College Interviews

Personally, I didn't face college interviews until I applied for my Masters, but some interview questions are pretty standard from a person who doesn't know you at all. Also, I recruited the help of Sam Goodin who recently faced three interviews to share her insights with you.

Questions I think they would ask:

Tell me a little about yourself. (spend several minutes answering. Talk about your summer camps or jobs, clubs and interests, etc.)

	Why are you interested in _______________ College?
	What are your plans for the future?
	Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years?
	What's your biggest accomplishment to date?
	What is one fear that you have? (As long as you don't say you're worried about partying too much and skipping all of your classes, you should be fine.)
	What's the best book you've read recently? (A few students have said they were asked this in the past. Also, I know many people/students who read impressive literature right before going to an interview.)
	Are there any questions you have for me about the college? (Be prepared to ask one or two. Or, if they've really addressed everything, say, "Well, I had been wondering about _________ and ____________, but through our conversation, I think you've addressed all of them.)

* When you get a question that you like, talk as much about it as you like. I don't think they have a set number of questions to get through, but if you have longer response, they may just ask you questions that spiral from what you've said.

What did they ask Sam?

the ever-scary "describe yourself"

	"Did you enjoy your high school experience?" (Or "how did you..." Or "what was it like?") Also scary, because a "no" or an "I didn't" would be interview suicide. So answered the question more as "my favorite parts of high school were..." and then went into my AP's and honors classes, with those students and teachers.
	I got the "what would you like to take with you or have done before/when you leave our college?" So, ambitions for college.
	"What did you do this summer?"
	"Which of your [extracurricular/service] activities did you enjoy the most?"
	About the senior year schedule (classes, etc.)
	"What attracted you to this college?"
	"What activities are you planning to participate in during college?"
	The second interviewer asked more familiar get-to-know-you questions, like "what are you like around your friends?" Or "what do your friends think of you?" Tell students to be on the look-out for these more informal questions.
	"Is there anything you would like to add [about yourself]?" Take advantage of this. For the interview in general, try having some good words to describe yourself (ambitious, driven, passionate, etc), with examples. And then if you're not sure that some of this came off in your interview, you could add something short at the end.