Five tips for rocking your college interview

Admissions interview policies vary from one college to the next. Some colleges “recommend” interviews, others require them, others don’t offer them. Some interviews are evaluative, taking place on-campus with admissions officers – while others are informative, off-campus interviews with alumni of the university.

Be sure to check with each college to learn its interview requirements. If you’ll be interviewing, here are five tips for rocking your college interview.

• Know the university. It sounds obvious, but make sure that you research the school for which you’re going to interview. Your interviewer will want to know that you’re familiar with the school and that being accepted matters. If you don’t do your homework, it might raise questions about how interested you are in attending.
• Anticipate the types of questions you will be asked. While questions will vary based on the type of interview you’re having, you can still predict certain questions. For example: Why are you interested in our school? Which majors appeal to you? What are your interests outside of academics?
• Make a list of questions to ask the interviewer. A college interview shouldn’t be an interrogation. It should be a conversation. Make sure that you come prepared with questions to pose to the interviewer. And these shouldn’t be questions that you can easily find an answer to on the college’s website.
• Conduct a mock interview. Practice answering questions and speaking about yourself, your interests and your accomplishments. Ask a parent, a friend or a sibling to play the interviewer’s part and help you out. This will give you practice at reciting answers in a more realistic, conversational setting.
• Relax. Don’t stress about answering questions word for word, you’ll sound stilted and unnatural. Forget that the person across the table may be evaluating you and just have a regular conversation. Don’t try to be someone that you’re not. Be authentic, be yourself and you’ll be just fine.