Tips for college admission interviews

[qde]

As now is the season for US college applications and interviews...students may need to know more about questions asked in these interviews. Hope seniors who have undergone these interviews to share their experience.

[chenchow]

Essentially, be yourself. I would say that different universities ask it differently.

Each interviewer would have their own style.

I would let those who have been there and done that to share.

[andrewlza]

DO NOT PUT ON AN AMERICAN/BRITISH ACCENT

If you cannot pull it off (like 99.99% of the Malaysian population), the interviewer will feel like smacking you. And you do not want that to happen.

[caramel_nut]

Do NOT sound like a jerk. Interview is a good place for you to highlight your achievements but do not sound boastful and overconfident. My Yale interviewer told me during my interview before that he just interviewed another student before me and that student was a total jerk that he didn't feel compelled to recommend him in the letter.

[chongkeat]

Interview is a good place for you to highlights your achievements but do not sound boastful and overconfident.

So, where is the line between highlighting your achievements and boasting? Am I considered boasting if I keep trying to bring up my achievements? Do I have to wait until they ask me?

[clep]

I'd tend to think that talking about what you're passionate about would have the same or greater effect as talking about your achievements. Unless they're the same thing, the former would give you much more to talk about in an interview, you'll sound interesting - because it is your passion, and you'll sound less pretentious.

"Keep trying to bring up my achievements" sounds very jerk-ish to me. I think the interviewer is interested in you as a person, and not in you as a list of achievements (then again, if those achievements closely relate to your personality, all the better).

Some things to note (from my interview today):
-do come prepared with lots of stories and anecdotes to tell. This will help avoid uncomfortable periods of silence. (Of course, don't work like a machine-gun)
-show that you've done research on your university, and you know why you want to go there.
-KNOW why you picked your intended major.
-Ask questions. Very important. And don't ask questions about things that you could easily find out from the university's website.
-Know what you want to point out to your interviewer, maybe about things that you couldn't cover in your application, or things that may sound doubtful to the admissions officer (e.g. INTEC chooses what classes I can take, and therefore I don't get to do grade 12 physics and chemistry, but I try to work around this by...)
-try not to forget stuff.

[chenchow]

The pointers by clep are quite relevant.

You would need to highlight stuff that you want the interviewers to know. Answer at an appropriate length. Don't just go on for 10-15 minutes, and even though the interviewers keep on trying to ask the next question, you would go on and on, even though what you say may not be what the interviewers want to hear. And on the other hand, don't answer in 1-2 sentences too.

Stay calm. Don't get overly nervous.

Have genuine story to share. We can easily detect if you cheat.

Don't ask others (who interviewed before you on what questions are being asked and then memorized it). We do know it if you memorize and you would give very bad impression if you do.