Home About Us Media Kit Subscriptions Links Forum
APPEARED IN


View Select Articles

Download PDF

FAMOUS INTERVIEWS

Directories:

SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS

HELP WANTED

Tutors

Workshops

Events

Sections:

Books

Camps & Sports

Careers

Children’s Corner

Collected Features

Colleges

Cover Stories

Distance Learning

Editorials

Famous Interviews

Homeschooling

Medical Update

Metro Beat

Movies & Theater

Museums

Music, Art & Dance

Special Education

Spotlight On Schools

Teachers of the Month

Technology

Archives:

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

1995-2000


FEBRUARY 2006

Preparing for the College Interview: An Insider’s View

by Keith Berman, M.Ed., M.S.Ed.

The college interview does “not really count”

A great misconception among the college-bound is that the college interview is not an important part of selective college admissions.  In fact, I heard the phrase “this doesn’t really count anyway” during one of the hundreds of college interviews I have given at Harvard and Yale.

In actuality, admissions offices create sophisticated scoring rubrics for interviews.  They generally measure the same two things: personality (how engaging you are) and intellectual ability (how well you can explain your ideas).  While there is nothing in particular that can earn or lose you points, the following sections on preparation, presentation, and pointers will help you express yourself to admissions officers effectively.

Preparation

Have an answer to the prompt, “tell me a little bit about yourself”

Also consider related “little bits” about your “family,” “town,” “school,” and “favorite activity/subject.”  You are going to be asked about who you are, what you do and like.  It is very uncomfortable when I hear back, “I don’t really do that much,” or “I’m not sure I have a favorite,” and this hurts both scores.  If you have a ‘tie’ between two or three activities, say so, and choose on to talk about.

Do some research: know why you are there, and have questions ready

Kate Timlin of the Georgetown Admissions Office says “you can best prepare for an interview by asking yourself why do I want to do here?  If you have no reason to give, that reflects on who you are.”  There are really no great answers to the question “why do you want to go to Yale,” but there are bad answers.  Among my least favorite answers are “my mom wants me to go,” “it is a good school,” and “because it is so old.”  Prepare 5-10 minutes of questions that go beyond information on the website.

Presentation

No self-deprecation, even if it is in jest

It is very tough to appreciate a student who speaks negatively of themselves. It instead creates an uncomfortable distance between you and the interviewer (e.g. “I really stink at hockey, but I am on the team anyway”).  If you spend the entire time talking about your flaws the Admissions Officer will have nothing else to write about you.

Sit up straight, make eye contact, and dress nicely

When a student enters the interview with a Coke in hand, untied sneakers, and a baseball cap, it is, on occasion, an attempt to make an iconoclastic statement about who they are.  I would recommend using what you say to reflect your opinions and personality.

Pointers

No lying: do not guess what we want to hear

There is nothing worse than having someone say that they love to write for the school newspaper, only to find out one question later that they haven’t written a single article for it, or that they love history, but don’t know the Axis from the Allies.  The most common bad answer is saying that “student government” is your favorite activity, but not being able to give a single example of something meaningful your student government does (“y’know, the prom and stuff”).

Generally, avoid talking about the following people:

Your favorite teacher – Statements like “I like History best because I like Mr. Johnson; if he taught woodshop, I would like that class best instead” reflect that you do not critically think about your academic life

Your boyfriend/girlfriend – when someone asks about you, and you talk about your significant other, it often sounds as if what you do with him/her defines who you are.  This is not an uncomfortable thing to colleges, who want to know what you have to offer.

Substantiate your opinions well

An interview is often made or broken based on how you defend an idea.  Informing the interviewer that you like a particular politician because “he is always on TV” may be honest, but it is not a well-reasoned position.  Conversely, explaining that you like to study Ancient Greek because “it is a different way of thinking – the logic in the syntax, the variety of semantic meanings for each form, and the lack of prescribed word order” is more compelling.

Keith Berman, M.Ed., M.S.Ed., is the President of Options for College (www.optionsforcollege.com), an independent college counseling service, and a doctoral candidate at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

Name:

Email:
Show email
City:
State:

 


 

 

 

Education Update, Inc.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2009.