Chapter 9: Acing Your College Interview
Written by Kaashvi, Dartmouth College
Welcome back to The College Countdown! If this is your first time stopping by our blog, I am Kaashvi, your friendly neighborhood college admissions enthusiast and your guide through this series. Whether you’re a returning reader or a newcomer, I’m pumped to have you join us for this thrilling journey. After last week’s installment on standardized testing and choosing between the SAT and the ACT, we’re shifting gears to the next big thing on hand. In today’s piece, we are talking all about the college alumni interview.
Once you press the submit button on your applications, get ready for a wave of emails to flood your inbox. Among the reminders to set up your applicant portals, sign up for virtual information sessions and complete your application checklists, you’ll also need to keep an eye out for emails requesting interviews or those providing instructions on how to schedule one. Every school has different policies for conducting their interviews. So, to not miss out on something, you need to read through their websites very carefully.
At schools like Georgetown, all first-year applicants are required to interview with an alumnus as a part of the application process. You’re expected to reach out to your interviewer over email to arrange the interview. For schools like Northwestern and Vanderbilt, you’re required to sign up to have an interview and they’re assigned on a first-come first-serve basis. At others, like Yale and Stanford, interview offers are extended by the school itself. And then, a few schools like UChicago and USC don’t offer interviews at all. Regardless of how the college goes about doing it, you want to make sure that you’re courteous and punctual in responding to the pre-interview communication; first impressions do matter a lot.
I know some of you are already thinking, “Wait a second, the website says the interview is optional. Doesn’t that mean I can save myself the hassle and just skip it?” The answer to that is, yes, you definitely can, but not without hurting your chances of acceptance. Nothing in the college admissions process is ever truly optional—whether it’s an interview, a video portfolio or supplemental essays (cough, cough NYU).
Interviewing, if given the opportunity, doesn’t just statistically improve your odds of admission, it helps to bring your application to life by showing who you are beyond the paper. These interviews are conducted by alumni of the university and are an amazing chance to share your story directly with someone who loves their alma mater and to show them that you are a perfect fit for the college community. Most alumni interviews end up being very fun and positive for both parties, giving admissions officers another data point to review. This is a two-way street because talking to a graduate of the university will also tell you more about the school and be useful when you are making your enrollment decision down the line.
As high school seniors, it’s completely normal to have limited experience with interviews. You might find the process stressful or anxiety-inducing but you need to remember, these interviews are more of a conversation than an interrogation. To have made it this far, you’ve checked off so many things on the list to put together your application; an interview is just the final push to get you across the line. I’m here to help you with just that.
Preparing for the Interview
In the lead up to your interview day, while you shouldn’t be memorizing your answers, it doesn’t hurt to think a little about how you would respond. Why do you love the school so much? What drew you to apply there in the first place? How do you picture yourself being on campus? It’s easy to spot rehearsed responses but some thoughtful reflection can help you sound genuine and honest.
Researching the college: Start by reading up about the school on their website. You could look into student groups on campus that are similar to your interests, any long standing traditions that the school has (like Dartmouth’s epic campus-wide snowball fight every year) or specific classes offered at the school. You can also make a list of all the things you’re looking forward to exploring in the city or the town where your college is located.
Consider taking a stroll down memory lane and revisiting your application as well. Your supplemental essays can make for great talking points, so remember why you said what you did and be ready to expand on those ideas. Go a step further and dig deeper—check out the school’s social media handles, take a virtual campus tour and connect with current students to get some more direction.
The idea is to connect specific things about the school back to yourself and show your interviewer that you have good reasons for thinking their school is an amazing match for you. Being confident in your research will make you come across as someone who knows what they’re talking about.
Learn about your interviewer: If you know your interviewer’s name ahead of time, take a moment to learn more about them. Doing a quick Google search or taking a look at their LinkedIn profile is more than enough to find a couple common things to talk about. The idea isn’t to be a detective, but to get some context. However, some schools like Penn specifically ask you to not do this, so be sure to follow their guidelines.
I have found that knowing a little about my interviewer has always made the conversation feel a bit more natural and less like I was walking in completely blind. Since I knew what questions I wanted to ask them, I had complete control over where to steer the conversation. I was able to build a strong rapport with my interviewers by showing them that I really wanted to hear about their time at college. This goes a long way in making them like to and want to advocate for you.
Practice: Answering some questions out loud or doing a mock interview with a friend can help you get in the flow and make everything feel a lot less awkward at the actual interview. By putting you in the headspace to think on your feet, a mock interview makes you confident in your abilities to handle unexpected questions.
Try to maintain eye contact while talking, smile frequently and be expressive. It’s okay to be nervous and fidget a little bit but be mindful of your body language. You could also record yourself answering some common interview questions (more on than in the next issue) or practice in front of a mirror to know what areas you need to work on.
On the night before the interview, take some time to put everything together. Make sure your outfit is clean and ready to wear, you have a printed copy of your resume and you know the route to your interview location. Go over your schedule for the next day and make sure you’ve given yourself enough time to reach the meeting spot before time. Most importantly, try to get a good night’s rest.
Making a Good First Impression
There are some small things you can do to start off the interview on a good note even before you reach the coffee shop or library where you’re having your meeting.
The first thing on that list is being prompt, timely and respectful with your pre-interview email communication. My alumni interviewer at Dartmouth actually complimented me on my quick and polite responses to his emails which set a really positive tone before we even met. Confirming details like time and place of the meeting and thanking them for taking the time to interview you helps to cement your appreciation.
Another tip is to arrive at the location early with at least fifteen minutes to spare. This way, you aren’t rushing yourself to get to the interview and can get settled in before your interviewer arrives.
The last piece of advice is about your appearance and I have a saying that perfectly applies to this: “When in doubt, always dress up”. For alumni interviews, you don’t exactly need to wear business formals. As long as you’re dressing presentably, anything from casual clothing to business casuals works just fine.
For example, you could wear a button-up shirt, tucked in, with a clean pair of pants or denim jeans and a belt and you’d be golden. If you want to dress up slightly, add a blazer or a tie to the outfit and swap out your shoes for dressier ones. For girls, you can wear anything from an appropriate dress to a skirt to a pair of pants with a blouse or a shirt, tucked in. Make sure to trim your nails, shave your beard and wash and comb your hair neatly as well. Don’t go overboard with fragrances, jewelry or piercings either. You can also carry a professional looking folder to complete the look with a notepad and your resume inside it.
Clothes that I would say are inappropriate for an interview setting include ripped jeans, revealing outfits, t-shirts or hoodies and anything that is stained or torn. The end goal is for you to feel comfortable in your clothes.
During the Interview
When your interviewer walks in, stand up to greet them and offer a handshake. Start by introducing yourself and thanking them for taking the time to meet you. Remember to silence your phone and tuck it away; you don’t want your conversation to be interrupted by unwanted notifications.
Most interviewers have a structure in mind for how they want the conversation to go, so be sure to pause and let them set the stage. Listen attentively to all they share about themselves and the college, even if it feels a little braggy or like a prepared sales pitch.
Your interviewers may also offer to buy you something to eat or drink. It’s completely up to you to decide if you want to take them up on their offer or not. Though I do recommend against getting anything to eat because that can be quite distracting. Once all this is out of the way, they’ll start asking you things about yourself. Keep in mind, it’s fine for you to take a second to collect your thoughts before speaking.
For those of you who have a tendency to ramble (I hear you, I’m one of you), it’s very important to listen carefully to what is being asked. Don’t try to fit your rehearsed answers in the conversation because sometimes it can come across as ingenuine. Trust me, the interview isn’t about catching your mistakes or grilling you; it’s just another way for colleges to attach your voice to your application.
After the Interview
Towards the end of the conversation, your interviewer will ask if you have any questions for them. Instead of trying to pepper your questions throughout the interview, save them for this moment. This is a great opportunity to make your conversation more memorable for them.
When they decide that the interview is over, shake their hand and thank them again for their time. Ask for a business card so you can send a follow up thank you email later that day. You may not hear back from them but that is usually because they have several more students to interview, don’t think too much into it. And hey, if you end up getting accepted, this would be an easy way to drop them a quick note to let them know—they might enjoy hearing the good news.
The alumnus later fills out a report of the interview and gives the admissions committee a brief summary of their impressions of you. The report is added to your admissions file and is considered when making a decision on your application. This report can’t make or break your application and is pretty similar across the board unless your interview went exceptionally wrong (which is very rare).
And that’s it—college interviews in a nutshell. As long as you remember that these interviews aren’t about being perfect, but about feeling ready to share who you are and why you’re excited to attend a certain school, you’ll do amazingly. A massive thank you to all of you for joining me today and sticking around till the end, this one was a very lengthy one. Stay tuned for next week’s issue where I’ll be sharing some common questions asked at college interviews and walking you through the process of answering them effectively. Until next time, keep dreaming big!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hey there, college-bound crew! I’m Kaashvi, an undergraduate student at Dartmouth College from India. I’m the brains (and heart) behind the College Countdown series here at The Ivy Institute and I am stoked to be your guide through this process.
So, a little bit about me: I was a STEM kid through and through in high school and all my classes were the highest level ones offered at my school and graduated at the top of my class for three consecutive years. Outside of class, I was involved in activities that let me nurture my love for inventiveness, responsibility and storytelling. From designing a vehicle to aid oil spill cleanup to working as an elected representative for the youth advisory council to volunteering at the local deaf school—I devoted a lot of my time to projects that were true to my values.
When I’m not typing away at my keyboard, dishing out college advice to people in my inbox and on this blog, you can catch me exploring new hiking trails, whipping up some questionable (but oddly delicious) desserts at my bakery or getting lost in a gripping mystery novel.
As an international student, the application process wasn’t just about finding a spot at a prestigious university but also about finding a place that felt like a second home. Now that I’ve made it out alive to the other end (with a boatload of stories to tell), I'm here to spill all the tea on how you can do the same. With some guidance and a whole lot of oversharing, together we’ll crush this admissions game like absolute pros.
Catch you on the flip side,
Kaashvi
