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Print Friendly
Version - click here.
To
prepare for your interview, read the literature sent
to you by the college. Review your notes from your campus visit.
Be aware of course offerings, whether there
is a major in your field, etc. Arrive early (15 minutes) for the interview
and try to relax.
You will be asked if you have any questions. Have some questions prepared in advance. It won’t hurt to have them written out.
Interviewers will be favorably impressed with
that sort of preparation. It also gives you a chance to control the direction of the
interview, to obtain some useful answers, and to learn
more about your interviewer.
Before entering the interview, you should have in
mind some objectives regarding the interview and your
means for accomplishing these objectives.
Be yourself.
Be prepared. Do not come on with a self-centered sales job. You can’t talk your way into college. You can talk your way out.
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Why are you considering this college?
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How did you come to include us among your choices?
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What makes you think this college and you are right
for each other?
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Where else are you applying and why?
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Which is your first choice? Why?
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What do you hope to major in? Why?
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What are your plans for the future? What do you expect to be doing years
from now?
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What have you liked or disliked about your high school?
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If you were the principal of your school, what would
you change?
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What would you like to tell us about yourself?
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What newspapers and magazines do you read? How often?
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What books (not required by your courses) have you
read recently?
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What television shows do you watch?
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Tell us about your family.
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How do you spend a typical afternoon after school? Evening? Weekend?
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How do you spend your vacations?
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What extracurricular activities have you found most
satisfying?
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What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
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Do you have any heroes, contemporary or historical?
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How would your best friend describe you?
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If you could talk with any one living person, who
would it be and why?
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What events have been crucial in your life?
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How do you feel about: The nuclear freeze; Nuclear
power; The use of drugs and
alcohol; Advertising; Gun control, the Berlin
Wall, the dissolution of Soviet Union, etc.
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What is the most significant contribution you have
made to your school or community?
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What is the most important thing you have learned
in high school?
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What historical event do you feel has had the most
impact on the 20th century?
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Tell us about your innermost fears.
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What do you want to get out of your college experience? |
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Please email
bob for:
Suggestions,
To have your URL included in Cyberguidance,
To get a web site like this one, or
If you find a broken link.
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Don’t
try to impress an interviewer by pretending you’ve
read books still sitting untouched on your shelf.
Similarly, don’t profess to be addicted to The New
York Times if you’re not prepared to discuss the philosophical
differences between Anthony Lewis and William Safire.
If science fiction is your favorite escape, admit
it. (But
if shoddy romance novels are your idea of serious
literature, you may want to temper your response.)
Reading is imperative to success in college;
you should get used to it in high school.
If you are asked to discuss your favorite films and
television shows, don’t fake it. If only half the people who claim to watch
The MacNeil/Lehrer Report actually even turned it
on, its audience Nielsen ratings would match those
of Dallas. Admission
officers don’t award extra points to students who
say they love the films of Ingmar Bergman, nor do
they subtract points for those who admit to crying
during E.T. Be yourself!
Don’t forget to send a prompt Thank You note to the
person who gave the interview.
Be brief, be personal, be positive and enthusiastic
- How many of the top faculty teach undergraduates?
- - - How many of the top faculty teach freshmen?
- How much of the teaching load is carried by graduate
assistants?
- Is tutoring available from faculty?
- Are faculty generally available for consultation
and help?
- How large are classes for freshmen?
- How large are classes once I get into my major?
- Is my professor likely to know me by name?
- Are there opportunities for independent study?
- For self-designed majors?
- Are many of the faculty involved in research?
- If so, are students involved in these research projects?
- What is the job placement record among students
in my major interest?
- What is the placement record in graduate school?
- What sort of honors programs are available?
- How many students are involved in off-campus or
foreign study?
- Are these programs generally successful?
- How difficult is it to transfer from one major to
another?
- How often is it done?
- What are the dorms like? (air conditioned? suites?
double rooms? private bath?)
- How much per year does housing cost?
- Do most students live in dorms or off-campus?
- How far away are residence halls from classrooms,
labs, the library, food?
- How important a role do fraternities and sororities
play on the life of the students?
- Is housing guaranteed for full-time students?
- What alternatives are available?
- What social activities are available outside of
the fraternity system?
- Is there a student activities fee?
- What does it cover?
- Outside of room, board, tuition, and books, what
routine expenses can I expect?
- Are varsity athletic events, such as football and
basketball games, available to the general student
body?
- At what cost?
- What athletic opportunities will be open to me?
- How many of the students take part in athletics?
- What processes do I enter to apply for financial
aid?
- What is the surrounding community like?
- What relationship exists between the townspeople
and the college?
- Do large numbers of students leave campus on the
weekends?
- Where do they go?
- How would you describe the atmosphere/personality
of the campus?
- Is there an advisory system set up?
- Who does it? (If they have one) is the Honor System effective?
- Is it a single sanction system?
- Is it supported by the students?
- How difficult is it to become involved in extracurricular
activities such as publications, theater, music, special
interest clubs, etc.?
- How major a commitment do they involve?
- When considering this college in comparison to other
similar schools, what unique features should I consider?
- What kind of attrition rate is seen among freshmen?
- Are students happy?
- Does the school have a reputation as a party school,
an academic grind, a widespread, diverse community,
a close, caring society?
- Do you appeal to a particular type of student?
- Is there a sameness to be seen in your student body?
- What advice would you give me to help me in making
my college choice?
- What is the school’s policy on student use of drugs
and alcohol?
- What type of problems do you have now?
- What are the regular library hours?
- Are special services such as word processors, individual
study carrels, access to special collection, etc.,
available to students?
- Are laboratory facilities accessible to undergraduates?
- What are the crime statistics on campus?
- Near campus?
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