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- Jun 25, 2009
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As a college student who interviews prospective students, I've come up with some tips that I wish I had when I was interviewing for college. If people followed these, it would also make my life a bit easier at times:
1) There is nothing wrong with bringing a copy of your resume. I sometimes only have less than 5 minutes between interviews and only get to read a brief summary sheet. On it is your name, address, high school, and Categories of activities. If you play in an orchestra and are in NHS, I see: "performance groups (musical), academic/professional organizations". Some schools may have a complete open file, but worst case they will just say they already have it. Best case, it gives me better insight to write my report on you.
2) Anything on your application is fair game, so please do not try to pull a mile out of something you only did once. If it had a profound impact on your life, fine as long as you can explain it, but nothing is more awkward than when I try to ask more about an activity and there is nothing more to say. If I hit more than one of these, personally my interest in the interview is over, and you do NOT want your interviewer to lose interest in the interview!
3) Moms who are always around. Please tell your parents that you need a bit of independence during your visit. I am here to interview YOU, not your family. When I am done with the interview I will be more than glad to answer questions Mom or Dad might have, but I don't need them hovering over you during the entire visit. We have a term for this in the admissions office: "helicopter mom" -- you don't want your mom to be labeled a helicopter mom...
4) Do not be afraid to say you don't know something. Often this is related to major of choice but it can be related to other things as well. Be sure to back up why you're not sure or give an alternative, but don't make things up!
5) Whole on the topic of making things up, please don't make up credentials or activities on your application. It is painfully obvious when it is done, I tell my supervisor about something being off kilter, and he investigates. If it is found you didn't do something that you said you did, you are done. Both at that school and other schools. Admissions officers do talk to each other.
6) Quite often, the students interviewing you are given much leeway as to what they ask. I have a list of pages and pages of suggested questions, but I only usually use a few off of that list to start with. I want to learn not only about you, but how you think and how you can strike up an intelligent conversation with someone you just met.
7) Most schools agree to some unwritten rules. One of these is that we do not ask you to rate your interest level or rank schools in which you are interested. On our report, however, we are asked to gauge your interest level in our school. You can bring this up if 1) you have a high level of interest in the school (don't lie about it, we can tell) and 2) when given the opportunity to make answering this question easier for me. All the interviewers agree this is the hardest question to address on the interview report for a lot of prospective students. Make our jobs easier here. Some ways we try to gauge interest: "What about "school here" draws us to you over others?" "How are you pursuing your college search?" "Are you looking at similar programs elsewhere? If so, what do you like or dislike about our program?"
It would be good here to let us know if you are either very interested in our school or strongly interested in our school and where else you are looking at applying if you think it will help strengthen your application. Don't tell me we are your number 1 choice when we are not, but don't be afraid to mention other schools' names during the interview. We are not naive enough to think you are only applying to our school and the others are all backups.
8) On the topic of other schools, another unwritten rule is that we don't bring up other schools' names during the interview. However, when asked about our own experiences and asked for other schools we looked at in particular, we are allowed to briefly discuss why we chose our school over others. Don't be afraid to ask me why I chose my school over others because 5 months down the line, you may be wondering the same thing yourself.
9) Come with some working knowledge of the school. Spend an hour before visiting on the various web pages of the school. A good start is to read the Wikipedia entry for that school (the one time I will encourage the use of Wiki). Get a general overview and then delve into the web site of the school. Have intelligent questions ready to ask. Especially if a student is interviewing you, this is a chance to get that student's unfiltered views. Most interviewers will leave a few minutes at the end for some questions; do not be caught like a deer in the headlights!
Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions like, "what do you dislike most about this school?", "What would you change about this school if you could?", "I read in the school paper that there is a group forming against this issue, how do you think the school will deal with that?" As long as you are not insulting about it, it shows maturity to be able to ask questions like that. (An aside, pick up a copy of the school's newspaper if you can, it is also often an uncensored view at the good, bad, and ugly or the current happenings of the school.)
DO NOT ASK, however:
- Anything in regards to what my SAT, ACT scores were or my GPA. I don't even remember them and if I did, that is personal and does not reflect on your chances at all.
- What I think your chances are of getting in; I honestly don't know, I just met you 20 minutes ago and I got 5 minutes with your file. Just do your best and you'll be fine.
10) DO write a thank you note. I receive fewer than 10% of my interviewees writing me a thank you note so it really stands out when I get one. You want to be in my mind a few weeks later when an admission offers stops me in the hall and ask me a question about you. A lot of the times, people are not memorable just because we interview so many students (I average about 10 a week during the peak season). If you don't stand out to me, I can't go to bat for you next week.
To answer the question of email vs snail mail:
Snail Mail is going to be a better option, but be sure you have your card/letter out the same day and you mail it from campus. That way it gets to me a lot quicker. For my medical school interviews, I carry a pack of thank you cards with me and a booklet of stamps and I am sure to write down the names of people who interviewed me. Before I leave, often in the cafeteria or somewhere else I can sit down, I write my cards and then drop them in the closest mailbox. If you are unsure where to send the mail, address it to the interviewer c/o the admissions office.
The reason I say snail mail is better: 1) it is more memorable in today's world of email. 2) I may forget to forward a copy of your email to the admissions office to put in your file and then it is as if there was no thank you sent at all. With snail mail, a copy is placed in your file before I even get it. If it is sent directly to me (you looked up my campus box number online for example) I have a physical note in my hand that I will remember to hand off to get scanned. 3) Please don't send gift cards or things of great monetary value. Some people have found cute ways of saying thank you, but many of us are volunteers who do this because we want to.
Now, there is also a reason to send an email out too, but it is NOT a substitute for snail mail IMO. Our office likes to have the reports done within a day for those of us who volunteer and are only in once a week. But for me, since I am in more times a week, I usually have a few days to do them. The email is a nice touch of there is something you want to say before the report is written, but otherwise the snail mail will be enough for me to remember you by!
Remember that most of these students are not being paid for this and do this because they want to so please show your appreciation for their hard work!
That's all for now, please reply if you have questions and I wish you all to have a successful application season!
1) There is nothing wrong with bringing a copy of your resume. I sometimes only have less than 5 minutes between interviews and only get to read a brief summary sheet. On it is your name, address, high school, and Categories of activities. If you play in an orchestra and are in NHS, I see: "performance groups (musical), academic/professional organizations". Some schools may have a complete open file, but worst case they will just say they already have it. Best case, it gives me better insight to write my report on you.
2) Anything on your application is fair game, so please do not try to pull a mile out of something you only did once. If it had a profound impact on your life, fine as long as you can explain it, but nothing is more awkward than when I try to ask more about an activity and there is nothing more to say. If I hit more than one of these, personally my interest in the interview is over, and you do NOT want your interviewer to lose interest in the interview!
3) Moms who are always around. Please tell your parents that you need a bit of independence during your visit. I am here to interview YOU, not your family. When I am done with the interview I will be more than glad to answer questions Mom or Dad might have, but I don't need them hovering over you during the entire visit. We have a term for this in the admissions office: "helicopter mom" -- you don't want your mom to be labeled a helicopter mom...
4) Do not be afraid to say you don't know something. Often this is related to major of choice but it can be related to other things as well. Be sure to back up why you're not sure or give an alternative, but don't make things up!
5) Whole on the topic of making things up, please don't make up credentials or activities on your application. It is painfully obvious when it is done, I tell my supervisor about something being off kilter, and he investigates. If it is found you didn't do something that you said you did, you are done. Both at that school and other schools. Admissions officers do talk to each other.
6) Quite often, the students interviewing you are given much leeway as to what they ask. I have a list of pages and pages of suggested questions, but I only usually use a few off of that list to start with. I want to learn not only about you, but how you think and how you can strike up an intelligent conversation with someone you just met.
7) Most schools agree to some unwritten rules. One of these is that we do not ask you to rate your interest level or rank schools in which you are interested. On our report, however, we are asked to gauge your interest level in our school. You can bring this up if 1) you have a high level of interest in the school (don't lie about it, we can tell) and 2) when given the opportunity to make answering this question easier for me. All the interviewers agree this is the hardest question to address on the interview report for a lot of prospective students. Make our jobs easier here. Some ways we try to gauge interest: "What about "school here" draws us to you over others?" "How are you pursuing your college search?" "Are you looking at similar programs elsewhere? If so, what do you like or dislike about our program?"
It would be good here to let us know if you are either very interested in our school or strongly interested in our school and where else you are looking at applying if you think it will help strengthen your application. Don't tell me we are your number 1 choice when we are not, but don't be afraid to mention other schools' names during the interview. We are not naive enough to think you are only applying to our school and the others are all backups.
8) On the topic of other schools, another unwritten rule is that we don't bring up other schools' names during the interview. However, when asked about our own experiences and asked for other schools we looked at in particular, we are allowed to briefly discuss why we chose our school over others. Don't be afraid to ask me why I chose my school over others because 5 months down the line, you may be wondering the same thing yourself.
9) Come with some working knowledge of the school. Spend an hour before visiting on the various web pages of the school. A good start is to read the Wikipedia entry for that school (the one time I will encourage the use of Wiki). Get a general overview and then delve into the web site of the school. Have intelligent questions ready to ask. Especially if a student is interviewing you, this is a chance to get that student's unfiltered views. Most interviewers will leave a few minutes at the end for some questions; do not be caught like a deer in the headlights!
Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions like, "what do you dislike most about this school?", "What would you change about this school if you could?", "I read in the school paper that there is a group forming against this issue, how do you think the school will deal with that?" As long as you are not insulting about it, it shows maturity to be able to ask questions like that. (An aside, pick up a copy of the school's newspaper if you can, it is also often an uncensored view at the good, bad, and ugly or the current happenings of the school.)
DO NOT ASK, however:
- Anything in regards to what my SAT, ACT scores were or my GPA. I don't even remember them and if I did, that is personal and does not reflect on your chances at all.
- What I think your chances are of getting in; I honestly don't know, I just met you 20 minutes ago and I got 5 minutes with your file. Just do your best and you'll be fine.
10) DO write a thank you note. I receive fewer than 10% of my interviewees writing me a thank you note so it really stands out when I get one. You want to be in my mind a few weeks later when an admission offers stops me in the hall and ask me a question about you. A lot of the times, people are not memorable just because we interview so many students (I average about 10 a week during the peak season). If you don't stand out to me, I can't go to bat for you next week.
To answer the question of email vs snail mail:
Snail Mail is going to be a better option, but be sure you have your card/letter out the same day and you mail it from campus. That way it gets to me a lot quicker. For my medical school interviews, I carry a pack of thank you cards with me and a booklet of stamps and I am sure to write down the names of people who interviewed me. Before I leave, often in the cafeteria or somewhere else I can sit down, I write my cards and then drop them in the closest mailbox. If you are unsure where to send the mail, address it to the interviewer c/o the admissions office.
The reason I say snail mail is better: 1) it is more memorable in today's world of email. 2) I may forget to forward a copy of your email to the admissions office to put in your file and then it is as if there was no thank you sent at all. With snail mail, a copy is placed in your file before I even get it. If it is sent directly to me (you looked up my campus box number online for example) I have a physical note in my hand that I will remember to hand off to get scanned. 3) Please don't send gift cards or things of great monetary value. Some people have found cute ways of saying thank you, but many of us are volunteers who do this because we want to.
Now, there is also a reason to send an email out too, but it is NOT a substitute for snail mail IMO. Our office likes to have the reports done within a day for those of us who volunteer and are only in once a week. But for me, since I am in more times a week, I usually have a few days to do them. The email is a nice touch of there is something you want to say before the report is written, but otherwise the snail mail will be enough for me to remember you by!
Remember that most of these students are not being paid for this and do this because they want to so please show your appreciation for their hard work!
That's all for now, please reply if you have questions and I wish you all to have a successful application season!
