How to Wow Your College Admissions Interviewer
Before I started doing college counseling full-time, I worked in a wide range of industries, from academia, public schools, chain restaurants, to non-profits and global consulting firms. If there is one thing I’ve gotten really good at, it’s acing the interview process.
And the secret to wowing your interviewer is to be prepared (aka do your research) and practice, practice, practice.
That was probably anti-climatic, but it’s the truth. But how you actually prepare and practice does make a difference. In this post, I’ll spill on how I would prepare for a college interview, with tips and strategies along the way.
Before we get started, let’s get a few common questions out of the way.
Why do colleges give interviews anyway?
The reality is that this is a great way for colleges to gauge whether you are interested in accepting an offer of admission. While not all colleges offer interviews, but for ones that do, definitely use this opportunity to show interest and provide any additional information that did not make it into your application.
Is the college interview important?
If you go on Reddit and search whether interviews actually matter, the answer is most likely “not significant for the majority of cases.”
Oh wait, does this mean that interviews are not important? Well, not quite.
According to the NACAC 2023 State of College Admissions Report, only 4.3% of colleges responded “considerable importance,” approximately 8.6% responded “moderate importance,” 32.4% responded “limited importance,” and a whooping 54.6% responded “no importance” to interviews in their admission decision. In fact, many schools don’t even do interviews at all.
Fine, so do interviews count? Yes, in certain cases, especially for applicants who are on the cusp, where the decision could go either way. And yes, but the level of importance varies by school (check out each school’s Common Data Set, Section C7). I’ve provided my alma mater Columbia University’s 2023-24 version below.
So the final word on this is: definitely accept the interview if it’s a school you’re interested in attending unless you have a solid reason not to. We don’t want to risk raising questions at this stage.
What if I do badly at a college interview?
If we go back to NACAC’s 2023 State of College Admissions Report, it is unlikely that a bad interview will significantly hurt your chances of getting in. In fact, putting a face to the application materials might even increase your chances. Think about it: is it easier to turn down a stack of paper or a person? I’m putting my money on the latter.
Now that we have those questions out of the way, there are three steps to getting prepared for a college interview. Let’s get started!
Step 1 - Revisit your supplemental essays in bullet-point form
Some of the most common questions are:
Why do you want to attend our school?
What do you plan to major in? Why?
What extracurricular activities do you find most rewarding?
Don’t these questions sound familiar? If they do, it’s because you’ve probably written a couple of supplemental essays on those topics if the interview is held in January or February. Just make bullet-points of impressive achievements or interesting things about you that were not included in your application. For each point, remember to back each of your answers up with two things: (1) specific examples and (2) impact.
If these sound foreign, well, I’d recommend coming up with brief outlines using the guidelines below. If you have enough time to actually write these essays out, thumbs up for you!
“Why us” Outline
Spend at least an hour on the school’s website, and note any courses, programs, activities, research, resources, and opportunities that you find super interesting.
For each school-specific offering, connect it to something about you. This could be an extracurricular activity, a skill you developed, an interest you’ve pursued for a few years, or some combination of these.
Find at least 3 school-specific offerings + personal connections with examples, and put these down.
Word of caution: avoid talking about prestige, reputation, location, weather, or how awesome the school is. They know they’re awesome.
“Why major” Outline
Think about all the potential majors you might be interested in and come up with an anecdote about the moment you realized what and why you’re interested in these.
Put that moment at the very beginning, and list everything you did because of that interest afterward in chronological order.
For each nugget you listed, come up with what you learned and your personal insight.
“Extracurricular” Outline
Choose three activities that you’re most proud of, or ones you’ve spent the most time on. If it’s something that shows leadership, I’d definitely include that activity in this.
Focus on (1) what the activity was, (2) why was this activity important, (3) what was your role and specific contribution, (4) what did you learn from this activity, and (5) what was your impact.
Step 2 - Make a list of questions to ask your interviewer
This is an extra way for you to earn brownie points because it shows that you’ve done your research and are interested in the school. On that note, when coming up with questions, make sure they are:
Specific - This requires research or refer back to your “why us” bullet-point outline. Do not ask what is not already on the school’s website (e.g., how much is tuition?). Come up with specific questions that show your interest in an area(s) of interest.
Connectable - People love to talk about themselves, and if you could build a connection with your interviewer by asking them to share their personal experiences, do it! These could be something as simple as “What did you love most about the school?” or “What was the worst thing about it?”
And if you’re someone who gets fidgety and palm-sweaty before an important event (aka an interview), try practicing your power poses. Holding expansive poses typical of people who have just triumphed works wonders. There’s a real mind-body connection that you should tap into. If you’re curious about this, read Dr. Amy Cuddy’s book “Presence.”
Step 3 - Practice, Practice, Practice
I’ll include a list of common interview questions toward the end, but for the sake of practice, here’s what you should do:
Type out some (or all) of the questions.
List your answers in bullet-point form. I’d caution against writing your entire response because we don’t want you to sound scripted.
Since most interviews for international students are virtual, try answering the questions while you record yourself out loud using your cellphone. It’s easier to playback and analyze what worked and what didn’t work that way, too.
Why out loud? Because what goes on smoothly in your mind does not translate into smooth sentences when you actually say it. Besides, saying your answers out loud will help you remember your key points better.
If you have someone who doesn’t know you very well, it might be nice to do a little role-play with them. While you’re at it, note follow-up questions that your partner comes up with. These could very well be follow-up questions the interviewer will ask as well.
As promised, here are some common interview questions that interviewers are likely to ask. These are not exhaustive, but are general enough that you’ll be able to answer a number of similar questions by preparing for them. Have fun and good luck!
Tell me about yourself.
Why are you interested in this college?
What do you hope to study in college, and why?
What’s a project, paper, or lab that you’ve particularly enjoyed in high school?
What are your academic weaknesses? How have you addressed them?
How would you contribute to our community?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
If you could change one thing about your high school, what would it be, and why?
Tell me about a person who has influenced your life?
What is your favorite book you’ve read recently?
Why do you want to go to college?
What do you like to do for fun?
Tell me about a challenge you’ve faced and how did you get through it?
What makes you unique?
What song best sums up the last year of your life?
What three adjectives would your friends use to describe you?
What are your goals for college?
Tell me about a time you acted as a leader. Would you do anything differently in hindsight?
What’s your opinion on a current event that’s of interest to you or that you feel passionate about?
What questions do you have for me?