<p>I’m very nervous about my future interviews, and I wanted to know what in your opinion should not be mentioned or said during an interview?
Should you avoid talking about your personal life/past, should you avoid talking about your grades, etc etc.</p>
<p>I’d just like some opinions/advice :)</p>
<p>If you’re looking at competitive colleges, you might find the book What You Don’t Know Can Keep You Out of College. It doesn’t talk about specifics but gives you an idea of signs colleges look for.</p>
<p>What’s the school</p>
<p>Brown University</p>
<p>ah i have an interview with brown next week! i’d like to know also :)</p>
<p>It’s from Fall 2010, but you may enjoy reading:</p>
<p>[Advice</a> for the College Interview: Girls, Dress Discreetly; Boys, Mind Those Hands - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/october-interview/]Advice”>Advice for the College Interview: Girls, Dress Discreetly; Boys, Mind Those Hands - The New York Times)</p>
<p>As far as what NOT to say or talk about: if possible, I would avoid any controversial topics that can be polarizing (like politics, religion). </p>
<p>Don’t paint a negative picture of yourself, even if your point is how you overcame a bad situation. Examples: overcoming drug or substance abuse, eating disorders or emotional issues.</p>
<p>You may want to be careful about answering questions about what other schools you are applying to. Obviously you are applying to more than one school, but it probably would not be helpful if you list all the other ivy league schools. It will come off as if you are only interested in “ivy”, not Brown in particular.</p>
<p>Do your best not be critical of people/institutions. Example: I hate my parents, my high school is so lame. If you need to express that sentiment to make an important point, re-phrase: “due to budgetary restrictions, unfortunately my high school does not offer many challenging classes, which is why I ______________”</p>
<p>It’s always helpful to have a question or two ready, so if your interviewer asks you if you have any questions, you have something to say. But make sure it’s not a really stupid question that you should know the answer to. If you have real questions, an interview would be a good time to ask them. But make sure they are appropriate for the interviewer - if the interviewer is an alum, don’t expect them to know about how AP credits are counted at Brown.</p>
<p>Do your homework - for example, don’t talk about your desire to be a business major, if the school doesn’t offer one, but instead offers an economics major. </p>
<p>Do not make derogatory or offensive comments or jokes.</p>
<p>Thank you very much! That’s some helpful advice. Mostly I’ve been working on figuring out how to explain exactly why I’m interested in Brown and why I’m applying. It’s probably the hardest thing for me to explain, because there are so many reasons. So I’m hoping I can figure out how to explain all that, being that it will probably be a question.</p>
<p>I was planning on asking my interviewer questions about various global programs at Brown, how they work, a few questions about the student body and campus, questions about the overall impact of the open curriculum on most students (positive experience or not). I’m hoping my questions won’t be regarded as “dumb” :)</p>
<p>Would it be appropriate to ask my interviewer (an alumni) about how Brown review their applications, and what her thoughts are about applying with a lower GPA?</p>
<p>I don’t like it when applicants bring up their medical history during interviews with me. First, it always make me a little uncomfortable because I feel the need to console them. Second, it’s usually not relevant to their application and I feel it’s a ploy to gain sympathy from me. Unless your illness/condition/etc had a serious impact on what you want to be when you grow up (i.e. you overcame cancer and now you want to be an oncologist), it’s probably best not to bring it up.</p>
<p>Oh, well I don’t have any medical history so that won’t be an issue, I can see how that could become uncomfortable though!</p>
<p>Is it “okay” to come with some info printed off of the school’s website? Like a list of courses, or programs, and their descriptions, in order to help me in asking questions about them? Or would that be unprofessional or not appreciated? Also perhaps have a printed sheet of all the questions I have just in case I forget some?</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t like it if an applicant brought a list of courses. Chances are, you and I aren’t the same major. Even if we were, I may not have taken the courses you’re interested in and if I did, they probably weren’t with the same professor. Most likely I’d tell you to e-mail the professor of the course for more info. </p>
<p>I also would not bring a printed sheet of questions, since it’s not too difficult to memorize three-five questions to ask me during the interview. One question should be specific to the school, but the other questions can be more generic (i.e. what was your best experience in undergrad, why did you pick your major, why did you pick this school, etc). Now if you do have more questions, ask the interviewer if they mind if you can e-mail them later on… I bet most would say yes. </p>
<p>Good luck and let me know if you have more questions.</p>
<p>NEVER be negative, especially about another school/college.</p>
<p>Had my interview today, it went great, there weren’t even specific questions, it was all just great conversation, a lot of information, some laughs, and just getting along. Had a great time!</p>
<p>As much as we like to avoid politic and religion, sometimes an interviewer may bring it up to see what’s applicant’s view and his/her critical thinking ability. I told my kids to read up on the current events, have a point of view about various issues. What I also told them was to clearly state it, then find a way to back away from it if it becomes too controversial (if the interviewer clearly had a different point of view).</p>
<p>I would also have names of few books ready in order to discuss. If you listed any ECs, make sure you know them well because you never know if your interviwer could be an expert in one particular EC. As an example, if you listed rock or mountain climbing as one of your ECs, make sure your know what equipments one should use, most famous climbers. D1 was a ballet dancer, one interviwer asked her the difference between various ballet techniques, and why one was becoming more prominent.</p>
<p>Think about what is it about you that you want the interviewer to know about you, come up with a list. Try to work your list into the conversation. It is a way that you could control an interview.</p>
<p>It gets easier with more practice. If you could, try to have interview with schools which are not as important to you. If Brown is your top choice, maybe try to delay it until you have few interviews under your belt.</p>
<p>Don’t talk about your bf. “Personal life” is fine if you are talking about aspects of YOUR life that affect your interests and passions.</p>
<p>Great job!</p>
<p>Glad it went well! </p>
<p>Post #6, I thought, was really well put and helpful.</p>