 |
College interview advice.College interviews can be stressful for a lot of students. They don't have to be. Most interviewers are trying to give you an opportunity to shine. They want you to do well. Relax, be yourself, prepare ahead of time and you will do just fine.
What three strengths do you want to emphasize?A college interview is your opportunity to let your application for admission come alive. Think of it as an opportunity to reinforce the strong points in your application. What three things do you want to make sure your interviewer remembers about you and what you have to offer? Focus on three because it may be hard to remember more than that in the heat of the moment. Use those highlights in your answers.
Make eye contact!You may have heard this from everyone you've asked about doing well in any interview, but it bears repeating here. You want to make a connection with your interviewer. To do that you have to look them in the eye during your conversation. Looking at the floor or at the ceiling while you answer will not leave your interviewer with a positive impression.Be yourself.It's important to be yourself. Don't try to be something you're not. If you're not an avid Shakespeare fan, don't try to impress your interviewer by talking about how much you loved reading Shakespeare in your junior year english class. Talk about things you are passionate about. Colleges want students with true passion for all kinds of different things.Bring a list of questions with you.At some point in every college interview, you will have the opportunity to ask questions of the interviewer. If you don't have any questions, your interviewer may interpret that as a negative sign. Even if all of your questions have been answered, ask some anyway. It's good advice to write these down ahead of time and bring them with you to the interview. They can be about anything you want to know about that college.Tell your parents you want to do the interview by yourself.Parents have the best of intentions and typically want to support you in any way that they can. However, even though they may be invited to be in the interview room with you, it's best if you ask them to wait in the lobby. Talk with them about this ahead of arriving there so you don't have an uncomfortable discussion in front of the admissions personnel. Mom's and Dad's usually just want to make sure you highlight all the wonderful things they know you have to offer, but you need to explain to them that you are the one that is being interviewed. If they insist on participating, at least get them to promise to not answer any questions for you!Dress appropriately.How you dress will be the first impression your interviewer has of you. You certainly don't have to wear a tuxedo or a ball gown, but you also don't want to wear those cutoff jeans and a t-shirt either. Conservative dress is usually best. The rule of thumb here is to look nice, but don't overdress.Be on time.Admissions interviewers are busy people, too. Try to arrive a few minutes early. Get directions ahead of time to avoid getting lost. A lot of admissions offices are actually hard to find once you arrive on campus so call the day before and make sure you know how to find them! If you are going to be late, be polite and call ahead to let the interviewer know.Want even more advice on the college admissions process? Subscribe to my FREE College Options ezine! Click here to learn more. Back to top
|
