College Interviews: Questions & Answers

In the fall of 1988, as I was heading out my parents’ front door, en route to my interview for Harvard University, my dad (who hadn’t gone to college and had recently retired from the New York City Police Department) yelled to me: “Nik, remember to sell yourself.”  (As a college counselor, I might phrase it, “Highlight your strengths,” but Dad was, essentially, on to something.)

Dressed in an unusually preppy matching skirt and blouse, I discussed with the alumnus my love of foreign languages and desire to work in the international arena after graduating.  I brought my portfolio of paintings and drawings and spoke to the interviewer about how my passion for art led me to take the Long Island Railroad by myself on weekends to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the MOMA, the Guggenheim, or the Whitney.

Though I’m not sure if what I did constituted “selling,” I did get in.  And I think my interview – and Dad’s advice – certainly helped me to get accepted to Harvard a month later.

Most aspects of the college application process have overgone seismic shifts since I applied to college in the late 1980s.  I applied to just three schools; today’s high school seniors typically apply to double, triple, or quadruple that amount.  I used a typewriter and ivory corrector fluid to complete my application forms and had no idea what a college counselor was.  My Gen Z college counseling students apply with the click of a mouse.

The interview, however, is perhaps one of the few admissions rites of passage that have changed little since I applied to college.  So, my experience – and my Dad’s advice – are illustrative and relevant even for the twenty-first-century college applicant, who still needs to be able to discuss past passions and future goals with specificity.  Moreover, they need to reveal their deep knowledge of the school they’re interviewing for and be able to articulate how it jibes with those passions and will help them achieve their goals.

Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates, via Wikimedia Commons

Know Thyself – and Be Able to Communicate Who “Thy” IS

You can’t “sell yourself” if you don’t know yourself.  What do you love?  What makes you tick?  Be able to explain your interests both inside and outside the classroom.  Don’t forget to provide concrete examples that paint a picture of your passions in your interviewer’s mind.  There’s a big difference between saying, for example, “I love working with kids,” and recounting how the lonely nine-year-old who you befriended while working as a counselor last summer gave you his macaroni sculpture on the last day of camp.  (This advice, by the way, works equally well for the college essay.  “Show, don’t tell,” wasn’t just your English teacher being annoying!)

Formulate Goals and Relate Them to the School

Then, show that you’ve done your homework on the school.  Rather than asking if there’s an education major, point out how that camp counselor experience inspired you to try to do undergraduate research with Professor Sanchez at the university’s Center for Research on Childhood Mental Health.  Ask your interviewer whether she had any undergraduate research experience and what she went on to do with it.

As a college counselor, I often hear students saying they’re nervous that they aren’t sure of what they want to major in.  Don’t worry if you wind up not being an education major once you’re enrolled.  I wound up changing my own concentration at Harvard to Fine Arts.  There’s no “major police” who’s going to haul you to jail if you change your mind.  But being able to articulate what you’re thinking about your future now and knowing how the school you’re interviewing for fits into those plans conveys that you’re serious about both your future and the school’s role in it.

Image by Christina @wocintechchat via Unsplash

Get Personal (Within Reason)

“A good interview is… a conversation.  Let [it] flow back and forth,” recommends Evergreen State College’s Chief Enrollment Officer Eric Pedersen.  To ensure there’s a good give-and-take with your interviewer, prepare some questions for him or her.  But your questions should not be factual in nature: if you can easily find the answer to your question on the school’s website, the interviewer will wonder if you spent enough time researching the school before applying.  (As a college essay coach, I’m often shocked at how little time students spend digging into the websites of somewhere they’ll spend four years and for which they’ll spend hundreds of thousands of dollars!)

Instead, especially if you’re applying to a school that enlists alumni to conduct interviews for it, consider asking your interviewer about his or her experience as an undergraduate student and, perhaps, a recent grad.  “What are your favorite memories during your time as a student?” or “What advice would you have for me as I start my first year / upon graduating from the school?” demonstrate your interest in an “undercover” side to the college not easily discoverable on a website.

Buckets versus Lists

There are, of course, myriad lists of potential interview questions online.  Any list, though, can never be exhaustive.  Murphy’s Law dictates that if you prepare for every single question you can find online, you’ll get asked questions by your actual interviewer that don’t appear on that list.

Instead, focus on filling the three buckets I’ve outlined above – past passions, future goals (and how that school will help you achieve them), and your own questions for the interviewer – with captivating anecdotes from your own life and your deep research, and I bet you’ll knock that interview out of the park!

Got any comments or suggestions for college applicants interviewing this winter?  Drop them below!

About the Author

Dominique Padurano, M.S., Ed., Ph.D. – aka “Dr. P.” – loves helping students of all ages fulfill their academic and personal goals.  President and Founder of Crimson Coaching, Dr. P. herself personally tutors students in History, English, Spanish, French, Math, and study, time management, and organizational skills; prepares them for tests like the SAT and ACT; and coaches them through the college application process.  Essays that students have written under Dr. P.’s guidance have earned them admission to Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and other top universities, as well as scholarships totaling more than $2 million.  Also an adjunct professor of U.S. history at the City University of New York and a published author, Dr. P.’s currently writing a memoir of her time as an undergraduate at Harvard.  Read more about Dr. P.’s work at www.crimsoncoaching.com and on Google, straight from the hearts and minds of Crimson Coaching’s parents and students.