CollegeAdvisor Masterclass: College Interviews

Webinar Transcription

2023-02-12 – CollegeAdvisor Masterclass: College Interviews

Anesha: Hi everyone and welcome to tonight’s webinar. My name is Anesha Grant and I’m a Senior Advisor here at CollegeAdvisor and I will be your moderator today. Today’s webinar is, “CollegeAdvisor MasterClass: College Interviews.” Before we get started, I just want to orient everyone with webinar timing.

Our presenter will share some tips, resources, and guidance and then we will open up the floor to respond to your questions in a live Q& A. On the sidebar you can download the slides under the handouts tab and you can start submitting questions whenever you’re under the Q& A tab. Now, let’s meet our presenter, Lily.

Hi,

Lily: Lily. Hi, it’s so nice to meet everyone. I’m really excited to be here just to tell you a little bit more about myself. I graduated from Wash U in St. Louis in the class of 2020 and currently I’m a PhD student studying microbiology and immunology at Stanford University and I’m currently a competent CollegeAdvisor.

I’m also a senior advisor and part of our interview team here. So I’m excited to tell you guys a lot more about how to handle your college interviews.

Anesha: Let’s get us

Lily: started.

Anesha: Yep, yep, I’m going to move forward with that quick poll before we jump into so that we have some context on what great level everyone is in.

So please take a few minutes and let us know if you are in the 8th grade, 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade, or other. And as we’re waiting, what got you interested in microbiology? Really?

Lily: Yeah, I guess specifically right now, I should be viruses, which is a little bit too relevant right now. But I’m really interested in using microscopy techniques and combining that with biology to look at protein structures that are related to viruses.

Anesha: Okay, you sound incredibly smart and above my head, but that’s that’s awesome work. And I wish it was because it is very, very relevant. Very cellular right now. We’re going to go ahead and close. Close our poll. Thanks for sharing a little bit more about you and your background. Really? Um, just for context, I’ll let, you know, that the majority of folks in the room are juniors.

So we have about 65 percent are in the 11th grade, and then we have 4 percent from the 8th grade through the 10th grade, and then a couple of juniors and a few others. So, the majority of folks are in the 11th grade getting ready to, I guess, think about colleges and think about those interview process.

So, I will stop talking handed over to you and be back a little bit later for the next poll.

Lily: Yeah. Thanks so much. Um, so it sounds like you guys are all, you know, it’s a perfect place to start thinking about college interviews. I feel like junior year is one of the great times because you’re starting to get into college apps and then you’re also starting to look at schools.

And also while you’re planning any kinds of school visits or any kind of virtual tours, this is also a great time to think about when you might be doing your college interviews as well. Um, so just to start, you know, with Colleges of Interviews 101, um, what is the purpose even of one of these interviews?

Um, and so, if you think about it from the college’s side, they really want to learn more about you beyond, you know, the stats that you submitted, your scores, your GPA, um, even the essays that you’ve written. And they want to see what kind of person you are and what kind of personality you have. Um, and so that’s what the colleges can really get on their side.

But then also for you, it’s a really great chance to talk to someone who knows the school really well. So you could be talking to an alum who, um, you know, has had that whole four year college experience, um, learn about their perspectives, or you could also be interviewed by current students who are, you know, currently going through college.

Um, and then this is more on occasion, but could definitely happen. Um, sometimes admissions officers themselves are the ones who are conducting your interviews, or you might get interviewed by a dean. Um, a lot of the times, if you are trying to figure out, you know, what kind of person is actually going to be interviewing you, um, a lot of that information will be available if you actually looked it up on the, um, school’s website.

So I would recommend, and I’ll go into this in a little bit later, um, before each of your college interviews, definitely see what information is available on the website. Because a lot of times they’ll tell you if your interviewer will probably be an alumni, or if your interviewer will probably be, um, a current student.

And that information can always help you with preparing. In terms of how college interviews will actually help your application, a lot of times it’s going to be something that can really enhance your application. And so say if there’s something that you’re really passionate about and you’ve talked about in your essays, maybe you can, you know, tell some other stories and paint a more vivid picture throughout your interviews itself.

And so this is a great way to supplement your application. And then also for some schools that are tracking demonstrated interest, This also shows colleges that you’re able to take the next step and show that you really are interested, you want to take the time, um, to have that interview, to learn more about the school, to have the school learn more about you, um, and that can help with your demonstrated interest.

And then, like I said earlier, um, it can help a lot with just, like, showing what personality you might have and trying to match that, um, to the energy of your essays. Um, people always ask, you know, can your college interviews actually hurt your application? I would say this would be more in rare cases where, um, you do present any red flags.

Um, a lot of the times this could be any kind of inconsistency within your application to say if you, you know, say you’re, you know, leading this club for all four years, but you aren’t really able to describe much about that club in your interview. Um, that could be an example of one of those inconsistencies.

Um, but I would say this happens really rarely. So I wouldn’t worry too much about your interviews hurting your application. Instead, focus on something that can really help your application and How to prepare. To help enhance your, your whole college application process. In terms of how to actually prepare, as I was saying earlier, I would just start with doing the research.

And so on most schools will have a website that will explain their specific interview process. practice questions that they, um, provide for you or just other general areas that you want, they want you to reflect on before going into your interview. Um, in case you’re, you know, you’re looking at a school website and those, um, questions or those resources aren’t actually available, um, you can also check out different online forums.

You can always, um, Um, look at the school and Adlerwood Reddit or College Confidential and see what people’s previous interviews have been like. But I would also take some of these, um, answers with a grain of salt just because, you know, they are just, um, internet questions that, that you’re getting from, you know, unknown sources.

Um, and then whenever researching the interview process, something I also like to check for, um, is whether or not the school wants you to provide, um, a CV or a resume. Um, and so, A lot of times, like, colleges might not say whether or not they want one, but there are some schools that will specify, do not bring a resume or CV.

Um, sometimes, um, some schools don’t want that, you know, extra information because they really just want to gauge your college interview based on your personality and what you bring to the table that day. Um, which is, um, sometimes the reason why, um, they don’t want an extra resume. In addition, I would just do a little bit of research about, you know, essentially why you want to go to that school and just be able to have enough information in your back pocket to show that you’re really interested in that school and because of that you’ve done the research about it.

And so, if you know what you want to major in, or if you know what kind of classes you want to take, I would do some reading about that school and just see what kind of special perks might be at that college for your major. So for instance, if you want to major in physics at a specific school, um, see what kind of opportunities are available for the physics major at the school that you maybe can’t get somewhere else.

Maybe see if there’s some kind of seminar series for physics majors that happens every month. Or maybe there’s an event where alumni will come and visit the current students and talk with their experiences. Or maybe there’s going to be some kind of cool workshop. So you can really see like what kind of things are really specific to your major and then use that to also explain why you want to major.

Not only, you know, in that topic, but also why you want to do it at that school. In addition, I would just look up any kinds of, you know, clubs or classes that you might be interested in. For stuff like this, you don’t need to do, you know, a ton of research or a ton of memorization. So for classes, you don’t need to know, you know, the specific course number or even the specific course title.

This could be something where, you know, if you really liked Ceramics when you were in in high school, you know that that’s some kind of class that you want to take in college and then similarly for the different clubs that you’re interested in. A lot of times you can look for clubs that maybe you are a part of high school that you know you want to continue in college.

So I need some students. They were interested in boy scouts and then maybe in college they wanted to join some kind of nature or hiking club as well or some kind of service related clubs. Um, so that can be, um, along the lines of what kind of detail you’re looking for when you’re doing your research about these schools.

And then also when looking for different schools that you might be interested in, um, feel free to look at other clubs that you would maybe want to branch out into. So maybe if you’ve never done, you know, a dance club before, maybe you want to try to, uh, try something like that in college. So feel free to research, um, some other, you know, new opportunities, um, even if you don’t have any related experiences in your resume for those as well.

And then lastly, um, something I like to look at is depending on your major, um, try to see what kind of opportunities students from that school have over the summer. So do they typically do research? Do they typically intern? Do they find a job? Um, what kind of opportunities are really typical for your major?

Um, and that can also help you, um, with gauging, you know, what kind of career opportunities that school might have for you, um, in order to help you answer why you want to go to that school and also how, you know, that school will prepare you for the future. And then lastly, um, for a lot of interviews, um, sometimes you’ll be able to know your interviewer’s name in advance.

And so, um, with that information, I would just quickly research your interviewer, but you don’t need to go super in depth. Um, the main pieces of information I usually look for are, you know, one, um, what is their major, and then is that major anything similar to something that you want to study? Um, a lot of the times your interviewer won’t have, you know, a super similar major because they aren’t going to be specifically pairing you based on major.

But sometimes, you know, um, it’d be a nice try on top if you guys studied really similar topics. And then secondly, I would look at what their graduation year was. Most of it tell if they’re an older alum or a more recent alum. And this is just because, you know, I would say maybe after five years from graduating college, you’re not going to remember all of those really specific details from your college experience.

And so knowing graduation year can help you decide what kind of questions you might want to ask your interviewer. Um, so for example, if you had an interviewer who has, you know, hasn’t been in college for a while, they’ve already been working their job, um, and that’s pretty much what they’ve been doing for maybe a decade or so, um, you maybe don’t want to ask them something that is going to be, oh, like, I saw that there was a curriculum change two years ago, and I was really wondering how this affects, um, you know, like this specific major.

Um, that kind of technical question is maybe something that you would be better off asking a current student or even your admissions officer if you’re not able to find that information online. Um, and then it can be a little bit easier to ask them a question that The library and business club. Or maybe you’ll ask them about, you know, on their favorite school traditions or how they interact with the alumni network.

Um, those. Good questions for, I guess, later, college grad. And then for more recent college, you can also just ask them more things that are related to their day to day. So, maybe you’ll ask them if they had a favorite city spot on campus, or you’ll ask them about, you know, their favorite professors. I’m just think that we’ll probably still remember because college was more recent for them

with that. And it looks like we have another poll, so I just want to see if people here, if they’ve completed their own college interview, I think initial will be running that poll for us.

Anesha: Yep. We just opened it. So let us know if you have, or you have not. And I usually ask food related questions. So, do you have a favorite on campus?

Um, food spot, uh, as we’re waiting for our food.

Lily: Yeah, I guess for favorite food on campus, I’m just going to go with what I’ve eaten recently. Um, so I’m on Stanford’s campus as a grad student, and I really like the Wilbur Dining Hall. Um, I feel like some of the dining halls, they are all like kind of similar.

But Wilbur, I guess, really specializes in, like, really good Asian food. So I’ve been able to get, like, really great beef bulgogi. So I kind of just check the menu on, like, beef bulgogi days, and then on those days, I might just go and head over. But to be honest, I don’t eat on campus super often. But it’s one of those things where if I do have to eat on campus, I’ll probably go to Wilbur.

Anesha: Wilbur? Okay. Good to know. I’ll let my students during the last year know about that spot. Um, all right, we’ll go ahead and close our poll. So just so you know, the majority of folks have said no, about 73 percent have said they have not done an interview. About 27 percent have said they have completed an interview.

So a lot of interview novices in our space today.

Lily: Yeah. And I would say if you haven’t completed an interview, that’s totally normal at this point. Um, you definitely have a lot of time to prepare. Um, and then what’s really great is, you know, when you’re preparing for interviews, there’s also a lot of overlap for the preparation that you’ll be doing when you’re thinking about your application and also doing more research about the school.

So you can really kill, you know, two birds with one stone when you’re thinking about, um, doing the research for your applications, and they’re also preparing for your interviews themselves. Um, with that, I also wanted to give you guys a few examples of, you know, what, what are some common interview questions, um, where the overlaps between questions and like what kind of strategies you can use to prepare for those, um, the set of questions that I have right now is really questions that I would say are pretty fair game for most schools.

Um, this is because these questions are more directed about, you know, What you’re, what you’re like, what you’re doing, what kind of things you’ve been interested in for the past four years. Um, and so some of these questions, I would just run through these and then, um, check that you would have an answer for these.

I know for some questions, like how would you describe yourself in three words? Maybe someone off the street asked you that. You might need some time to think about how you would actually answer that question. So I feel like this is a nice way to also brainstorm a little bit and then think about yourself, um, and see how you would want to present yourself in your college interview.

Um, along with that, they’re just more standard questions about, you know, describing your high school. Um, I would say this can be a little, a bit of a hard question, um, if you haven’t been able to think of, you know, what does my high school look like to someone who’s never been there before? Um, and I feel like for questions like this, you know, what’s your high school like or what’s your family like?

I really think of, you know, What can the other person envision as you’re ascribing things to them? So maybe for your high school, is it a small or large high school? Is it a private or public school? Is it does it have a religious affiliation? And then what kind of opportunities might be available? Are there a lot of clubs?

Is there a lot of support from teachers? Are there a lot of, you know, advanced classes you’re able to take? Um, and then also, do you like your high school? Um, what kind of things are really great about it? Um, and so that can help with, um, answering those kinds of general questions. Similar answer for describing your family.

You can talk about your family size, your family members, you know, and it’s your family really great. Does your family always do family dinner together? What kind of, you know, activities do you guys like to do together? That can also help paint a picture for some of these more general questions. We’re really trying to introduce everything from scratch.

Um, in terms of more academic questions, um, for these, you know, I would just try to remember what classes you’re taking. Um, I know sometimes for students who are especially taking a lot of classes, sometimes they’ll just forget a class. That’s totally fine. Your interviewer usually won’t notice. And then if you do want to talk about that class leader, you can always work it into another answer in the future.

So I wouldn’t fret too much if you have, you know, a long list of classes and you’ve forgotten one. And then some of these other questions, I guess, for a lot of these answers, if you have multiple answers to these. So, for example, what extracurriculars do you do? Um, I would try to limit things to maybe three to five different points that you have, um, just to not overload the interview with too much information.

And so maybe for extracurriculars, I feel like for me, I’d usually talk about maybe my top three extracurriculars, and then maybe group some of the other clubs into some other topics. Maybe they’ll group some of other clubs that you have into, um, Other kinds of volunteering that you do. Or maybe you’ll group other clubs into, you know, a topic of just like things that you really do for fun or things that are mostly related to athletics.

Um, just to help cluster some, some of your activities. And that way, if your interviewer has more follow up questions, they’ll be able to ask you more specifically about those clubs, if you’ve mentioned them. So from here, um, these are some pretty general questions. Um, there’s also another whole set of questions that is more about the school itself.

And this will go back into some of the research that you’ve been doing about each college. Um, so I think read through all of these, um, for whichever school that you are interviewing for. Feel free to, you know, insert that college’s name in the brackets. Um, and just prepare, um, questions. For these questions.

A lot of times, like when you are preparing for college interviews, you might also be writing an essay about, you know, why are you interested in this school or essentially the why school essay. And so this is also a great way to pull some information and use that as part of your research process. And then students typically like to ask, you know, how much should you repeat between your college essays and your interviews themselves?

Okay. Depending on, you know, if your interview is an open book or closed book interview, a lot of times it’s going to be a closed book interview, meaning that your interviewer doesn’t really have other information about you. They haven’t really seen your scores. They haven’t seen your essays. They really just know your name and your high school.

Feel free to recycle information from your essays. And so if you wrote a bunch of information in your Y school essay, you can definitely repeat that within your college interview. But then for other topics, if you are able to talk about new topics, keep in mind that the new stories that you tell and the new activities that you talk about, Could definitely enhance your application.

So I would try to mix up, um, recycle information if you really have to, but then trying to talk about new topics whenever you can, just to show that you have more to add to your application than before. So, I guess, looking through, um, these questions, a lot of them are going to be, you know, what kind of specific perks might that college have?

Um, you know, what ends up being some of the things that you’re most interested in about it? And I would say, to sum up, a few common answers on these areas. A lot of students really like to talk about, you know, academic strength, career support. community. Um, and sometimes your answer can be, you know, about all these things.

Maybe it could also be something completely different, like, you know, where it’s geographically located. Um, and so I would really think about all the different facts about why you want to go to that school, and also what you’re looking for in a college, and then use that to organize your answer for any of these more wide school oriented questions.

Oh, and then, uh, lastly, Um, from this section, uh, usually towards the end of your interview, um, your interview will usually ask you what questions you have left for me. Um, and for this, I would just prepare a few different questions, um, and then you can also vary the questions that you might have, um, from college to college.

So maybe if you’ve read about a school tradition about a certain school, but you don’t really understand, like, how that tradition works, or there’s something where really only a current student would be able to explain it or understand it really well, feel free to ask them about any of those school traditions or anything that’s really, like, school specific.

Thank you. Um, I really like those kinds of questions because it shows that you’ve been able to do the research about the school and you’ve found the situation that you’ve been really interested in and then taken the next step to ask a question about it. Um, for other things, you can also ask just more general questions.

Um, I would say a pretty common question that I always hear, um, is, you know, for, you know, someone who is in your current shoes. So someone who is going to be going to college next year, what kind of advice does your interviewer have for you? Um, I would say that’s a pretty common question that I’ve heard.

So you can ask them anything, you know, about academics, extracurriculars, um, a career, um, and beyond. And so I would just branch from a few questions and then have a few in the back of your minds, um, at the end of your interview.

Um, from here, I just have a list of just like more challenging interview questions. I would say it’s pretty common in every interview where you might just have a question that stumps you and you need a little bit more time to think about it. Um, and so I have these questions listed here just so that, um, you guys can practice, um, with having, you know, questions that are just going to be a little bit harder, um, where you can take a little bit more time to think right now, um, just to see, one, how do you react to these more surprising questions, um, and then, two, you know, actually just practice, um.

Formulating an answer for these. Um, I would say for these questions, like it’s going to be less common that you get questions like this, but I feel like for most interviews, you’ll typically get maybe one or two questions that are more out of the blue that aren’t going to be overlapping from all of the interviews that you that you typically have.

Um, for some of these answers, um, I guess, uh, I would say for the second bullet point for who is your role model, um, this is one of these questions that can be worded really, really, you know, in different, different kind of, uh, question formats. So sometimes, um, you get a question about, you know, someone you look up to who’s living, someone who, um, you look up to from history, someone that you look up to who is famous.

Um, so I would try to brainstorm a few different people for this kind of, um, question. And then sometimes if you’re going to be on the spot, um, you’ll just need to think of a few things and really just think on your feet. Um, I would say if you do really get stumped by a question, um, try to be honest and, you know, think of what comes to mind.

And then, um, even if you’re still formulating your question as you’re answering it, see if you can tie the rest of your explanation back to something from your own personal past, your history, um, just to personalize that answer and see if you can tie an example to what you’re talking about. Um, yeah, and then in addition, um, I know the last question, what’s the last book you’ve read?

Um, this is something you can also think about, um, for this, you can think about, you know, maybe your favorite book that you’ve read, maybe a book that you’ve read, um, within one of your classes recently. Um, and I feel like this one can be a little bit harder if you aren’t reading, you know, books all of the time.

Um, but I feel like it’s a nice one to also brainstorm, um, just to prepare for a surprise question.

Alright, so from here, um, so college interviews, um, They’re going to be a fun experience, but they can also sometimes be challenging at times. Um, and so, uh, during your college interview, you might either get, you know, questions that you can’t answer, or questions where initially it sounds like you’re going to have to talk about something negative.

Um, so these kinds of questions for, um, these negatives, this could be if someone asks you, what’s your weakness, you know, what’s a challenge that you’ve had, what’s something that you don’t like. Um, and so for these kinds of questions, um, in order to approach them, I would always try to turn your answer into something that ends up being a positive.

So, for example, if someone asks you, you know, what kind of class you dislike, you don’t want to say, Oh my God, I hate chemistry and just stop with your answer. Um, instead you can say, Oh, I feel like chemistry has definitely been more difficult for me this year. Maybe explain why, if there’s a reason, and explain, but it’s something that you’re still working really hard on, or it’s a, it’s a class that you still really value and you know will be important for the rest of your academic career.

Um, and you can talk about how you’ve been working harder at that class because it is harder for you. Um, or, you know, if you’ve been going to go into your teacher for help, um, or doing some extra tutoring, um, just to get the support that you need to make sure that even though it’s something that you don’t like as much or it’s harder, you’re still able to perform well and perform at the best.

So that can be a way that you can take something that isn’t initially negative and it’s something where you’re showing your upward trend or your upward journey. Um, going into the second bullet here about, you know, what to do if you don’t really know the answer and if sometimes you can completely blank on an answer.

In that case, um, you can always ask your interviewer, Oh, that’s a tough question. Do you mind if I take a second to think about it? And then you can take some time and think about what kind of options you might have. Um, for these kinds of times, something that can be, um, nice is in the back of your head, trying to think of, you know, what kind of topics you know you can definitely talk about.

So, for some students, they know that they can definitely talk about maybe, you know, a few clubs that they’re really involved in that they absolutely love. And a lot of times, if they get a tough question, maybe they can think of a story that relates back to that club and use that for their answer. Um, and so it can be nice to have a few backup topics where you feel like you can sort of, um, pull a story from that experience, um, and turn that into an answer on the whim.

Um, and that way you can still think of answers on the fly if you’re starting to blank.

Um, all right. In addition to that, um, so what actually happens after the interview itself? So, you know, after your, you know, 30 minutes or an hour of your interviewer, um, of your, of your interview, you should always, um, one, remember to say thank you to your interviewer at the end of your interview itself.

Um, and then afterwards, whether it’s an in person interview or a virtual interview, um, remember to send them a thank you email. Um, and so a lot of times for virtual, uh, interviews, you’ll already have their contact information, and then a lot of times for your in person interviews, your interviewer will probably give you, like, their card or some kind of information for contact information at the end, if they, if you don’t already have that information.

And so, for your, um, thank you email, I would say this can be super quick. You don’t need to write another essay. You don’t need to write a paragraph. Um, I typically just write, you know, two quick sentences, um, just thanking them, you know, reminding them of a few topics that you really like talking about, um, and then just having a closing.

Um, and so I would always try to end your interview, um, with a thank you. Um, and then for some schools that do end up tracking demonstrated interest, this can be a really nice cherry on top where, um, sometimes your interviewer will, you know, forward that email to the admissions office, and they’ll just add, you know, a brownie point to your file.

Um, this isn’t something that is going to make or break your application, but it can be really nice to have that additional, you know, thank you, have that plus one in your file, um, just to show that you did have the, you took the courtesy to write thank you afterwards.

And then I think lastly here, just some final tips and advice. I would say so right now there’s a lot of interviews that are either going to be in person or virtual. If you are getting back to in person interviews, please arrive early. I would say, you know, even if you have been to this coffee shop or library many times before.

Definitely arrive early, go by the spot, try to find your interviewer, um, when they walk in, um, and then I know sometimes there’s, there’s definitely been stories where, you know, you think that you’re doing your interview at a Starbucks and then you realize a lot at the last minute, you’re at the wrong Starbucks.

You need to drive over somewhere else. Um, on the flip side for virtual interviews. I would try to arrive exactly on time or at most a minute early. This is just to, you know, avoid any of the technical confusion. If you’re arriving 10 minutes early, but your interview isn’t ready, but they don’t have their waiting room set up, you can just help them out if you can arrive almost exactly on time.

Um, in addition, um, for my second point of preparing for small talk, Keep in mind that, you know, for your in person interview, the moment you step out of your car door, or for your virtual interview, the moment you click on that link, um, your interview has begun. And so, your interview might not start with, you know, all of the questions that your interviewer is going to ask.

It could start out with something really basic, like, oh man, the weather, right? Or it could be, you know, how is your New Year’s going? How has your week been going? Um, and so, You might start off your interview with these really basic questions, um, but I don’t, I don’t want them to end up throwing you off if you’re not expecting that.

You’re instead expecting a very formal interview question. And so I would just prepare to just, you know, talk with the interviewer. Um, a lot of the times your small talk will not make it into your interview write up, but it can be a great way to just start the interview and set the tone and make it something that’s going to be really conversational.

Um, in addition, I’d say it’s really important to smile when you talk about, um, the different activities and the different experiences that you’ve had. Um, for me, on the interviewer side, um, I really like it when students end up smiling through activities because, one, it’s a, it’s a good sign that you really genuinely enjoy your activities, and then two, um, it’s a good cue for me that I can ask you more questions about that activity because it is something that you enjoy.

And then, um, lastly, you know, I know interviews can end up being a stressful experience, but it can also be a really great one because you’ll be able to talk to someone who is really involved in the school that you’re interested in. You can learn a ton more about that school. Um, and then keep in mind that, you know, your interviewer, a lot of times, like, it’s not someone who’s trying to grill you.

They’re not trying to challenge you. They instead really want to learn as much as they can about you, get to know your personality, and really make your application shine to, to, to, um, Enhance what you’ve done previously,

Anesha: right? Thank you so much. That was a great presentation. I really appreciate your time and thoughtfulness and organizing it. That is the end of the presentation part of the webinar. I hope you found this information very helpful and a reminder that you can download the slides from the link in the handouts.

Tab. I think that would be really great, especially for that model email response that Lily shared. We’re going to move on to the live Q and A. The way that it will work is I will read through your submitted questions that you have submitted through the Q and A tab. I’ll share them with the public chat and then read them aloud.

So Lily will have a chance to answer. If you are not able to submit questions, you might have to log out and log back in and double check that you are joining through the custom link in your email address and not from the CollegeAdvisor.com webinar page. All right. Let’s go ahead and get started with the questions.

The first few, Lily, I’ll say are a little bit logistical or like process oriented. Mm-Hmm. . So does everyone get an interview? Um, when students said she feels like they don’t, she doesn’t hear about them a lot, and so she’s not sure how big they are. So if you clarify how, how does, uh, raging an interview happen?

Lily: Yeah. So this actually depends from school to school. Um, I would say at first, you know, are you going to get an interview from every school? No, it really depends on each school’s process. So some schools, what they’ll do is they’ll randomly select, um, you know, a pool of the different applications that were submitted, they’ll send out the information to the, their alumni network or their current student network, and then they’ll start scheduling interviews from there.

And so there’s a group of interviews that’s going to be completely random. Some schools will specifically select out students to be interviewed, and it’s going to be a similar process from here. There are even some schools where you’re supposed to go on their website, um, go to their interview page and actually schedule your own interview.

In that case, it’s really first come, first served. If you’re able to schedule it and they have spots open, you can actually do an interview. Um, and then similarly, now that things are, you know, opening up with COVID, um, a lot of times for in person college visits, you can also see, you know, While you’re visiting that school and you’re going to be on campus, see if you can actually go to the admissions office and schedule in advance if you can actually get your interview, um, you know, completed from there while you’re still visiting.

And then there are also some schools that will do more of an informational interview. I would just check the website to see if they are one that does that. Um, and that’s going to be more where your interview doesn’t count, but it’s going to be you asking questions to the other person, um, just to learn more about the school.

And so there’s a variety of different interview types. Um, I would say most schools end up doing the more, you know, they select a random pool of applicants and they’ll start sending out interviews from there. Um, and then because of that, you’re not going to be interviewing for every school, but I would say if you do have the opportunity to interview, definitely take it.

And then if you have the opportunity to request an interview, I would definitely do that to show that you are interested in that school.

Anesha: Great that you already answered some of the other questions, which was if I’m not an S for an interview, should I request one? So, yes, you should definitely put a student, um, one student asked, uh, would it be?

Okay. And I think he spoke to this, but I think maybe expanding on the answer a little bit of would it be okay to ask the interviewer conversational questions like about their experience with the school or should we only ask more professional questions? So what I guess is the best tone to try to strike in the interview process?

Lily: Yeah, I think for that, I would see how the interview is going. I would see for conversational questions, we’re asking about student life or what things are like in college, feel free to ask those questions, especially for, you know, more recent alumni who have, you know, just graduated from college just a few years ago.

I would say you can also gauge how interviewers are answering those questions. So maybe you ask them, you know, who is your favorite professor, but they’re like, Oh, I don’t really remember, you know, the professors because it’s been such a long time. Maybe that’s a good sign that you shouldn’t ask them, you know, What was your hardest class?

Because maybe they won’t remember that either. Um, so that’s how you can use their graduation year to sort of gauge what kinds of questions to ask, um, in terms of asking questions throughout the interview, I would probably actually wait and try to save your questions for the end. 1, the interviewer is, you know, turning things over to you.

Of course, if they, you know, are talking about something, they maybe talk about a club that maybe would be a really good fit for you to join. If you have a follow up question there, feel free to ask that. But definitely make sure that during the interview itself, it seems like they’re really. Sort of leading the conversation and choosing what topics to talk about and then feel free to ask whatever questions you might have towards the end when they actually tell, you know, okay, let me know if you have any questions for me now.

Anesha: There are a few questions coming up around timeline, so I’ll read them, but generally, I think the question is. When should we be interviewing? So when do, where do college interviews fit in in the application timeline? Do they typically happen before, um, you submit or after you submit it? And when is the best time to try to schedule them?

So there’s a bunch of questions, but generally related to where do you fit in the timeline?

Lily: Yeah. So again, this is school specific, but you could get interviews anytime between October and I would say around March. So even now for current seniors, like interviews are still, you know, Definitely being being requested and being done.

Um, I would say a lot of times like if you are submitting an early application, those are usually due in November. And so your schools will try to schedule your interviews before then. So that’s why there’s usually a small peak of interviews within October. Um, just to get those interviews done before, I guess, those get submitted, and then, um, some schools, after you submit your early applications, will also try to, um, interview you before they give you that decision in December or January.

There’s also a huge spike of interviews within December, um, and then for people who are applying to, uh, regular decisions, your applications are going to be due closer to January, maybe mid January, and then, so, there’s usually a few interviews right before then, so still in December, and then for the rest of your regular applications, Usually the springtime is going to be when you’re getting some interviews.

Um, and so I would say the peak season is probably around December, but you can look out for interviews anytime between October and March.

Anesha: Um, this is an interesting question. Do you have advice on how to dress for an interview?

Lily: Yeah. So people always ask, you know, what should you wear? Um, so for in person or for, um, virtual interviews, like if the website doesn’t specify, usually this means you should dress casual, which actually I would say means maybe business casual.

And so I would say, um, if you have, you know, Um, for, um, guys, if you have, you know, maybe a button down shirt for girls, maybe if you have, um, a, you know, a blouse or a pink colored top. That would work really well. And then for pants, try not, I guess, there’s always a question there. Should you wear jeans to your interview?

I would say, if you can, maybe you have some nice khakis, you have some nice socks you can wear instead. Try to wear those. If jeans are the only thing that you have and they haven’t specified the dress code, that’s totally fine. Um, and then I would say, if they are saying that it is business casual or they’re saying it’s not a formal dress code, Um, I just wouldn’t wear like a full suit that can just, you know, maybe be too formal for the interview setting itself.

Um, and then I guess also for here, I was going to say, so Rachel, luckily, you only need to dress from, you know, the top up. You don’t need to worry about, you know, pants too much. So, in that case, you can just wear whatever is comfortable for you. Um, and then, um, What I would also do is just, like, check the school website and just see if there is any kind of, um, specifications for the dress code.

Some schools will say, you know, you can dress casually, you can wear what you wear to school, um, but everyone’s school dress codes might be a little bit different. So in that case, I’d wear what you wear to school if you had a dress code. So try to avoid anything with, um, any, you know, graphics that might be any, like, distracting.

Avoid things that have too many logos or, you know, um, too much going on, um, just design wise. So I think just feeling that you’re comfortable and then also isn’t going to be distracting.

Anesha: Um, when student asks, how can I go about requesting an interview? I know it varies by by institution, but any oversight, overview that you can give around that process?

Lily: Yeah, I guess first check the school website, see if there is a place to schedule there. Um, if not, I would maybe just Google like how do you usually get interviews for the school and just check, you know, does the school typically have interviews? Like what is the timing for that? Just to get a little bit more information.

Um, if you can’t find information there, or if you’re just. I don’t know if the answer is really vague or is different from different sources. You can always get in touch with your admissions office and so usually within the school website you can figure out who’s going to be the admissions officer for your region that you’re living in and then you can reach out to them via email or you can also call the admissions office and then ask them what the process of interviewing is like.

Um, and then, you know, Sometimes within your email or within that phone call, you can schedule your interview right then and there.

Anesha: Um, one question, one person asked, in your opinion, what can a person do during an interview that would make them an automatic no? I know that’s a complicated question, so I think instead I’ll ask you to kind of address it from the angle of how does the interview fit into all of the components of an admissions decision?

Lily: Yeah. I guess for some things like mostly just red flags are really like an overly negative attitude. Um, I think if you go into your interview and you’re just really, you know, upset about, you know, a really hard class that you had or, Um, just, you know, having just like this negative attitude, but not really showing that you’re willing to change, you’re willing to grow in that area.

I feel like that can be a red flag, just maybe in terms of temperament. Um, yeah, I think aside from that, I feel like something that can happen, um, a lot is, you know, maybe you’re interviewing for a school and you accidentally say another school’s name. Um, that’s not going to, you know, disqualify you from the interview, but I feel like it’s something that, that happens, um, more often than you think.

So I think going in. Definitely, you know, keep in mind what school name that is and which school you’re interviewing for. And the same thing, like, I know sometimes different majors can be called different things to different schools. Make sure you have the right name for the major that you want to study there, just so that, you know, you’ve done your research and you know exactly what you’re interviewing for in that situation.

Anesha: I want to add the context that the interviewer doesn’t decide your admission, so the interview is like one part, so. The way it was phrased is like as an automatic no. Even if you do poorly on your interview, it’s not going to be an automatic no. It’ll be maybe a red flag or a question mark that comes up for your application.

But, um, they know that when most of you are teenagers, that you might be nervous, that there could be a lot going on and that at the end of the day, we’re all human. So I just want to give context to that, the structure of the question of like, there’s no automatic no attached with, um, not perhaps doing your best on an interview.

Um, just wanted to add it, add that in. Um, uh, 1 question is how does the interview process change depending on your major or the field that you’re most interested in?

Lily: Yeah, I would say, I think it’s the only time this changes is if you’re applying to like, a really specific program and maybe this is an interview round for 1 of those programs.

So, you know, some students are going to be applying to BSMD schools or BSMD programs, and they might have like a more medicine specific interview. Um, if it’s not that case and you’re not applying to one of those more specific programs, a lot of times you’ll have more of a general interview. In that case, I don’t think your major or like even what college within the school you’re applying to matters too much.

Um, look, just since a lot of times your interviewer will just be assigned randomly, like they won’t try to match, you know, all engineers with other engineers. Um, for the interview itself. And so I think the past program, it won’t matter too much in the process. You can have a great interview experience with someone who majored in something completely different from you.

Anesha: Yeah, I think the only difference might be if you’re applying to BSMD programs, which are like a specialized program where the interview might be a little bit more focused on your preparedness for for the medical for medical school, especially because you will be going into medical school. So I think it’s more combined with special programs and not necessarily your interest.

If you’re planning to do traditional undergrad, you might just want to do a little bit more research. If you’re doing specialized programs, um, 1 student, and I think they’re getting at, if they have the opportunity to talk to a current student on campus, it would be the better person to ask certain campus related topics.

If they are curious about campus job or campus living, should that be an interview question? Or should that be a question? They try to direct towards.

Lily: Yeah, I guess if you have more questions that are like student life specific, um, I would definitely reach out to a current student. Um, if you know one or else you can usually, um, I guess email your admissions officer. And then, you know, if you have a bunch of questions, maybe see if they’re able to put you in touch with a current student.

And a lot of times they’re going to be like student ambassadors who are there and ready to talk to perspective students and answer their questions. I would see for questions related to student life that you want to ask your alumni. Try to look for questions that. Maybe like, aren’t going to be questions that you can just find the answer through through Google.

Um, and so questions that are maybe more about your interviewer’s experience. Um, and so when they’re giving their introduction about what kind of experience they had in college, maybe what kind of clubs that they were a part of. Um, feel free to ask them follow up questions about that. I feel like those are definitely fair game.

But if you have maybe more specific questions, like maybe they didn’t do acapella, but you want to know where acapella on campus. I’d probably ask your current student instead, just because your alumni might not know the answer to that.

Anesha: Acapella groups in particular have changed throughout the years. One question, do you have any tips on how to practice interviews?

Lily: Yeah, so, I mean, you can always practice with a CollegeAdvisor coach. And then usually in our practice sessions, we’ll do a strategy meeting, so we’ll go over different tips and tricks, see what questions, you know, you might have, um, going in. And then the second part is just doing a mock interview. Um, I would definitely remember, uh, recommend just doing a mock interview, whether that’s, you know, with a coach or with a friend, with a family member, with another teacher, um, just to get that practice and just, you know, see how you react to some of those questions, especially the ones that are more challenging.

Um, along with that, you can practice with the interview questions that are in this slide deck. I know some students will just like to, you know, read through the questions and think, okay, I feel like I’ve got this. I have answers to these. Some students will like to write down a few bullet points just to jog the memory about how they could answer that question.

Some students will write out their full answers. I feel like that takes a lot of time, but if that makes you, you know, feel more confident, feel prepared, feel free to do that too. And then you can also have someone on the other side just practice asking you some of these questions. So also similar to having a mock interview.

Anesha: Well, you mentioned CollegeAdvisor being a source and so for those in the room who aren’t currently working with us, we know that it is an overwhelming process, but we do have a team of over 300 former admissions officers and admissions experts who are prepared to help you and your family navigate the process by providing such things like mock interviews or interview prep support.

You can take the next step in your journey by signing up today. For a free 45 to 60 minute strategy session with an admission specialist during that conversation, you will review your extracurricular list, your application strategy and discuss how everything aligns in order to help you stand out in the competitive admissions world.

You can use the QR code that is on the screen to sign up for that free session will leave that screen. Uh, leave that QR code up on the screen as we keep moving forward with our questions. Um, I know you spoke to this a little bit, but if you could repeat your response of what is the most critical information that a student should be trying to convey to their interviewer?

Lily: Yeah, I would definitely try to convey that you are really interested in this school. Um, you can do this by explaining, you know, your answer for, you know, why you want to go to that school. But then also if you’re able to tie in like. What you’re interested in, like, if you talk about what you’re looking for in a college, you can also talk about how that college has what you’re looking for.

I feel like that’s a good way to connect in that information. Same thing if you’re, you know, they ask you what you want to major in, maybe you’ll explain, you know, what you want to major in, why you want to major in it. And then you can also add something about how, you know, this school is the perfect place for you to do that major.

Throughout your interview, I just convey your enthusiasm for the school and how much you want to attend just to show that when you’ve done the research and then to you are really interested.

Anesha: Are there any topics to avoid in an interview?

Lily: Yeah, I would say, especially for students are more, like, maybe involved in activism or work in politics.

There are some topics, I guess, like, I think, from the interviewer side, you’re always told, you know, don’t talk about some controversial topics because you don’t want to make the interviewee uncomfortable. And so it’s sort of on your side. Um, a lot of times, like, your interviewer won’t bring up any controversial topics, especially, you know, things related to politics or, you know, recent world events if they’re, if they end up being controversial.

So on your side, I guess you could end up talking about them, but maybe keep in mind that it could open, you know, a larger discussion. Um, and so I would only have mentioned those topics if they are really, really important to your application narrative or your personal narrative, or something that you think you want to discuss more in detail with your interviewer.

But I would say you can, you can maybe make your own call if you end up talking about any kind of more controversial political topic.

Anesha: Um, what should a student, I guess a student do if they feel like they freeze in the middle of an interview, so they were asked an interview question and they don’t have an answer prepared for it and they feel kind of stuck.

I think there’s some nervousness around being able to ad lib or just kind of go off the top of your head.

Lily: Yeah, so this has definitely happened to me before. Um, first off, you know, I know it’s really stressful, but don’t stress too much. Um, the first thing I always ask for is, oh, that’s great. So if you have a tough question, can I ask you a little bit more time?

Um, take that time to definitely think of the rest of your answer. And then a phrase that I always heard when I was in high school was, you know, if you’re told to talk about a tree, but you don’t know anything about it, tie a cow to the tree and talk about the cow. So I would say as a last resort, if you actually cannot answer this question, but you think there is maybe some other kind of experience that you can talk about that can help you maybe work your way towards that final answer.

Um, see if you can talk about that first. And then find a way to actually answer the question by the end. Um, maybe if you’re giving some more context about another experience. So, for example, if I had a really tough question, someone asked me, for example, like, you know, when’s the time that you failed? And I completely blank, maybe I can think about a few different clubs that can help me answer that question.

So then maybe as I’m trying to figure out that exact, you know, failure situation that I want to discuss, maybe I’ll start by just describing the club, explaining what, what it is, what my role is, and then. Um, when I, when I have, you know, the idea of what kind of situation I want to talk about, then I’ll go into answering the question and explaining what is the specific failure that I want to talk about.

And then, you know, because it is a negative, you know, kind of, um, topic, then how do I, how do I want to make it a positive afterwards in terms of adding some more detail and showing a journey of growth?

Anesha: Yeah, I think that’s a very helpful. I think sometimes students forget that you can, you can ask for a pause, you can take a break and, and, um, Asked for like, I need to think about that 1 before having to rush through every question.

Um, 1 student asked how, uh, how do how do I interview with coaches? If I’m being recruited for a sport, is there a different approach to interviews in recruitment and athletic recruitment?

Lily: Yeah, I guess I don’t have a ton of experience with athletic recruitment, but I think we do have. Like advisors who either are recruited athletes or, um, if we look at a lot of students, um, within college recruiting, um, I’m pretty sure we have a few webinars related to college recruiting.

So I would maybe check out those instead, um, and see if they have information about, you know, the interview process with recruiting. But I know a lot of recruiting is more also involved on like your, your athletic potential and how you are, you know, on the field or on the court or wherever, whatever sport you end up playing.

Um, and so I would check out those resources, but yeah, me personally, I don’t know too much about how it changes within college recruiting.

Anesha: That’s fair questions. Is there ever an instance where you would be in a group interview for a college?

Lily: Yeah, I think I’ve only seen this with some of the, maybe, like, career path specific interviews and sometimes for like, the SMD interviews, instead of having. The traditional one on one interview, you might just have a bunch of students in a room, and then it’s also not just about your own, you know, answers, but also the group dynamic.

Um, I would say this isn’t common for, you know, like, traditional college interviews, though, um, most of the time, you will be one on one either with, you know, um, an alumni from the school or a current student or admissions officer or dean. Um, and a lot of times, you can also, like, if there is a group interview, they will usually tell you that it will be a group format.

They usually won’t surprise you. Um, and that way, if you know you’re going to have a group interview, you can also do some research and, um, um. Sort of see, you know, how some of the questions might change or what kind of things you can do to make sure that you are being a good member of the group during the interview.

Anesha: Do you have any tips on navigating a group interview?

Lily: Yeah, so I think I had a few group interviews, but this is when I was in college already. And then I always, you know, I always try to get feedback after my interviews afterwards. And so I feel like, keep in mind that, you know, even though you have a lot of great ideas to say, and you want to be vocal, remember to include the other people in your group.

If you think about it from the interviewer’s perspective, you don’t want to be, Um, you know, an interview that can be super pushy and talking over other people. So I would, I would just keep in mind, like, even though you still want to shine within the group, um, remember to give other people room to speak.

So maybe if you see that someone in your group isn’t answering as much, maybe you can ask them what their opinion is, make sure that they also have input. Um, and think about, you know, even though it’s a group setting, maybe everyone is trying to all go to the same school. This could also be your future classmates and make sure that you can create a good dynamic that makes it a good and supportive group.

And that will also reflect well on you as well.

Anesha: Thank you for tackling that off the top of your head. I appreciate it. Ask how will the college interview differ when you’re interviewing for a scholarship? And have already been admitted to the school.

Lily: Yeah, so sometimes in this situation, um, earlier I talked about having an open book versus a closed book interview.

Um, a lot of times for your general college interviews, it’s going to be closed books. We don’t have a ton of information about you. Um, a lot of times if you’ve already been admitted, slash it has, it’s a scholarship interview. Um, whoever’s interviewing you sometimes just has more information about you. Um, and you can always check if this is the case.

If you do end up having an open book interview, This is a case where they, they know, you know, a lot of information about your application. So maybe they’ve seen your stats, your GPA, your essays, and they have heard a lot about your story. In this case, if they already have that information, I would try not to overlap too much with your essays, just so they don’t get a complete repeat.

And you can also show that you’re able to talk about new topics and be versatile. Um, when coming up with your answers. And so in this case, I would try to think of, you know, what kind of stories can you tell that can supplement what you’ve already written in your, in your application? Um, and so maybe if you already have a few stories that you’ve talked about, you can think of it almost as if you already had, you know, your essays as its own, like, interview.

And you’ve already talked about these topics. What kind of new topics do you want to talk about? Um, in the case, if it is a closed book interview, again, um, with, um, I guess, um, in addition to, um, the application review that you’ve had before. So it’s still a closed interview, but for the scholarship, um, I think again, feel free to recycle some of your stories, especially if they are really strong.

Um, but I think the focus here will be what your personality might, might be like, because you’ve already been admitted or you’re in that final round. Um, the, the person on your business will already know that you’re going to be qualified. Um, you know, you, you could potentially get that spot. And so, I think, in that case, personality is the last step for them to see, um, or are you going to be a good fit for that, that scholarship program?

Anesha: Um, what should I do if I have, um, I guess, uh, neurodivergence that makes it difficult for me to participate in a virtual interview and that’s the only option for me?

Lily: Yeah, I would try to reach out to the admissions office and see if they have any kind of accommodations that they might be able to have for you.

Um, I know, like, I feel like most admissions offices are just, like, pretty, pretty accepting, and they’ll try their best to, you know, give you an accommodation, um, and then if not, um, you could always tell your interviewer at a certain point. Um, sometimes towards the end of the interview, um, they’ll ask, you know, okay, before we close the interview, do you feel like you forgot to mention anything, or do you feel like anything is missing from your application, or is there anything else you want me to know?

Um, and that could also be a good time to disclose it if you feel like it’s going to impact the performance of your interview. Um, and so, yeah, I guess to summarize that, hopefully reach out to your admissions office and see if they can provide you additional support. Um, and then it’s going to be up to you whether or not you want to disclose that to your interviewer in the end.

Um, and then lastly, if you really feel like it will impede your performance, or it’s going to be something that’s going to be a negative to your application, you do have the option of, um, if not doing the interview in the end, but I think if that is the case, maybe also give the admissions office some context about why, um, just so it doesn’t look like that you’re not interested in the school itself.

Anesha: Are there instances where you would say someone shouldn’t interview, even if they’ve been invited to do so?

Lily: Um, I would, if you are invited to interview, I would, I would try to take the chance if possible. Sorry,

Anesha: sorry to get a question. Um,

someone was asking a bit earlier regarding, um, how schools are selected and I feel like this will be a school dependent, but is there anything they can do to make sure that they are likely to be submitted selected for an interview? But it seems like you were saying earlier, it’s random, but is there anything they could do on the application to ensure they get selected for an interview?

Lily: Yeah, I guess there isn’t a ton that you can do, especially if the process ends up being random. Um, I know some students, if they know that interviews are going to be released at a certain time, um, just based on forums, you just, you know, if you’re talking to friends and other people are getting interviews, you could ask the admissions office, um, if they’re able to offer you an interview.

Um, but I guess in this case, you don’t want to, you know, maybe you don’t want to bother the admissions office too much if it seems like it’s really a closed process. Um, I would maybe do some reading and see if it seems like there’s going to be flexibility, um, on the number of interviews, or maybe if, you know, maybe they’re just releasing interviews in waves and, you know, maybe your, your invite hasn’t gotten out there yet.

Um, I think it’s mostly just staying informed about, you know, Interviews released by each school, and then it’s gonna be more of a case by case basis for each school.

Anesha: Um, how reliable are the YouTube videos on getting interviews on as a resource for getting interview tips and preparing for interviews?

There are a lot of videos around, like, this was how my Princeton interview went or how or whatnot. Um, are you aware of those and how reliable are those as I guess, a source for preparation?

Lily: Yeah, so I would say this is pretty similar to the research you might do by just reading online forums. Um, everyone has their own personal experience for interviews.

Um, I think the parts that I usually like to take from any videos or any of those resources is just what kind of questions they might have had and just use those as a resource of like questions that you can also prepare for, especially if there are any more challenging questions or more surprising questions in terms of, you know, the interview tone or how the interview actually went.

I would say this really differs from person to person. Um, and so I think with a lot of these online resources, I would sort of take these all with a grain of salt. Um, sometimes people might change how their experience might be on the internet, and you just don’t really know, you know, if this is the true experience.

And also keep in mind, your experience could be very, very different, just because, you know, you’re you, and then, you Um, you have, you know, an interviewer and you guys have never met before, so you don’t know what conversations you might end up having. Um, I would say, feel free to use these resources if you feel like they’re helping you be more confident or helping you, you know, feel more prepared.

But if, if you’re starting to feel like you’re getting shushed up at interviews, um, feel free to, you know, just stick with the practice questions that we have. Maybe do your own mock interview and see how you perform in the interview. Um, So, yeah! Yeah, just not to end up comparing yourself to others.

Anesha: Is it possible to request a different interviewer?

I think for the student, they were interested in engineering, found out that the interviewer was not in the same field and wanted to speak to a different alum, is that possible? Or should they just kind of interview with whoever?

Lily: Yeah. I guess for, I guess if I were in your shoes, I’d probably still do the interview with the alum that you were assigned, just given, you know, how hard scheduling might be and then just their process of distributing interviews just to make it easy for the admissions office team.

I feel like maybe something you could do instead is maybe ask the admissions office if you could talk to a current student within engineering or someone who is going to be within your field. I think that’s also just because I feel like you can still gain a lot from your interview. Um, and it can be nice to learn from people who are from these other backgrounds and have different perspectives.

Um, and so it can be nice to just see another side of the school and maybe you’ll learn something that you never would have learned if you had talked to an engineering alum. Um, Yeah, I guess technically I feel like you could, you know, email the admissions office and request a different interview, but I would say I haven’t seen this happen, um, too commonly.

I feel like mainly the only times I’ve seen a different interview request is just like you already know the interviewer for some reason, um, and there might be a conflict of interest. But I feel like if there is an accomplishment of interest, I would need to see if you consider, you know, just doing the interview with the person who you’ve been assigned to.

Anesha: Um, Susan said, I missed my interview. How will this affect my application?

Lily: Yeah, I think in this case, you know, as soon as possible, try to, you know, let your interviewer know, let the admissions office know, and let them know it was a mistake, um, and that you still are very interested and would like to reschedule.

Um, of course, you know, you. We’re hoping that you don’t end up missing your interview. We’re hoping that you’re not going to be late to your interview, but these things do happen, and a lot of times we will understand, but I would say just, just try to be, you know, on time, try not to miss your interview, just to try to avoid this situation.

Anesha: Um, is there a interview for you, I guess, coming from yourself as an interviewer? Has you ever had an interview that stood out and that you thought was particularly good? If so, what were the characteristics about that student?

Lily: Yeah, I think, I just remember having some interviews in the past where like, I just remember talking to the perspective students.

I was like, I can really just see that person as a student on campus. Like, they really have a great energy. Like, it feels like they would, you know, just like be a great fit in the community. I’d say a lot of these students have just been really collaborative, really. Students who maybe, you know, aren’t, aren’t as.

super competitive or cutthroat when it comes to academics. There are people who are just really interested in learning more about, you know, people by their name and story and just getting to know people better. Um, I would say a lot of these students had a lot of enthusiasm for the school and also for whatever they wanted to study.

Um, I would say it really, you know, it doesn’t matter what you want to major in as long as you have that enthusiasm there. Um, and I feel like, you know, Those students that I talked to, they also had, you know, a really similar passion for a lot of the activities that they were a part of. So I could tell they weren’t just, you know, doing an activity to check off a box.

It was something that they really, you know, believed in the mission for. Um, and I feel like all these students, just the ones that I had really great interviews for, they’re just really willing to be open and talk about their lives, um, and just show how enthusiastic they were about everything.

Anesha: Do you have, I guess, specific tips or, like, ways for a student to prepare if they are introverted and pretty quiet?

Like, they feel really anxious about it, but they want to go through with the interview, but they know that talking, public speaking, is not really their, their forte.

Lily: Yeah, I would say for me as an interviewer, Um, a question I always like to ask if I feel like maybe my interview is a little bit quiet or it’s going to take them a little bit of time to open up is what is a topic that you cannot stop talking about?

Um, I think for you, if you are feeling introverted or you feel like, you know, you’re going to have trouble opening up, think about how you would answer that question and then just start practicing, you know, talking about that topic. Um, and then if you can maybe see what, you know, how you end up. Um, and then, um, you know, if you have a lot of questions, you know, you have a lot of stories to tell, um, if you talk about, you know, the timing of how you got interested in this topic, um, and then see if you can apply that to some of your other activities, um, and sort of keep that momentum going in your answers.

Um, I feel like a lot of times, like, if you can hit that topic that you know you love talking about, can create some really great momentum and just keep the conversation going for the rest of your interview. And so if you also know what that topic is, um, you know, then you can, you can always maybe bring that topic into the conversation early and then sort of.

Ride the momentum and then continue, um, just trying to open up and talk about those answers for your other topics as well.

Anesha: Awesome. All right. Well, I’m going to go ahead and wrap us up there unless there are any parting thoughts from you, Lily, about interviews. Any final comments?

Lily: Yeah, I think mostly, you know, I know it’s a stressful time, but it’s also really, you know, I feel like college interviews are super exciting.

You’ll be able to get this great view into the school that you’re interested in. Um, and it’s, I think, On my side, like, I feel like it’s really something that can end up enhancing your application. So think of it as a win, not something to stress out about too much.

Anesha: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for answering all those questions.

Thanks to the folks who submitted questions. We appreciate it. That will be the end of our webinar. Thank you for joining us. And thank you again. Lily. Also, we want to ensure that you all get some helpful tips for showing up, preparing for and following up with your college interviews. We also hope that you’ll join us for our future webinars coming up this month on February 15th.

We will have a session on the discussion of and IB classes and their impact in the admissions process. We’ll also explore college admissions help and why it’s integral on the 21st and we’ll end the month with a session on maximizing your summer break and building a resume on the 27th. Thanks again for joining us, everyone, and take care and have a wonderful evening.

Lily: Thanks.