What College Admissions Officers Look For: Personal Interview

How Do I Best Prepared for An Interview?

Do not become overly distressed before the interview, as the interview can help you but rarely hurt you. You can prepare for the interview by doing the following:

• Do some soul searching
• Assess your personality
• Consider your strengths and weaknesses
• Assess your academic experience—be familiar with your transcript
• Evaluate your outside interests and activities
• Examine your values and goals
• Clarify what’s important to you and what you are looking for in a college
• Try to anticipate some interview questions
• Research the college’s Web site

Some possible interview questions are:

• What career/major are you interested in?
• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What books have your read? What are you reading now?
• Who do you most admire and why?
• What is your favorite subject?
• What do you do for fun or in your spare time?
• In which extracurricular activities have you participated?
• What leadership skills do you possess?
• Why do you want to attend this college? What impact will you have on campus?
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years?
• If you could meet any past or present historical or fictional figure, who would you like to meet?
• What challenges have you faced?
• What have you done during the summer?
• What is a national or local issue that concerns you?

During the interview, you should, as silly as it sounds, try to relax and to be yourself. Some tips for how to conduct yourself during the interview include:

• Be prepared and be polite
• Be prompt
• Dress appropriately
• Don’t appear over-rehearsed
• Listen to the interviewer
• Maintain eye contact—this is critical!
• Try to avoid one-word answers
• Show your interest in the interviewer and try to make a connection. Ask about their experiences during college and ask what they are doing now
• Demonstrate your interest and knowledge about the college
• Ask probing questions, which are not thoroughly covered in the course catalog or Web site, about the college

 Here are some things you should not do during the interview:

• Don’t ask the interviewer to compare colleges.
• Don’t make excuses for poor SAT/ACT scores, grades, or why a teacher dislikes you.
• Don’t give academic information (transcript, SAT/ACT scores) unless someone asks or it.
• Don’t ask obvious questions, such as how many students does this college have or do you have an education program or physical therapy major? You should already know the answers to these basic questions. 

At the end of the interview, thank the interviewer and ask for his address or e-mail address so you can write a thank you note, and do so promptly. If you have follow-up questions, you have a person to contact there for additional information. Even if an interview doesn’t carry significant weight, you should always try to make a good impression and to be enthusiastic.