HOW TO ROCK YOUR COLLEGE INTERVIEW 5 Essential Tips You Need to Know
FIVE TIPS TO ROCK YOUR COLLEGE INTERVIEW At Wheaton College a face-to-face interview can be an important step in the application process. It not only reveals to our staff some of the qualities that would make you a great student, but also how you would fit into Wheaton. The interview can be a great way to learn more about our school, and in turn, let us know more about you. It tells us you are really interested and in turn helps us advocate for you when making admission decisions. The following pages outline five tips on how to be at your best and make the most of your college interviews. 2
1. Be Yourself In interview situations, it can be hard to remember to be yourself. You naturally want to impress the recruiter with your credentials, but don t forget that they want to know about you, not some version of you that you re conveying to impress them. Sticking to your own unique passions, personality, and talents, instead of listing ones that you think they will like, will help in making yourself be authentic and stand out. It is important to approach the interview as a professional: poised, confident, and thoughtful. However, don t let this take away from letting your own personality come through in your answers. 2. Practice, Practice, Practice Not the best interviewee? Practicing with family and friends can help. Have them ask you some of the most commonly asked interview questions according to College Board and try to think through how you will answer. After your interview, ask them how they think you did and any areas on which you can improve. Simulating the interview environment as much as possible beforehand can help with nerves going into the interview and can aid in developing an idea of how you will answer each question. 3
3. Prepare Questions to Ask The recruiter will most likely ask at the end of the interview, Do you have any questions? This is your time to not only get any lingering questions answered, but also an opportunity to show the recruiter more of yourself. While it may not make or break the interview, asking thoughtful questions is one way to set yourself apart from other applicants and show the interviewer that you have prepared ahead of time. The type of questions you ask also reveals to the recruiter what is important to you. For instance, asking questions about the opportunities for spiritual engagement on campus can signal to him or her that you care about your faith, or asking questions about a component of one of their academic programs signals that you are interested in challenging yourself academically, etc. Write down two to three questions that you have thought through ahead of time (and of course, any questions that come up during the interview) to ask the recruiter at the end. Asking good questions is a great way to help make a lasting impression on the recruiter. 4
4. Research the School Arguably one of the keys to a great interview is to do research on the school beforehand. Try to go past rankings and statistics listed on the website and research academic programs, campus life, or clubs that interest you. This knowledge will not only bolster your answers to interview questions (such as, Why are you interested in our college? ), but it will also help you discover if Wheaton College is a good fit for you. 5. Send a Thank You Note One final way to solidify your impression on the interviewer is to personally write your interviewer a thank you note and mail it or email it to him or her. Thank this individual for his or her time, include any fun or interesting things you talked about, and conclude by saying that you look forward to continued correspondence with him or her. (View more writing tips from Forbes here). According to a survey by job-matching service TheLadders.com, 75% of interviewers say receiving a thank you note impacts their decision-making process. While this is important for a job interview, writing a thank you note for a college interview is a way to set yourself apart from other applicants. Approach a college interview just as you would a job interview, and you will hopefully see positive results. 5
Final Advice With these tips in mind, you are off to a great start in preparing for your interview. Just remember, both you and the recruiter are looking for virtually the same thing you are looking for a school that s the right fit for you, and they are looking for students who are a right fit for the school. If you approach the interview as more of a matchmaking process, bringing your qualities, experience, and passions to the table, and desiring to truly see if the school will be what you are looking for, both sides will benefit from the interview. Do you still have some unanswered questions? Are you interested in learning more about the admissions process? Reach out to an admissions counselor today. CONNECT WITH AN ADMISSIONS COUNSELOR 6