The Free College Counselor: The College Interview

You walk into the Coffee shop and glance around. It’s empty. Good, you expected this because like any good applicant, you showed up 10 minutes early. You’re dressed in a button down shirt and nice pants (though polo/khakis are fine for summer months), a nice business casual attire. You pick a booth in the corner with a view of the front door and wait. 8 minutes later, a tall man with a flashing blue tie and a clipboard walks in. “Hello, I’m Mr. __________, you must be…”

While I had many different interviews (in many places, from coffee shops to offices), there are some rules that need to be followed for every college interview:

1. Show Up Early: Being 10 minutes early doesn’t cost you anything, and remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression, you don’t want to be the guy that busts in 10 minutes late and mumbles something about traffic!

2. Dress Up!: I don’t mean really really dress up, but business casual clothing is probably where you want to be at, a nice button down shirt (a tie might be a tad over, but better to be overly formal than not formal enough), and nice pants.

3. Be Prepared!: There is one question that I guarantee you will be asked in every interview. Well actually two, but they are very similar. The first is “why do you want to go to ______?” The second is “Do you have any questions about ______?” These are the two questions you want to have something prepared for. Luckily, if the school requires the “Why ____ University” essay, you should be set if you have done it. If it does not, it’s a good idea to go through a brochure for the school. It may also be nice if you know people at the school, to ask them what makes the school special. Having visited the campus is a bonus as well, casually mentioning something that impressed you (and is unique about the school!) would help your cause. For the second question, it is a good time to get into specifics. Please PLEASE PUH-LEEZE don’t ask something that can be easily found online: “What percent of students got in last year?” Ask something more specific: “I read that only 10% of students are in fraternities, how much of a role do you think they play in the social scene?”

4. Be prompt, polite, and courteous in response to communications before the interview. The interviewer will either call or email you in order to set up the interview. This is the first time you get to make an impression on him/her so make it count! Don’t email them back a week after they email you with a “Hey dude watsup, just got your message…”

5. Expect the Unexpected, and Have fun!: Every interview has its own different tone to it, remember it is not a test. It’s a conversation, and if you’re too nervous and not really having any fun, chances are your interviewer isn’t either! If you guys chat it up like old friends, chances are you will get a better report than if you answer questions with one word answers and there are long awkward pauses. If you’re funny, be funny! If you’re philosophical, be philosophical! This is another way for the college to get to know the real you, so be yourself!

The college interview is weighted differently for different colleges. Nobody knows for sure how much it is worth (though most agree it doesn’t matter as much as the big stuff like essays, SATs, and GPA), it is something that should definitely be prepared for and could tip an application from the Rejected pile into the Accepted pile.