<p>Curious to know the toughest question that was asked of your S or D during the college interview process. Providing of course they shared the horror with you. I fear my DD may give the dreaded shoulder shrug followed by the wholly inarticulate, “Ahhh, I don’t know…” </p>
<p>I read one question that is frequently asked is; “What would you like us to know about you that is not listed here on your application.?” I can see where this might be tough since virtually everything that makes the student a good applicant (they feel) is already listed! Which fastball question did your S or D not hurl back… or worse, get decked by? Is conducting a mock interview with your S or D WAY over the top?</p>
<p>My interviewer was uncomfortable with and suspicious of homeschooling and asked a lot of questions that didn’t apply to how I was educated. But I do not think it would be beneficial to conduct a mock interview. Instead, I would recommend going over a few of commonly asked questions with your kid just so he/she can get the hang of it. After all, you don’t want your child’s interview to come off as rehearsed!</p>
<p>Well, it may be different for different people, but I highly recommend doing mock interviews. They helped me a ton when I was going through the experience years ago and they were very beneficial in my S’s case as well. He is very comfortable with people and he didn’t want to go through the exercise either, but when we got started, quickly realized that interviews are an art form. No rehearsed answers, just practice and prepare. There is a huge difference in being a generally good speaker and knowing how to handle an interview situation where it is the student who is being put on the spot.</p>
<p>As for most difficult interview question - S was prepared for it, (thanks to that mock interview!!) it was - you seem to have a lot of business ECs, why didn’t you apply to the undergrad business school instead?</p>
I already wrote about this [url="<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=295103"]here[/url">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=295103"]here[/url</a>], but I actually hope my Princeton interviewer asks me that tomorrow. I didn’t mention any of my hobbies (painting, graphic design, writing, and so on) on my application because they’re not organized activities, and even though I wrote about my photography, I didn’t mention any other artsy/creative things or outdoor activities (skiing, hiking the Grand Canyon, various family roadtrips)… things that don’t enhance my resume as such, but that show my personality. So many other students are involved in photography/journalism/hospital volunteering/Amnesty International (although most of them probably haven’t taught horseback riding ;)), and I almost feel as if my personality was left off the app because I haven’t won any awards for it.</p>
<p>D reports her toughest interviewer as the one who virtually demanded a promise that she attend if admitted. Well, not really, but it was clear that the main thrust of the questioning was designed to gauge level of interest (vs. other Ivies). D came home looking exhausted. Must have handled herself well, as she was admitted. (But, LOL, she declined.) </p>
<p>Her friend was thrown off by, & unable to answer, an interview question by another school: Can you name a weakness about yourself? (The Ivy rejected the student.)</p>
<p>My S was asked - “What one word defines your generation?” Without missing a beat, he answered “integrated.” He went on to explain that word was meant to include concepts of race, gender, sexual preference, access to information and technological connectedness (IM, e-mail, texting), all serving to break down barriers between people. His interviewer (who happened to be an African-American woman - my son is your basic UMCSWK - upper middle class suburban white kid) seemed to like the answer since it touched on such a broad array of important topics in one word without seeming to pander to her. Needless to say, I would’ve been hemmed and hawed and stammerd out some stupid answer that obviously was what I thought she wanted to hear. I looked at my son, impressed, and thought “Wow! Where’d he come from!?”</p>
<p>I’m an alum who does interviews. I tend to be very casual and try to avoid “trick” questions. I want kids to be themselves – the danger of mock interviews is that they become overly prepared. If your kid does well carrying on conversations with adults, they will probably be fine. A kid who is shy might need more preparation. </p>
<p>I often ask the “is there anything else you want to tell me that isn’t in your application” question. One of my favorite questions is “what are you hoping to get out of college that you aren’t getting out of high school.” Any kid who has done drama, I ask what his/her favorite role was. I always ask what they do over the summer. I NEVER ask if my college is their first choice or where else they are applying (although I gather many others do, and that bothers me). I am most unimpressed with kids who answer negatively (like the one who told me about the internship in DC, and when I pressed to get more info, said ‘I only filed papers all day, it was boring.’)</p>
<p>What is also important is what questions they ask me. I collect good ones. I dislike it when they ask a question they already know the answer to.</p>
<p>sly_vt, I sure wish you had been the one to interview my S for a scholarship a couple of weeks back. He faced a very stern panel that didn’t smile or nod in acknowledgement to the points he made so he feels he must not have impressed them. (I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they showed the same demeanor toward all of the candidates.)</p>
<p>Interesting… inviting the applicant to ask a question of the interviewer. That could catch someone off guard. Good idea to have a couple of your own questions at the ready.</p>
<p>I did some mock interviews with my son, really just asking him questions I thought might come up, like “How would your best friends describe you?”. I also suggested he generate a couple of questions after reading up on each school. He took a small reporter style notebook into the interviews to take notes. It’s not like anything gets memorized or over-rehearsed; it’s just to get a feel for thinking on your feet. We also talked about how to handle questions he didn’t know how to answer. My son is a bit reserved, so I think this was helpful to him.</p>
<p>I’ve asked the “tell me something about yourself I wouldn’t know from your application” in the context of job interviews (I’m an attorney). It is always amazing to me how many people are unprepared for the question, which is a terrific opportunity to distinguish yourself from others in a wide applicant pool. On the other hand, some people hit it out of the park. I interviewed a law school student years ago and asked the question–he responded that he loved pro football and Emily Dickinson poetry, and had, with his Grandfather, rebuilt the seating area at the old Chicago Theatre. Obviously, there was nobody else like him–he got a callback, where his resume would have made him one among many.</p>
<p>You’re trying to be memorable without being strange. I’d strongly encourage interviewees to avoid sticking to the script, and letting the interviewer get a glimpse of their personalities (even if the question is not asked directly) which are not evident from the written materials.</p>
<p>nviting the applicant to ask a question of the interviewer. That could catch someone off guard. Good idea to have a couple of your own questions at the ready.</p>
<p>thats the only thing I said to D about interviews- was that it was a good opportunity to find out more about the school & that she should know enough about it, so that she could ask questions that she wouldn’t easily find the answers to anywhere else & that she really wanted to know</p>
<p>I think this is a great question for the candidate, especially as a first question, because it allows him/her the chance and responsibility to choose the initial direction of the interview. It gives her/him a chance to talk about whatever is most exciting, interesting, successful, passionate, compassionate, enlivening etc. about her/himself. Whatever you are, whatever you consider to be important and worthwhile about yourself, you here have the chance to tell about it, the chance to show yourself in what you consider to be your best light, a great chance to sell yourself.</p>
<p>IMO this is a question to be prepared for and to pray for.</p>
<p>The open-ended, tell me about yourself questions, did not bother my daughter. For some reason she always was worried that she would be asked about other schools she was applying to. She said that question was always asked and she never felt she had a good answer.</p>
<p>My daughter’s friend was asked, “what are your top 3 schools?” Next, “pros and cons of each school.” My daughter was asked, “What is something you would do over again if you were given a chance?” Another, “What do you hope to get out of college?” A current event question, “How do you feel about President Ford’s passing?” (she said, “I don’t have any particular feeling about it, sorry.”)A very personal question from an ivy, “Where did you apply EA/ED?” My daughter said, “Rutgers.” The interviewer had a look of disbelieve and said, “I assume you were accepted.” My daughter said, “Yes.” No more, no less.</p>
<p>I know of one interviewer, when doing interviews for a scholarship, who will have a pile of books one different subjects in the room. He asks the student which books he/she would most like to read and why. That one can be quite tough- I wouldn’t want to have it!</p>
<p>worrywart - was your S interviewing for a scholarship at UVA? That sounds exactly like the situation my eldest found himself in! A humorless bunch! It made it easy to turn down the acceptance (which came with a meager $250). Couldn’t see himself at a school that was represented that way.</p>
<p>My kids all converse well with adults. The question my D dreads is “what other schools?” She doesn’t want to answer, but feels uncomfortable “challenging” an adult with a non-answer. She’s gotten better at it, since almost every single person has asked! Gives a different answer every time - usually naming a couple schools similar. Or says she not entirely sure yet, but she’s looking for schools that have – then names something somewhat unique that that school has. Such as “ungrad linguistics” or “a great violin teacher”.</p>
<p>At one school we talked ahead of time about some things they might ask: What other schools? What would make you pick us? etc. They asked her every single question we’d practiced, and she came out smiling.</p>