Preparing for the Interview

Contrary to what you may have heard from other sources, you should always interview if given the opportunity. In most cases the interview can only help you. It serves to put a face on the application, and it gives you the opportunity to display maturity. So, you shouldn’t be nervous. The only way that an interview can really hurt you is if you come across as arrogant. So your first tip is not to walk in, put your feet up on the interviewers desk and tell her, “I know your school wants me, so let’s just talk about how big the scholarship is going to be.” Other than that, you should be fine. Interviewers understand that you are a high school student, and probably have not been on many interviews, so you might be nervous. Admissions people also understand that not everyone “hits it off,” so they take the interviewer’s report with a grain of salt.

The first way to prepare for the interview is to understand the different types of college admissions interviews. Basically, there are two types of interviews, informative and evaluative. In an informative interview the person conducting the interview is actually going to try to sell you their school, and for the most part he or she will talk more than you. Remember, the majority of colleges accept far more students than they reject. In an evaluative interview, the interviewer will give you some sort of a rating afterward that the admissions committee will factor into their admissions decision. Those are the two basic types of interviews. There are, however, several different types of people who will conduct the interview. First, the interview can be conducted by a full-time member of the college admissions office staff. The opinion of these interviewers carries the most weight with the admissions committee, since it is one of their colleagues. Also, some colleges hire students at the school to conduct the interviews, and may also hire other part time interviewers. If they are evaluative, the admissions committee will look for the interviewer’s comments to verify what they have seen in other places in the student’s application. Finally, many schools utilize alumni interviewers. Since the college admissions office staff does not know all of the alumni, they do not always weigh these reports as heavily as if it were one of their own conducting the interview. Like with the part-time staff, they are looking for information to support what they have already seen in the application.

When should you interview?

If you are going to interview on campus, many colleges will allow you to start interviewing in Spring of your junior year. If you are making a trip to visit colleges, and it would be difficult to get back to visit the college, I would recommend that you interview when you visit the school. You can usually arrange an interview by contacting the school’s admissions office. I would not recommend interviewing at your favorite school first. Interview at another school on your list, so you can learn what it is like to interview and get any nervousness out of your system.

What should you wear for your interview?

In some ways, it may be easier to tell you what not to wear than what you should wear. Do not wear a t-shirt and ripped jeans. Do not chew gum during the interview. You want to show respect for the interviewer and the interviewing process. You do not necessarily have to wear a suit, but you should be dressed well. It is all right to wear a tie, but it is not usually necessary to wear a jacket or a suit. Guys should wear nice pants and a shirt with a collar, and women may want to wear a skirt. You want to be comfortable, yet look presentable. If in doubt, it is better to err on the side of being overdressed than underdressed.

How do you arrange an interview?

This is dependent upon the school. For most schools, you contact the admissions office and arrange an interview. Some schools however will contact you to arrange the interview. Usually if you are going to receive an alumni interview the person will contact you and then arrange a place to meet for the interview. Alumni interviews can be conducted in the interviewers home, office, sometimes your home, or occasionally in a neutral site like a local coffee shop.

How do you prepare for the interview?

Remember, the interview is the opportunity for you to put a face on your application. It is the chance for you to let the admissions office see why they should accept you, and how you have grown from any negative experience. You will want to take the opportunity to explain any weak parts of your transcript. If for example you had bad grades one semester because you had mono or a family problem, let them know. However, you do not want to sound like you are making excuses. Instead own up to any mistakes and tell them what you learned from the situation and how you have grown. Resist the temptation to tell the interviewer that you got a bad grade in science because the teacher sucks and hated you on top of that. Tell them that while you may have received a less than stellar grade in science, you were able to improve your grade when you really applied yourself, and you learned that you probably are not interested in majoring in the sciences. You may also want to say you learned how to work with people despite personality differences (This was one of my favorite things to tell my parents when I did not get a long with a teacher, “we had a major personality difference, I have a very good personality and the teacher doesn’t have one at all.” I wouldn’t say that to an interviewer.)

There are certain questions that you should be prepared to answer. The major ones are probably: What would you like to study, and why? Why do you want to study that at our school? Below is a list of questions that you should expect to hear from an interviewer. In addition to preparing for questions that the interviewer might ask you, you should prepare a few good questions to ask the interviewer about the school. Your questions should show knowledge of the school. Do your research ahead of time on the internet. Ask about particular clubs of interest to you. Ask about the class selection and registration process. Ask about academic advising and if there are support services (tutoring, resource labs, etc.). Ask about placement in professional or graduate schools, and career services. Ask questions that are going to show that you are interested in the school and that you already know a little bit about the school, but that you want to learn more. Make sure that they are knowledgeable questions, and not things that can be easily answered by looking at the brochures that have been sent to you by the admissions office.

Questions to Expect:

Why do you want to attend this school?

What will you add to the student body?

What are your career goals, and how does our school fit into them?

What would you like to major in and why?

What was your favorite class in high school?

What accomplishment are you the most proud of?

If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be?

How would your friend’s describe you?

How would your teacher’s describe you?

Who was your favorite teacher, and why?

What is an issue in your community?

What do you like to do with your free time?

What is your favorite activity?

Are there any social issues about which you are passionate?

What events would you say have been most important in your life so far?

How do you think you have changed in your four years of high school?

What books have you read, and which have had the most impact upon you?