Pretend your admissions interview is a date with the admissions officer, and the goal is to be a good date. That is what the interview is like. Some people breeze through interviews while others come out sweating as if they had just ran the mile for gym class. No matter which kind of person you are, this article will take you through the step by step process on how to be a successful interviewee.
The time before the interview is best spent doing research on the school and more importantly, yourself. You have to know yourself pretty well to answer the questions that you may be asked during the interview. Ask yourself questions such as: What do you value? How is your personality? How do you define success? And, what are your unique characteristics? What motivates you? Now that you have learned more about yourself, do research on the college. While doing research, formulate questions that you would like to ask that you thought you could not find on the website. Make sure they are thoughtful questions and not something that can be “Google-d” for quick reference. (What is one thing you feel your school passes on to the students?)
Now it is time for your interview. For your interview, be prompt, dressed nicely, honest, optimistic, respectful, and most importantly, be yourself. The interview is a date and not an interrogation, and it should be treated as such. Express interest while you talk and pause between sentences to give the interviewer time to inquiry about your statements. Ask the questions that you formed while doing your research. Focus on a few key points that you feel that you have a lot to talk about and emphasize on your very strong points. Lastly, be sincere and don’t try to say what you think the interviewer wants to hear. Questions you may be asked during the interview are: Why do you want to attend? What are you most proud of? How do you spend your summers? What have you done to prepare for college? Who has most influenced you? What is your strongest and weakest point?
After the interview, take the time to send a thank-you note to the interviewer. Say that it was a pleasure to meet him and reiterate your interest for the college. After this point, you have done all that you can. Don’t worry about what happened. You probably did better than how you think you did. Just focus on the positives of the interview, and you will be set for future interviews.
I hope this article was helpful. Just remember to stay relaxed. The interviewer wants to know who you are, not how to solve Calculus III questions. Please feel free to comment.
