<p>I also did not do an interview for Wellesley, but I did four other successful interviews (ie the interview went well; I was only outright accepted to one of the schools but it had nothing to do with the interview) (all alumni interviews, BTW). My biggest piece of advice is that the interviewer is not out to get you the vast majority of the time. I won’t claim that no one ever got a crotchety old man or a rude, brusque alum, but it is not the norm, IMO. None of my interviewers were like that. It’s really a lot like…a blind date, I would say, only the interviewer is trying to see how worthy of a candidate you are for Wellesley instead of how worthy a romantic partner you would be. It’s important to feel comfortable talking about yourself, your school, your family, and your interests and activities. I do think it is helpful to think about questions like “What is your favorite book?”, “What do you think about X current event?”, “What are a few words to describe yourself?”, things like that. I didn’t get a ton of those questions, but I did get a few, so I felt comfortable answering instead of being caught off guard. Also, (I know it’s kind of late for this interview, but in the future) it’s good if you talk fairly regularly with someone other than teenagers–your parents, your teachers, your boss or church leader or whatever. I’ve always enjoyed talking to my teachers and parents on a personal level, and so speaking to a strange adult wasn’t much of a big deal. Finally, it is extremely rare for the interview to have more than an extremely minor effect on your application, in either the positive or negative direction. Sure, it’s great when they go well and you feel like you have one more plus in your column, but unless you express some sort of bigotry or extreme social awkwardness (and even then, the adcoms will try not to jump to conclusions based on one person’s report), the interview will not significantly impact the admissions decision. </p>
<p>Oh, and make sure you have some questions. They don’t have to be mind-blowing…it’s just helpful to establish yourself as actively interested in what it would be like to go to the college. And if there’s anything you would like to convey to the interviewer, do your darndest to work it in (without being annoying, of course). Don’t be too shy to steer the conversation gently, if need be–it’s not rude, it’s a good conversational skill that we all need to have. Good luck!</p>