The Admissions Interview
The following information is a reprint from Newsweek College Bound Newsletter.
An admissions office at a small Midwestern school swears the following interviewing episodes are factual:
The setting was not uncommon. Parents wait anxiously while son is interviewed in an upstairs admissions office. Suddenly, dad suffers a heart attack and is rushed to a hospital. Left undisturbed, the interview proceeds. Son and admissions officer emerge later and mom fills them in on what happened to dad. She then quickly implores – get this – “I trust this incident will not hurt my son’s chances of being admitted.”
Some Clues Worth Reading
How Important Is The Interview?
Fact or folklore, this admissions tale underscores a need for – perspective – especially in the case of interviews. First of all, only about 20% of all four-year colleges require admissions interviews. Most of all, with a few exceptions, the interview is a relatively minor component in the application process.
Interviews That Determine Your Strength
A handful of schools use the interview to sell themselves to desirable students. More common is the evaluative interview where you will be challenged with questions to determine your strengths as a candidate. Finally, there is the less formal (and less intimidating) information interview that you’ll find at schools like Denison in Ohio. “We ask the student to discuss his credentials and hopefully indicate some awareness of self,” says Admissions Director, Richard Boyden. “At the same time, the student should use us as a resource for answering questions.” In this case, the interviewer may write up his general impressions of you as a candidate or commemorate your meeting with nothing more than a handshake.
A Chance To Sell Yourself
Skyrocketing travel costs and overworked admissions staff make it unfeasible for most schools to require an on-campus interview these days. Alumni do the job for some schools at a local level. Required or optional, most administrators agree that the interview is one more chance to sell yourself – not to be passed up if manageable. “This is the only student credential that is not just a piece of paper,” says Richard Skelton, Admissions Director at Bucknell. “It can personalize the admissions process and help us see a candidate more clearly.”
The Size of the School Makes A Difference
How important is your interview? The smaller the institution the more vital it becomes, says Lora Schilder, Associate Dean of Admissions at Hamilton College, “We want to learn how a student thinks, how he spends his spare time, what contributions he’ll make to keep this place exciting and interesting. Hamilton is a very personal academic environment, so we take a very personal approach to admissions.”
The College Interview
The Interview As A “Nudge” Factor
A few colleges actually make admissions decisions following an interview. But in the vast majority of schools, grades, class rank, test scores, and other references clearly take first priority, and the interview becomes important only as a “nudge factor,” says Richard Boyden
Talk Up Your Strengths
As with other steps in the application process, you can call upon your school’s college counselors for help in preparing for an interview. Remember, you’ll want to do most of the talking during your meeting with an admissions officer or alumni representative – about your accomplishments, personal strengths, talents and hobbies. Blow your own horn but not too loudly. Get ready for the big question on why you want to attend the interviewer’s school.
It's Not "Do or Die"
Relax, be yourself and try to enjoy. Drop a note to your interviewer afterwards and you’ll stand tall (very few applicants ever get around to this important follow-up). Remember that the point of the interview is to help match the right student with the right school. It is not – Do or Die.