[jess89]

I have an interivew with University of Chicago this Wednesday and MIT the weekend afterwards... I'm kindof nervous so does anyone have any tips on how to prepare myself, what I should bring/wear, etc. or maybe share your interview experiences (mention what school it was for) and how they went.
I know I should dress business casual-ish (not too formal, not too casual) and no jeans and stuff... and when they say you don't need to specially prepare for the interview, would it still be nice to bring in a copy of my resume?

Any other seniors with interviews coming up soon???

[joogrlpekaun]

I wouldn't bring a hard copy of your resume, and here's why:

1) It's an interview; the interviewer isn't there to read, which is the job of the admissions officers, not the interviewer. That would be a little awkward and a waste of time.
2) You should know your own resume by heart and which parts you want to emphasize, anyway. It'd be pretty sad if you had to read your own activities and accomplishments off a list in your interviews. Go over your resume by yourself a while beforehand and plan out what you want to talk about.

[Voltage]

Most interviewers don't ask for a resume. But, on occasion, an interviewer will want to steer the conversation towards items which stand out to them on your application or potentially on your resume. Bring it if you have one just in case.

[coquette]

Bring your resume. I had a Rice interview where my interview asked nothing about me and just took my resume. He spent the rest of the hour and 30 minutes we had together talking about HIS experiences at Rice. It was pretty awkward.
My first one, Wellesley, was really good. Always come with questions because it shows how much you know about the school and how much you want to know from the school.
Oh, and University of Chicago asks very quirky questions.

[Am_I_Sam_I_Am]

I would say don't bring the resume.. you're there to talk to the interviewer not read a list of things you should know anyway...

as for clothing.. i'd say business casual (this actually varies depending on where the meeting is). For my interview, I just wore a button down black shirt and nice khaki pants with good shoes.

Have questions you want to ask about the school. The interview is a great place to ask some questions that (i guarantee) won't be answered by the college website.

One quirky piece of advice I want to give is... bring/order water or something to drink. It's great for getting rid of the jitters, giving you some time to think of questions, and gives u something to hold on to for comfort. I don't know about anyone else, but this really saved me during my interview.

Other than that, good luck. And yes, U of Chicago will ask some quirky questions

[aikomidori]

I have one with U of Rochester tomorrow and Smith on Thursday (and many many others to follow..)
I'll share my experience here after

[jess89]

i took a hard copy of my resume with me to both my univ of chicago & MIT interview and they really liked that i had one prepared. bc they have to write a report about you afterwards and they like having something to refer to.

i really liked my interview with univ of chicago. it didnt feel like an interview bc i had mine in the mall right by my house haha. the guy asked me some thought provoking questions, mostly about korean culture and traditions and stuff bc thats what i was interested in and he was interested in it too and also those questions to see what type of person you are aka "are you a leader in class discussions?" or "how do you take other peoples' criticisms/opinions?" so basically, i totally loved my interviewer guy.

my mit interview.... i didnt like it as much as univ of chicago. she spent a good 10 minutes going over the application with me and repeatedly hinting that i should do the optional essays -.- she even looked up all of the courses that i would take as a freshman interested in a business major. i also got the typical college interview questions, nothing out of the normal. she did ask me about "what your best friend would say about you if she was sitting in your seat right this second" and i replied ".. well.. the thing is... shes gunna be sitting here in exactly a week from today" HAHA. my friend is also applying to MIT -.-; so yeah, we kinda just skipped over that one.

brown & georgetown interviews left! and im not sure if im doing one with upenn. i should go figure that out soon.

[aikomidori]

I was the first interview the U of Rochester dude did so both of us were pretty new at it. He asked me questions like "what do you like about U of Rochester?", "what do you see yourself doing in 5 years?", "what are some difficulties that you've had to overcome in high school?", and "besides your parents, who do you look up to/admire the most?" I was prepared and answered them all confidentally. I brought a copy of my resume but the university had already sent him a list of courses I was taking as well as my clubs so he knew them and asked me some questions about that. I had my interview at Starbucks, and I'm not sure if it's usually like that or because it was packed but it was a little bit too loud in there and I wished I picked a quieter place. Maybe I'll go to the library in the future. He also shared some experiences that he'd had at U of Rochester and I think generally it went well. He was nice and said my questions were very good ones - I just asked about life at the university and about clubs and such.

I have Smith, Wesleyan and Columbia coming up in the near future (as in, next week or the week after) Anyone done those?

[yujo]

My interviewer for Harvard told me that all the people he interviews are invariably outstanding and special. He never seems to be able to find something bad about them and as a result keeps sending back to Cambridge these outstanding praises. Considering this, I am a bit skeptical about how weighty an interview can be on your admission decision. I am sure that a bad one can break you but a great one won't make you ... in other words ... you HAVE to do well just to keep up with expectations.

[Loveholic2u]

My interviewer for Harvard told me that all the people he interviews are invariably outstanding and special. He never seems to be able to find something bad about them and as a result keeps sending back to Cambridge these outstanding praises. Considering this, I am a bit skeptical about how weighty an interview can be on your admission decision. I am sure that a bad one can break you but a great one won't make you ... in other words ... you HAVE to do well just to keep up with expectations.

yep, that's totally true, my sis knows this guy who is extremely smart and his counselors told him that he'll definitely get into Harvard, but the interviewer didn't like him, so he was on waiting list and then he had another interviewer and he didn't get in, but he got into MIT and now he's at Harvard Medical School. So interview is really important.

[Lucystar]

I had an interview with a Cornell alumni this past weekend. Cornell interviews are different because they are casual (we met at a local Starbucks), and are supposed to be a way for the student to learn about the school from first hand experiences. However, my interviewer has to write a short report to send back to the school anyway. Try to talk to the interviewer about things that are NOT on or emphasized on your application or essays. You don't want the admissions people to be reading the same things twice. Also, the interview is YOUR chance to show your personality, drive, and contributions you can make to their university. Before the interview, you are simply another faceless name on a piece of paper. If your interview goes well, you can become so much more.

I guess I was lucky because my interviewer has a lot of influence. My interview went very very well. Just remember to be completely honest, don't be boring, and spend an hour or two the night before refreshing in your head what makes you so great or qualified for the college.

Good luck!!

[csnrain]

I also have a few interviews coming up and was worried about it.
Has anyone been interviewed by Columbia?

[Voltage]

don't sweat the interview. It won't make or break you in most cases. You have to be in the extreme categories to have some leverage in the admissions process. Unless you display extreme bigotry and ignorance making racially steered comments during an interview, the interview is simply an opportunity to show that you aren't just a student. Harvard tends to look for people that are well spoken..MIT focuses on people that are passionate...it's the interviewer's job to find out if the candidate would fit in the culture of the school.

I don't know how everyone on this board knows so much about the interview process considering the fact that they themselves are just embarking in the process. Just because you have a lousy meeting, this doesn't indicate your chances at the school but at the same time don't take the whole thing too lightly.

[astar]

How did you get one at UChicago??
How long should I wait to hear back from Brown? I e-mailed them a week ago and haven't had it confirmed yet. I think I'll e-mail them right after I finish writing this.
I haven't heard from UPenn or Northwestern yet.

I've only had a Georgetown and a Carleton interview. I should be hearing back from brown any day now.

[jess89]

i checked on the uchicago application that i wanted an interview and someone emailed me within a couple of days of checking it (even though i didnt submit it yet). someone called me from upenn to set it up. the guy in my area for brown responded back pretty quickly to my email to confirm the date & time that he set for me, you should def email him again or something.

[aikomidori]

I also have a few interviews coming up and was worried about it.
Has anyone been interviewed by Columbia?

I had an interview with a Columbia alumn last week. He asked questions like "give me a situation where you were overwhelmed and how did you deal with it?" and "give me a situation where you worked with people who had more experience/education than you and how did you contribute?" I'm not sure how I did, because he just kept asking question after question. But it may be just him, because after the grilling questions he said those were the types of questions he usually asked applicants, so I don't think those were from a list from Columbia...

I had my Georgetown interview yesterday at the alumna's house and it was really nice. We talked about Georgetown but she also wanted to know about me (my background, etc.) and she talked about herself and it was all very comfortable

Has anyone had an interview with Dartmouth? I'm waiting to be contacted..(my last interview!!)

[angelzstar]

My interview is tomorrow >__< at a starbucks......should I buy a drink for myself or not? Cause would it look rude or something? ANd should i buy one for my interviewer too?

[Chillie]

I JUST had my Cornell interview. It was a lot better than I had imagined. The person barely asked me any questions, and all of them were very general. He wasn't intimidating, very relaxed actually. It was 45 min. I realize that Cornell is more about you asking THEM questions, not them asking you. Yar.

[silhouette]

make sure u research the school and ask questions about the school to show your interest

[litoxshortaii]

this is kind of bad, but i js scheduled an interview today (thursday) for saturday afternoon and ive only DRIVEN through the school once >< not evn a walk on campus, so that's what i have to do after school tomorrow haha. im so unprepared.. starting to get jittery. x.x it seems popular for interviews at starbucks though. that's where im having mine too =P