Tips on College Interviews

We’d like to offer you some tips on college interviews. After all, if you applied Early Decision or Early Action to a university, there’s a good chance you’ve heard or will hear from an alum of the school to which you applied. That alum is likely calling you to schedule your college interview. Are college interviews the most important factor in the highly selective college admissions process? No — absolutely not. But every factor matters and a great interview or a terrible interview can indeed make the difference in your candidacy to the college of your dreams.

Be polite on the phone with your college interviewer. Be flexible with your availability. Be on time for your interview. And always dress appropriately!

So let’s start off when you first get that phone call from the alum. First, if you happened to give the college to which you applied your home phone number, let anyone who might be answering the phone at any point during the day know to expect it. If you don’t, the message may never be relayed, or someone may think it’s even a prank. That would not be good! If you happen to answer the phone, be very polite (duh!). If the interviewer suggests meeting for the interview on either Saturday afternoon or Wednesday evening, that doesn’t mean you have the option of doing it whenever it’s most convenient for you. If you have soccer practice, miss it. It’ll be alright. If you have a date with your girlfriend, miss that too. Oy vey. Priorities people!

Our next tip (we’ll be offering many in the coming days) is to dress appropriate. Dressing appropriately does not mean wearing sandals. It does not mean wearing shorts. It means dressing up. Do guys have to wear a suit? No. But they should be wearing khakis and a buttoned down or something along these lines. They should not be wearing sneakers. And applicants should not be arriving late to their interviews. They shouldn’t even be arriving right on time! Arrive early. Scout out the location beforehand. What if it’s at a Starbucks and you chose the wrong Starbucks? Wouldn’t it be bad to figure that out right as your interview is supposed to start? Yes it would!

We’ll have more tips for you on your college interviews in the coming days!