How many college interviews have you had?
I’ve had two alumni interviews (here in NYC) and two interviews at the actual colleges.
What was your best college interview? Why?
I was interviewed by a senior at Haverford College and we related to each other on many subjects so it was really easy to talk to her. We both loved photography and she was an English major and I was thinking of becoming one. She was also doing a senior thesis project (wrote her paper and was going to present to a panel) just like all the ones we do at ICE so it was perfect. Haverford was just like ICE to the extreme. Based on that I think the easiest way to have a good interview experience is to find something you and the interviewer have in common and be sure to show exactly how you would be a good fit at their school and not only why you want to go there. At another interview, the interviewer and I connected because he was also from NYC, and another because she was majoring in what I’m thinking of majoring in.
How would you describe the atmosphere of your interviews? Do you think this is typical of college interviews? Should students dress professional or casual?
For the ones I did at the colleges, we sat in admission rooms and they didn't really have specific questions. Both of them were with a student who works in admissions. The alumni interviews were with older people (duh they've already graduated) and we met in a cafe and a diner in the city. One of the alumni called me and we arranged a date, time, and place, and the other I did via email. The interview usually starts by telling you they want this to be a conversation and not just them asking you a list of questions, then they ask you to tell them about yourself, your school, your interests, and move on from there.
Of course you should dress professionally. No denim! I wore a colored blazer with solid black skinny pants and a nice shirt. Basically you would wear what you'd wear to give a panel presentation. When in doubt I’ve always heard that in general it's better to error on the fancy side.
Do you have any advice for how to do well on an interview?
Like I said before I think it's really important to show your common ground. Don’t just say a program sounds really cool, say my school had something a bit like this we did blah blah and i'm really excited to take this to the next level. Show that you learned from that common experience and how you can use those skills to make you great when you do it in college.
Also, of course, have researched your school and come with questions to ask. Ask your interviewer what they are majoring/did major in and what they're involved with and any questions you have about the school, of course. Another tip, one alum told me where she worked and I didn't search it before I went. It wasn't a huge deal but I wish I had because she referenced it during the interview. Also, in three out of the four interviews, I was asked what I was reading currently, so have a title ready just in case. One good thing that to talk about: ICE’s graduation requirements. They are a good way to show what kind of work you do.
Anything else you want to add about college interviews?
If you can interview at the school, do it. I didn't get into either of the schools I did alumni interviews for (not saying they aren't an asset to your application, these schools were also my extreme reach schools) but they were kind of awkward. one was in a diner and one was in a cafe and there was all this added stress of ordering food or not ordering food (at the diner I got a soda so I could still talk, my interviewer got a meal) and having to talk over excess noise, etc. That said, they were really helpful to learn more about the school and I think it's better to do one if that's the only option, but if it's available/convenient to do on campus I found I preferred those (I got into a reach-ish school and a target via them). Last but not least, you should always get the interviewer's name and send them a thank you card/email!
Thanks to anonymous senior! Hope this helps the juniors who have interviews coming up.
Isabel
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