Applying College Well : Shining in Your Interview

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Schools vary widely in the importance placed on interviews. Some require an interview as part of the admissions process, some make it optional, and some don’t offer it at all. Just how important are interviews anyway, and how should you view them?

If a college doesn’t offer interviews—for example, Stanford has just begun a pilot project to introduce them, and most public universities don’t use them—then obviously interviews play no role in the admissions process. But what if they are offered? Our best advice is to take advantage of an interview, prepare for it, and take it seriously. But don’t expect it to carry much weight in the final outcome.

The Difference Between Informational and Evaluative Interviews

Interviews fall into two main types: informational and evaluative. In informational interviews, colleges provide applicants with personalized information about their program. The main goal of informational interviews is recruitment—getting students excited about the college and its offerings. They are usually offered by local alumni who volunteer to help their alma mater, but they can be offered on-site at the college as well, often by current students at the college. Informational interviews let you ask questions and learn more about a college; they also give you a chance to demonstrate your interest in the school. Notes are rarely kept from these sessions, although the fact that you did participate will probably be kept in your file.

Evaluative interviews are trickier. Here the college is clear that the results of the interview will be part of your admissions file. Evaluative interviews may be strongly encouraged or merely optional, and they are usually offered at the college by admissions staff or by college seniors specially trained for the task, or by alumni living in your home area. Most interviews are conducted in a student’s hometown by an alumni volunteer. The alum can be a recent grad, someone who graduated thirty-five years ago, or somewhere in between. The variability among interviewers—admissions staff, seniors, and, especially, alums—can make it difficult for colleges to place great weight on interview results, even when they are intended to be evaluative. The alumni do this for fun and to give something back to the college besides money because they enjoyed their college experience. Expect the interview to be positive, warm, and friendly, not an interrogation. Most of the time it will be.

How to Approach Your Interview

The admissions office may describe your interview as evaluative or informational, or it may make no distinction at all. Regardless of the description, plan to be on time. Don’t arrive early at an interview in someone’s home—just be there when you are supposed to be. Expect the interview to last about forty-five minutes, plus or minus fifteen minutes, depending on the interviewer and how the discussion goes. The first part of the interview is the most important. In talking with college alumni who interview for their schools, a consistent pattern is found: early impressions stick. The first few minutes can set the tone for the rest of the interview, so go into it alert and ready to go. But when the interviewer seems to relax and says, “Now let me tell you the real stuff about Dream College, USA,” your part of the interview is really over, and you just have to look interested from then on. Well, be careful still, but the interview does have a structure and a pace that you can anticipate.