College Interview

nguyenquynhmy

Nguyễn Quỳnh My
(nguyenquynhmy)

Thành viên danh dự
Hello,

As college interviews are growing more and more important in the admissions process, I want to share with you my experience being interviewed by several colleges (whether with an admissions officer or an alum). I hope others, who have undergone this interview process, will post theirs, so that the next student generation can envision what and how a college interview is.

Speaking from my own experience, college interviews nowadays are quite informal. I don't think there is a clear delineation between the speaker and the listerner. Interviewees are welcome to pose any questions they may have. Alumni interviews are conducted more frequently now, especially by big universities, like Harvard, or even liberal arts colleges (Middlebury...) I myself prefer alumni interviews for its extremely informal style; and in sooth, I can learn much more about a college from an alum's perspective. Traditional interviews (by which I mean interviews conducted by an admissions officer) are less informal. More questions are asked than answered. However, I myself believe these traditional ones somehow have more weight than the alumni ones (just my personal point of view). Some institutions also have interviews conducted by a senior (which is like an alumi interview) but these often take place in the admissions office (Wesleyan...). Whichever type of interview you may have to confront with, you will be asked some FAQ (frequently asked questions).
Now, before I submit the next post, I sincerely call for those who have undergone this process. Post your experience and the questions you have encountered.
 
Chỉnh sửa lần cuối:
Hoi ko ai tra loi a ? [-( Thoi de em bat dau phat vay :)

Interview em mac formal nhat, noi chuyen formal nhat: Smith college (hehe, chac la vi lan dau tien)... ko biet chi Nguyet Anh than iu co phai phong van o Smith ko nhi?

Interview 3 nguoi :D (hehe, dung hon la warm talk) : Conncoll (chi Ly di cung tan phet nha'), Williams (o snack bar, hehe :">, vua an vua noi chuyen -- o*, ma nguoi an ko phai la em, chi Linh nhay ;))

Interview lau nhat: Middlebury o Emma Willard House (? - viet dung chua ha anh Duc?) : 1tieng 45 phu't.

Interview ma em hoi nhieu hon duoc hoi: Wesleyan uni. (voi mot anh senior, hehe... O admissions nha chi Tu Chi co mot anh senior truc dien thoai hoi bi duoc, cha hieu sao hom em den ko duoc interview voi anh ay ma lai anh khac co chan ko co chu :()

Tam thoi the da, co gi hay hay moi nguoi post len cai cho vui nhi :)
 
Phỏng vấn của Nhung với bác Harvard alumnus cũng khá lâu - khoảng 1h30/2h gì đó. Nói chung, đó ko hẳn là một cuộc phỏng vấn có một bên đặt câu hỏi, một bên trả lời mà giống một conversation hơn: ko chỉ hỏi - trả lời mà có cả kể lể, thảo luận, trò chuyện,..

Có hai câu hỏi làm Nhung khá lúng túng:
*Do you have any questions about Harvard? - Nhung chuẩn bị những câu hỏi từ trước rồi, nhưng chúng đều đã được trả lời trong khi nói chuyện T_T
*What do you think of Vietnam's present political situation? - Một câu hỏi rất chung chung, khó có thể có một câu trả lời ngắn gọn mà smart :)) nhưng lại mở ra cuộc thảo luận khá thú vị về đầu tư, luật pháp, người Việt Nam,.. :p

Túm lại:
*be yourself
*smile a LOT
*ko có những câu trả lời đúng/sai; chỉ có những câu trả lời lắp bắp hoặc tự tin, vu vơ hoặc có chính kiến ^_^

Good luck!
 
Cam on Nhung da post kinh nghiem interview.
Where are all the Wesleyan candidates? I've heard Old Freeman is a professional interviewer (quote Mit-xo-to Thang)?

Interview nhieu nhat: Harvard College (2 lan, mot lan voi bac alum '85 tai truong My, mot lan voi admission officer tai Harvard). My cung duoc hoi cau thu 1 gionh Nhung (truong nao cung hoi nhu the hay sao ay nhay [-(), cha nho minh hoi gi nua, luc day hoi het roi, ngoi nhin ba'c ay mot luc roi hoi ve chuyen profs co approachable thoi bac ay ko? Va ki niem memorable nhat cua bac ay la gie? :D

Ba'c cung hoi ve Vietnam, nhung ko phai la present situation ma la Vietnam War (Bac ay la history major, hic :()

Noi chung la cung vui, minh cung ko co cam giac la chi bi hoi va tra loi. Phong van voi alum noi chung rat thoai mai. Trong 3 cai Nhung noi cai thu 2 ko lam duoc, hic...
 
Phong van Midd lau nhat, nhung cung noi nhieu chuyen nhat. My phong van voi Barbara Marlow, la ba admissions hoi truoc da den Ams. Noi tu chuyen ceramics den Vietnam War (lai VN War). Hic, lan nao cung bi hoi ve transition from a Vietnamese highschool to an American boarding school.

An tuong nhat co le la chuyen ke ve cai loi in tren brochure cua Middlebury nam nay: a liberal arts education: a balance of body, mind, and soul.

Hic, cung bi hoi vi sao lai My lai dinh major in economics nua. Luc day co ve chac chan lam, bay gio chac sap chuyen sang major khac roi.

Nghe noi hoi xua anh Toan beo bi anh nao o Bowdoin phong van, hoi luon mot cau ti'nh van toc' qua bo'ng ban hay cai gi tuong tu ay nhay.
 
Hoi mot chut,

Neu muon phong van, co can thiet phai den tan truong de phong van, hay o dau cung co the tim mot alumni/us de phong van duoc? Có yêu cầu (qualification) gì trước khi phỏng vấn không, hay ai cũng có thể được phỏng vấn?
Nên phong van vao thoi gian nào?

Cám ơn ơn...
 
To thich phong van tai truong hon, vi di tham quan xong phong van rat co loi. Neu co an tuong tot voi truong do' thi thong thuong noi se de hon la chua biet no ntn.
Ngoai ra, neu phong van tai truong, thong thuong duoc phong van voi nhung nguoi phu trach ve mang hoc sinh quoc te, cung co the la nguoi se doc application cua minh, nen du interview co the ko required, nhung se tot hon cho qua trinh tuyen sinh.

Neu ko den duoc truong phong van, nen lien he voi admissions office truoc mua tuyen sinh khoang 3 tuan, hoi xem truong co alumni ko (thong thuong doi voi nhung truong nhu Bates chang han, phong van ko yeu cau, tham chi ko co he thong phong van alumni, nhung neu co duoc, thi alumni viet cai reference cho cung rat tot).

Nen phong van ngay truoc hoac sau khi gui application.

G'luck
 
Ơ... nếu mình đang bận học (tháng 8-12) làm sao đi thăm các trường đuợc?
Chắc phỏng vấn vào dịp Giáng Sinh hay Newyear được chứ, hay mấy vị interviewee cũng phải đi nghỉ mát? Nếu thế thì đúng là chịu, không thăm trường được rùi.
 
Vao tham dau thang 1 cung duoc... Neu transfer spring term chac van con nhieu thoi gian. Interviewers thong thuong nghi qua giang sinh, den dau thang 1 la admissions mo cua lai roi.
 
Co may cai to hay bi hoi:

1. Transition to a US. boarding school?
2. Three words that your best friend would describe you?
3. What is one thing that you'd like to change about yourself?
4. TO make .....(name of college) better, what is one thing you would do?
5.What do you think about American people?
 
bảo là Bates không cần phỏng vấn thì là không phải rồi. Bates coi trọng phỏng vấn lắm (highly recommended, applicant may be put in an disadvantageous position without an interview...) cái này có nói rõ trên site của nó mà. hình như cái alumni network của chúng nó cũng khá lớn và nó có người đại diện phụ trách từng vùng tại Mỹ, ở nước ngoài thì không biết.
Amherst không có phỏng vấn cho transfer. Cornell có nhưng không required, brown cũng thế, midd cũng thế luôn.
Có lẽ interview quan trọng đối với 1st-years hơn là transfers, cũng giống như SAT và high school transcript ý. Nói thế để các đc định transfer cùng tham khảo.
 
Anh a, Bates noi the thoi, goi dien den no bao la ko to chuc phong van phong viec gi sat, co alumni san thi alumni bao phai hen voi Bates, Bates bao phai hen voi alumni, va tom lai la cac bac admissions ban qua, noi toet ra luon la ko required gi sat, ko phai lo. Midd thi neu co alumni la to chuc ngay, Dartmouth thi khuyen khich, Brown&Cornell em ko biet. Nghe dau bac nao dam dau vao Cornell ma apply finaid thi loai ngay tu dau, giong het bon Upenn.

Transfer co phai thi lai SAT ko nhay?
 
Chi Nhung voi chi My oi, cho em hoi cai,
scholarship interview thi no khac admission inter nhu cua cac chi the nao, thu 3 tuan sau em phong van ma bay gio mu tit.
Nguoi ta se hoi kieu cau nhu the nao ah?
neu hoi Why do u wanna study in the states thi tra loi the nao la hay nhat? kho qua, cuu voi
 
Hehe tiện thể ai muốn xin Lafayette năm nay mà đang ở US thì highly recommend la interview nhé. Tối nay có cái buổi họp gì đấy ở admissions office cho bọn hs quốc tế, chúng nó sẽ thông báo tình hình diễn biến mục tiêu cụ thể năm nay và hỏi ý kiến bọn này :D Chúng nó gửi cái email có cái subj cực kì gợi ý "do you wish you were not the only representatives of ur country" làm cho mình hừng hực khí thế kiên quyết fai có đứa nào được nhận vào trường, nhìn bon Bul đông nhung nhúc mà........:((
 
1, What 's your most difficulty in your transition to the US?

2. What would your best friend describe you in three words? Compare American friends with your friends at home?

3. If you had a chance to go to a country rather than the US, where would u go, and why?

4. What strikes you the most about our college?
5. What's your intended major in college (if you have any) and explain your choice?

6. Compare the education you had at home with the education you have been received in the US.

7. Out of class, what have you been doing for fun? (Extracurricular activities?)

8. What has been the most meaningful extracurricular activity for you?

9. What is your best subject in high school? Do you want to pursue this subject in college?

10. What's your favourite poet/writer? (if you include English in Q9)

11. What would you benefit from the college and what would the college benefit from you if you're admitted?

12. Do you have any other questions :))
 
There's no clear distinction between scholarship and non-scholarship interviews, unless the school has this clear in mind and that it's the main purpose of its admissions.

For the most part, you are the one that leads the discussion, I personally think. Forgot one more question... " What's your future plan after graduating from college?" is one of the most popular questions I received last year.

Be honest, otherwise, under pressure, you will contradict yourself. I always went against the advice to only say what is related to the questions, because I felt like my deviation would lead the interview to the direction I wanted.

In general, ask a lot of questions. I still remember the Harvard alum was kind of stumped when I asked if Harvard profs were approachable out of class. In addition, I dont think only serious questions would count. Casual/informal questions would work too. As for alumni, I always asked about their most memorable experiences at their colleges. For admissions officers, sometimes, such questions like, "how long have you been working for X-college as an admissions officer, and how did you make such a decision," may informalize/casualize the interview a bit. I feel it's a better way to approach, as you and your interviewer will know each other more personally.

Best of luck with your admissions process,

- My
 
To sis My:Thank you indeed for ur advice. But my interview this time is highschool scholarship interview ( not college and it’s a full scholarship)( I am sorry I didn’t make it clear) .
Mr director will go to Vn the day b4 the interview and app form will be sent to him in abt 3 months. So this interview is everything. I am sure that it’s absolutely different from admission interv but I don’t know what the difference is.
There are 6 candidates and we need to compete. ( actually there were just 5 selected by Mr Khoi in Ams but I sent email directly to Mr admission director and I was accepted so I am the 6th. The thing I have is that email)
Usually, in interview, students tend to demonstrate and support what they say in their app forms or essays but we have nothing like that at all.
My teacher said the interview wont last more than 20 mins. Do u think it’s too short?
Asking questions, surely I will but is it fine if I ask him any informal questions? I read in Kaplan book and they say interview like this is much more formal than others. But it would be terrible if it goes like “he asks and I answers”.
Sis Nhung said answers should be short and smart but I think it’s in case we hand app form already and interviewer knows at least something abt us. Should I speak as much as possible ( to show my knowledge of us culture or things similar?) or just go straight to the point quickly and everything’s consise?
There’s a certain question : Why do u wanna study in the States? ( I should talk only a little bit about its edu sys and emphasise on my potential contribution to that school, my plans, my vision, my attitudes, my love for its culture and life, right? But I don’t know the way to explain those. Or anything else? )
And can u plz tell me the appropriate language and manner I should have? ( should speak clearly to make no confuse and keep self cal m? or fluently and naturally? What abt use some special terms like "us is a no-status society..")
This time most of the students ( 5 out of 6)are natural science students, is there any point with that?
 
Sis My, sis Nhung and others, Why do u wanna study in no country esle but the States?
 
And i just have nothing clear in mind about their expectation from a highschool student. Is it the same as college student? ( my fd who took the same interview last year said good English cant make sure of victory.)
Even Mr Khoi, he doesnt know anything abt this.

1. What would you benefit from the school and what would the school benefit from you if you're admitted?
How can i apply " show not tell "technique to my answer? when should i go for details and when not?
If i say : with my potential, my leadership, my proactiveness,.... i am sure i can make ur community better or i will contribute to get the school higher ranking number, does it sound too cliche and crazy? (i know it's kinda tell not show, but what can i show? my attitude?)
According to ur experience, how specific is specific i should go?
 
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