How To Prepare For Your College Admissions Interview

Interviewing is tough. Especially when it’s for something you really want (like getting into college), and you’re doing it for a LOT of different schools, all at about the same time. But here’s interview advice tip #1: be school-specific. Show and tell your interviewer why you want to get into and why you belong at THEIR school, and not any other. You liked the school enough to apply, right? You should be able to earnestly – and honestly – say why you can see yourself as a student there.

Be specific to every school.

If it’s your dream school that you’re interviewing for, you should have a thousand reasons why you want to go there. And those should easily come through to your interviewer. However, even if it’s not #1, you should still know a bit about that school in particular – and its own, unique opportunities.

We wrote about this and how you can research schools in a post about the “Why us” essay that many schools are requiring. In many ways, the interview is your “Why us?” essay in person. Before you go to your interview, you should research that school enough so that you could – if you had to – write an essay on it. For every school you’re applying to, really dig up its hidden gems!

Here are some examples. If you’re interviewing for Northeastern University, you probably won’t get in if you don’t know the first thing about the co-op program. Likewise, if you’re interviewing for CMU, you probably want to know about their semester in Washington program, and it wouldn’t hurt to know about some of the fun traditions on campus, like Booth. If you’re interviewing for Stanford, it’ll help to know about campus icons like the “tree” and the Big Game against Cal (UC Berkeley), but it will also help to have some statistics on hand, such as the fact that 55% of Stanford undergraduates study abroad. It’s even higher at Dartmouth; so if you’re interviewing there, bring it up! Whatever makes the school that you’re interviewing for unique, know about it before you walk into your interview.

Tying all of that into your interview

Great – let’s say that you’ve done your research. You know what makes your school special. Take Northeastern: you’ll know that the co-op program gives you the opportunity to blend study with real-life work and internship opportunities, giving you a head start into the workforce. Maybe, for you, that would be a huge plus and a reason to consider Northeastern over any other school. There are tricks to bringing this up in your interview.

Even if your interviewer doesn’t specifically ask, “How will a Northeastern education help you in life?” (which is a fairly common interview question), you can bring it up at the end, when they ask you if you have any questions. That last question that most interviewers ask – “Is there anything that you want to ask me?” – is a critical part of the interview. And you should never answer “no” to that question! This part of the interview is a great way to get more information on the campus-specific programs. (For CMU, try asking: “What’s the coolest booth that you’ve seen at Spring Carnival?” or for Stanford: “Do you know anyone at FroSoCo?”) It will also show your interviewer that you’ve done your research and know more than the average high-schooler about that school’s special programs or traditions.

Here are some more tips for acing that interview:

1. Tip #1 is to be school-specific. Research your school and prepare some questions. For example: “Could you tell me a bit more about the pre-law Pre-Professional Scholars’ Program at Case Western?”

2. Equally important to pre-interview prep is post-interview gratitude. After your interview, contact your interviewer to thank them for seeing you. Keep it short and sweet but don’t forget this step.

3. Practice, practice, practice. Have family and friends mock-interview you by looking up some common questions and having them ask you those. It’s important to feel prepared when you go in.

4. And the last, most important piece of advice: be yourself. You’re interviewing to show that you can be a student at this school. So don’t put on a contrived personality. Be yourself – but be your best self!

So there you go. Let’s take a brief moment to look deeper into tip #4: be yourself. This goes hand-in-hand with the “Tell us about yourself” question that colleges love to ask, and generations of students are stumped by.

How to answer “Tell us about yourself”

The question “Tell us about yourself” – although frustratingly vague – is an incredibly common one and you are likely to encounter it in every interview. Here’s  how to respond:

• To answer this question well, DO:

  • Talk about how your background has prepared you (or makes you excited for) life at this particular college.

  • Mention any extra-curricular and academic activities, even if it’s a book club that only meets once a month. Why do you do these things? (And the answer should NOT be “to get into college”!)

  • Tie the info you give to why you’d be a good fit at THIS particular school!

• And here is what you SHOULDN’T do. DON’T:

  • Say that the school is not your first choice or is your safety school. (Or you may not even get into your safety school!)

  • Mention hobbies that have nothing to do with academics or skills, e.g. binging on Netflix or sunbathing at the beach. (You CAN mention something like surfing, though, if you can tie it back to something like how surfing taught you punctuality and how to get up early, ride some waves  and be ready in time for school.)

Are you ready to see yourself as a student in college?

All of that should help you to prepare for, practice for, and eventually ace that college interview! Interviewing isn’t easy – but it’s something that everyone does. Many schools require interviews of every applicant, and in most schools where it’s “optional,” most interviewers themselves probably went through the process. Remember that, years ago, your interviewer was likely in your shoes.

Even if your school does make the interview “optional,” you should – in most cases – still elect to have one. The interview is a huge part in building up the “soft” side of your college application – where you’re not just a mess of numbers on the admissions team’s mind, but a real human being. Having a good college interview will make you stand out. 

So sign up for an interview, start researching the schools you’ve applied to, and trust that, whatever the interviews throw your way, you’re going to ace them!