Anonymous
06/01/2014 21:46
Subject: Help with college interviews
Anonymous wrote:Anyone going into an interview thinking "their future is on the line" and dependent upon presenting themselves as something other than what comes naturally is sure as heck going to be nervous. If they succeed in pulling it off, they might also succeed in finding a poor fit.
NP here. Look, the interview component of the application is completely different from fooling a college into thinking you're a good fit. The college has tons of other info to decide whether you're a good fit--your transcript, your ECs, and your teacher recs. The interview is about practicing skills like talking to adults and feeling comfortable in a situation where strangers are evaluating you. Also, these are skills that will serve you well for the rest of your life.
Signed, someone who basically told the Harvard interviewer that I was a loser, and is amazed they even bothered to waitlist me
Anonymous
06/01/2014 11:08
Subject: Help with college interviews
Anyone going into an interview thinking "their future is on the line" and dependent upon presenting themselves as something other than what comes naturally is sure as heck going to be nervous. If they succeed in pulling it off, they might also succeed in finding a poor fit.
Anonymous
06/01/2014 10:56
Subject: Re:Help with college interviews
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Why would you try to prep a child to pretend he/she is something he/she is not? Finding the right college is all about finding the right fit. If your little cupcake can't look someone in the eye by 12th grade they aren't going to thrive in a school full of extroverts. You can't coach them through 4+ years of college.
So you've never prepped for an important interview? I consider learning to prep for interviews an important life skill. (Also, the only colleges that only accept extroverts are clown colleges.)
+1. Of course, you prep for it like any important interview.
To be honest, I've never paid to have someone prepare me for an interview. The best advice for anyone looking for a good fit is "be yourself." If you pretend to be someone or something you are not, the lie will catch up to you.
Good for you. Not all 17 year olds have that level of confidence or know how to showcase themselves. Doing a little practice can't hurt. My DCs both turned out to be great at college interviews despite very different personality types but not all kids are comfortable when their future is on the line. I flubbed my interview to my first choice college way back when because I was so nervous.
Anonymous
06/01/2014 10:48
Subject: Re:Help with college interviews
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Why would you try to prep a child to pretend he/she is something he/she is not? Finding the right college is all about finding the right fit. If your little cupcake can't look someone in the eye by 12th grade they aren't going to thrive in a school full of extroverts. You can't coach them through 4+ years of college.
So you've never prepped for an important interview? I consider learning to prep for interviews an important life skill. (Also, the only colleges that only accept extroverts are clown colleges.)
+1. Of course, you prep for it like any important interview.
To be honest, I've never paid to have someone prepare me for an interview. The best advice for anyone looking for a good fit is "be yourself." If you pretend to be someone or something you are not, the lie will catch up to you.
Anonymous
06/01/2014 10:17
Subject: Re:Help with college interviews
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Why would you try to prep a child to pretend he/she is something he/she is not? Finding the right college is all about finding the right fit. If your little cupcake can't look someone in the eye by 12th grade they aren't going to thrive in a school full of extroverts. You can't coach them through 4+ years of college.
So you've never prepped for an important interview? I consider learning to prep for interviews an important life skill. (Also, the only colleges that only accept extroverts are clown colleges.)
+1. Of course, you prep for it like any important interview.
+2. These are teachable interview skills that everybody needs to know. Nobody is talking about micro-managing four years of college classes.
(or is it ?)
Anonymous
06/01/2014 10:08
Subject: Re:Help with college interviews
Anonymous wrote:
Why would you try to prep a child to pretend he/she is something he/she is not? Finding the right college is all about finding the right fit. If your little cupcake can't look someone in the eye by 12th grade they aren't going to thrive in a school full of extroverts. You can't coach them through 4+ years of college.
So you've never prepped for an important interview? I consider learning to prep for interviews an important life skill. (Also, the only colleges that only accept extroverts are clown colleges.)
+1. Of course, you prep for it like any important interview.
Anonymous
06/01/2014 08:59
Subject: Help with college interviews
Anonymous wrote:Why would you try to prep a child to pretend he/she is something he/she is not? Finding the right college is all about finding the right fit. If your little cupcake can't look someone in the eye by 12th grade they aren't going to thrive in a school full of extroverts. You can't coach them through 4+ years of college.
So you've never prepped for an important interview? I consider learning to prep for interviews an important life skill. (Also, the only colleges that only accept extroverts are clown colleges.)
Anonymous
06/01/2014 08:41
Subject: Help with college interviews
OP,
First, does he participate in class? Is he shy in social settings that do not have a purpose. Because college interviews are focused and have a purpose, so maybe his shyness won't be a factor.
I'd call Prep Matters. We did test prep at several places, and they are in my mind tops.
Tell him to prep on his own. He can write or talk out answers with himself or with you.
Google for sites like this for practice questions:
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/theartofgettingaccepted/tp/college-interview-questions.htm
The interviews do not seem as grueling as job interviews. (They almost felt like a sniff test!) I like the idea of doing interviews at a few safety schools for practice.
First, does he participate in class? Is he shy in social settings that do not have a purpose. Because college interviews are focused and have a purpose, so maybe his shyness won't be a factor.
I'd call Prep Matters. We did test prep at several places, and they are in my mind tops.
Tell him to prep on his own. He can write or talk out answers with himself or with you.
Google for sites like this for practice questions:
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/theartofgettingaccepted/tp/college-interview-questions.htm
The interviews do not seem as grueling as job interviews. (They almost felt like a sniff test!) I like the idea of doing interviews at a few safety schools for practice.
Anonymous
06/01/2014 07:31
Subject: Help with college interviews
Why would you try to prep a child to pretend he/she is something he/she is not? Finding the right college is all about finding the right fit. If your little cupcake can't look someone in the eye by 12th grade they aren't going to thrive in a school full of extroverts. You can't coach them through 4+ years of college.
Anonymous
05/31/2014 11:16
Subject: Help with college interviews
The biggest factor is making sure he is comfortable conversing with adults. I agree with PPs advice of asking friends who are interviewers to do a practice run. I'm an interviewer, and the two things that get to me most is not being able to talk at all, or never veering off the prepared script. (There are definitely kids who are too rehearsed and coached).
While there are no right answers, do have something to say when the interviewer asks "why this school?" And have something less anodyne than "I value a liberal education and X school is one of the best".
While there are no right answers, do have something to say when the interviewer asks "why this school?" And have something less anodyne than "I value a liberal education and X school is one of the best".
Anonymous
05/31/2014 10:45
Subject: Help with college interviews
Anonymous wrote:Looked at their website and didn't see anything related to learning how to interview. No need for test prep here, student is done with testing with very high scores.
We're looking for something that would help with practicing the interview situation so that the student knows what to expect so as to be comfortable and calm in the actual interviews.
Is there anyplace out there that does something like this?
They do this as part of college counseling. It's individual, not a class. Classes don't work for interview prep -you need one on one help.
One option is to do some early interviews at schools he's less interested in as practice. My DCs both did that. It was pretty low stress. And they got accepted at those schools.
Anonymous
05/31/2014 08:39
Subject: Re:Help with college interviews
I would just ask around among your friends and co-workers and find out if anyone is an alumni interviewer. If so ask if he/she would do a mock interview-it really doesn't need to be someone from the schools in which he is interested. Any adult should be able to work on the basics of interviewing-handshakes, smile, acting confident and interested. Also just practice answering the questions
-Why this school particularly interesting to him?
-What makes him an interesting candidate?
-What are his questions for the interviewer? (for me, interviewing the interviewer is a big sign of maturity)
-Why this school particularly interesting to him?
-What makes him an interesting candidate?
-What are his questions for the interviewer? (for me, interviewing the interviewer is a big sign of maturity)
Anonymous
05/31/2014 08:26
Subject: Help with college interviews
Looked at their website and didn't see anything related to learning how to interview. No need for test prep here, student is done with testing with very high scores.
We're looking for something that would help with practicing the interview situation so that the student knows what to expect so as to be comfortable and calm in the actual interviews.
Is there anyplace out there that does something like this?
We're looking for something that would help with practicing the interview situation so that the student knows what to expect so as to be comfortable and calm in the actual interviews.
Is there anyplace out there that does something like this?
Anonymous
05/30/2014 17:09
Subject: Re:Help with college interviews
Try Prep Matters.
Anonymous
05/30/2014 17:05
Subject: Help with college interviews
Does anyone know of a class or workshop that would help my high schooler get ready for college interviews? He is interested in a few schools where interviewing is necessary, but is a bit shy, so I thought there might be someone out there that could help him get more comfortable with the process.
Thanks!
Thanks!