College Admissions Interviews (The Basics)

You decided to apply to a handful of top-ranked institutions. In addition to the standard test scores, grades and recommendations, they want you to write a couple of essays. Fine--you've written essays for class before, so although a pain, that's not a huge deal.

But now you're being offered the "opportunity" to interview. Whaa?

A little background....

Schools vary in their use of admissions interviews, and what they even mean by "admissions interview." Some schools offer on-campus interviews with their admissions staff. Others don't offer on-campus interviews, but offer interviews through their alumni network with local graduates. Others differ by school within the university. At least one offers online interviews, via webcam. (None--as far as I know--interview on Second Life yet although that might just be a matter of time.) Confused yet?

The focus of this site is going to be the most common interview, the local alumni interview, but much of the advice will carry over to the other formats (although "make sure to wear shoes" might be less valuable in the online interviews...) If you're fortunate enough to be able to schedule an interview with an admissions staffer on campus--go for it. But for the vast majority of applicants, you'll be meeting with a local alumni.

What's an alumni interview?

Easy--it's a meeting, often 30 minutes to an hour, with a local alumni volunteer in your area. It's often conducted at a local coffee shop or some other public area, although some alumni interview at their office. The person you'll be meeting with can be anything from a recent graduate to someone who's been out of school for 30 years. Typically, an interviewer will get assigned 3-5 candidates from their area each year, which they'll contact, schedule a meeting with, interview and then review for the school.

An important thing to note: no matter how "optional" an interview is, it's not optional. You should never pass up an opportunity to expand on a school's understanding of you as a person--and that includes being interviewed.

Why do schools do it?

There's at least two reasons--and only one involves you.

First, schools really do conduct interviews to deepen their understanding of you as an applicant. Consider that many schools review tens of thousands of applicants each year--eventually, all those GPAs, class ranks and SAT scores look the same. The interview is a way to find out more about you as a person--how do you conduct yourself in person? Can you carry on an intelligent conversation? Will you represent the school well if you're admitted?

From Martha Allman, director of admissions at Wake Forest (which just started doing interviews):

"We found that the interviews truly helped us differentiate among applicants," she said. "We began to wonder how we chose a class without interviews." (full statement here)

The alumni interviewers--particularly those who perform multiple interviews over multiple years--also serve as a good barometer for the school. Unlike your teachers, who may only see one applicant to a given school every few years (or less), your alumni interviewer can compare you to multiple students across multiple years and give a better objective (albeit limited) perspective on you as an applicant.

(The other reason many schools use alumni interviews? Money. Alumni donate, and active alumni donate more. Moblize thousands of interviewers and you've engaged thousands of alumni, some of whom may look more favorably on donating to their alma mater when their class fundraising letter rolls in.)

More on the interview process, behind-the-scenes info--as well as tips and tricks to maximize your chances of impressing your interviewer--later ---CJ