introverted and get nervous with being put on the spot. However, I still thought that it would help my application to do the interview since I’m doubt my application stands out at all. After the interview, I have basically no hope that I will get into the College, as I highly doubt my interviewer will be able to give me a very good review…

She started by saying “don’t worry, this is going to be a very relaxed interview,” but I still managed to feel completely unrelaxed. There was one question that I had absolutely no idea how to answer, and I kid you not - I spent at least a minute looking nervously around trying desperately to think of an answer before I finally came up with something to say. “Take your time,” she said, after 30 seconds of silence. What I eventually said made no sense, and I don’t really think it answered the question. There were at least three instances of me realizing that what I was saying made no sense and then awkwardly cutting it off. I’m just embarrassed by the whole thing.

For some reason, we were sitting outside, even though it was pretty cold. I forgot my jacket in my car, and was wearing a short sleeved shirt. About 15 minutes into the interview the wind started blowing, and I got <em>really</em> cold and my teeth were chattering. I think she noticed but didn’t say anything about it, and I definitely had a harder time focusing because I was so cold.

Another weird thing happened. Someone who I never thought I’d see again and who doesn’t even live close to where my interview took place just happened to be there. She saw me towards the end of the interview and sat down a few tables away in my line of sight. She clearly wanted to talk to me (and I wanted to talk to her, since I don’t have her contact info). I think she knew I was doing an interview, but still was kind of trying to get my attention. So I was kind of distracted by that, and I think my interviewer noticed that I kept looking over. But my interviewer was oblivious to the person trying to get my attention since her back was facing that direction, so I think she just thought I was bored with the interview, which wasn’t the case. And the person ended up giving up and leaving about 3 minutes before my interview ended, so I didn’t even get to talk to them…

Anyway, I think I nailed the questions that I asked <em>her</em>, but I don’t think any of it could make up for the awkwardness of my answers to some of her questions. At the end she said something along the lines of “Sorry if I made you really uncomfortable!,” which can’t be at all a good sign…

Has anyone else had any similarly disastrous interviews but still received an acceptance? I will definitely not be accepting any interview offers from other Colleges after how this one went..

1157

Local alum interviews for Yale are important. Mikemac’s advice is very good except that for some colleges the alumni interview is fairly important. If there are say 5 academically qualified unhooked applicants per available admissions spot you would think that interview input would have an impacf

1158

Hey, guys! I have an interview scheduled on Monday, at Syracuse University. Has anyone in this thread interviewed with them? If so, do you guys have any tips/pointers?? I’m beyond nervous! :-S

1159

I had an informational interview with Cornell.

It was ok? She was a hotelie, and I was applying to CAS, all she asked was 1) why cornell? 2) any questions for me?
I was actually not prepared for that, so was pulling questions out from thin air. Halfway through, I actually said: I didn’t prepare for so much questions, and laughed. x_x NO IDEA WHY I DID THAT. I asked her about research opportunities, and she didn’t know anything about CAS. Anyway, I got rejected lol.

I have an interview with a Carnegie Computer Science alum soon who went to CMU for undergrad, grad, and phd.
Is he going to ask me to draw the graph of sinx/x or something? I’m super nervous because I feel like CMU values interview a lot. I don’t know that many programming languages, haven’t built a robot, and I’m not exactly the most up-to-date person on politics. Any one have experience with CMU CSC interviews?

1160

bumppp