Most of the college interview questions are designed to help you and the interviewer to find out if a school is a good match for you. You rarely get a question that takes you on the spot or try to make you feel stupid. Remember, the college tries to make a good impression, too. Use the interview to show your personality in ways that are not possible in the application.
Here are some top 5 questions and answers:-
Q-1) Tell us about yourself.
Ans) This might seem a very easy question but it is not as easy as you think.you might say the moment you hear the question that-I AM HARDWORKING,INTELLIGENT,FRIENDLY etc.But this might make the interviewer think you as a clone of many other students who give the interview.
So, when asked to describe yourself, do not spend too much time in a predictable response. Show the interviewer who you are. What are your passions? What are your quirks? Why do your friends you really like? What makes you laugh? What makes you angry?Do you teach your dog to play the piano? Want to make a killer wild strawberry tart? Get your best ideas when you're on a 100-mile bike? You want to read books late into the night with a flashlight? If you have unusual thirst for oysters? Have you ever successfully started a fire with sticks and a shoelace? Were you ever a skunk sprayed with compost out in the evening?.
Q-2) Why Are You Interested In College?
Ans) Do not say:-
"Your university is prestigious."
"I will make money with your college degree."
"All my friends are going to college."
"The Board is comfortable and close to home."
"My advisor told me to apply."
"You are my safetly to school."
The interviewer is hoping that you are interested in college for reasons other than peer pressure or convenience. Similarly, if you say that you have fully implemented because of a parent or a recommendation by the consultant, we suggest that you lack initiative and have some ideas on their own.
When it comes to prestige and income potential, the question is a little confusing. After all, name recognition and your future salary is important. The interviewer is more likely to hope that is the prestigious university. That said, I do not look like someone who cares more for material gain and prestige that the pursuit of their passions and get a quality education.
What else is there to do when the answer to this question is to show the interviewer that you know the distinctive characteristics of the university as well. Do not just say you want to go to college to get a good education. Be specific. Let the interviewer who were attracted by the innovative program first-year college, emphasis on experiential learning, the honors program or its international orientation. We must also mention the walking trails of the great school, strange traditions, or his incredible lilac.
What do you think is special. Before stepping into an interview room, make sure you have done your research and identified several characteristics of colleges that you will find particularly interesting, and make sure that at least one of these features is an academic in nature.
Q-3) Who has influenced you?
Ans) The question is available in many variants: Who is your hero? Who deserves the most credit for the success? Who is a role model? In short, the question is to ask to speak about someone you admire.
for example:-
Myself -- In truth, you probably are the person who is most responsible for your success. You may, in fact, be self-reliant with no real heroes. However, if you answer this question with yourself you will sound self-absorbed and selfish. Colleges want to admit students who help each other out and work as a community. They don't want solitary egotists.
Gandhi or Abe Lincoln -- If you have great respect for an admirable historical figure, that's wonderful. Such answers, however, can come across sounding like you're trying to make a good impression, not like you're answering the question sincerely. In your day-to-day life of classes, extracurricular activities, tests, and relationships, is Abe Lincoln really influencing your behavior?
God -- At a college with a religious affiliation, God could be a fine answer. At many colleges, however, the answer is a crap shoot. The admissions officer may admire your faith. Some interviewers, however, will be skeptical of students who attribute their successes to prayer and divine guidance.
My Dog -- Fido may be a great pet who has taught you responsibility and unconditional love, but keep your answer in the world of humans. Colleges are made up of humans.
So who should you name as a hero or influential person? Speak from the heart here. There is no right answer other than a sincere answer. Also, realize that an influential person isn't always a positive example. You may have grown and changed as a result of someone whose mistakes or inappropriate behavior taught you what not to do with your life. Answers to the question can draw from lots of different options:
A Family Member -- For most of us, parents and siblings have a huge impact on our lives. Answering with a family member is fairly predictable but also perfectly appropriate. Just make sure you can articulate the specific ways in which the family member influenced you.
A Teacher -- Is there a particular teacher who got you excited about learning, a subject area, or continuing your education?
A Friend -- For good or bad, your close friends have a huge influence on your decisions and behavior.
A Coach -- Coaches often teach us leadership, responsibility and teamwork.
A Community Member -- Do you have a mentor in the church or some other community organization? Community members often teach us to think outside of the narrow sphere of our families.
Q-4) What do you want to major in______?
Ans)Don't be misled by the question. A significant percentage of college applicants have no idea what major they will choose, and the majority of high school students who have chosen a major will actually change their mind before they graduate. Your interviewer knows this, and there is nothing wrong with being honest about your uncertainty.
I don't know what I want to major in. While this response may be honest, it's not helping your interviewer get to know what does interest you. You've shut down the question, and you haven't made a good case for being admitted to the college.
I haven't chosen a major yet, but I love working with people. I'm looking forward to taking courses in sociology, psychology, and political science to learn more. Sure, you haven't chosen a major yet, but your answer shows that you've thought about the options and, more importantly, that you're intellectually curious and looking forward to exploring the possibilities.
I want to major in business because I want to make lots of money. You're telling the interviewer that material gain is your top priority. Are you actually interested in business? Students who choose a major based on its earning potential are less likely to succeed in college than those who have an actual interest in the subject matter that they are studying. I've seen a lot of business majors and engineers either change majors or drop out of college because they were, in truth, not interested in business or engineering.
My parents want me to become a doctor. Okay, but what do you want to do? Do you have thoughts of your own, or are you going to let your parents define your academic path?
I want to major in political science because I want to go to law school. Do you have sincere interest in political science? And why do you want to go to law school? You're going to spend four years of your life studying as an undergraduate, so you don't want to breeze over your response with a comment about graduate school. The interviewer isn't admitting you to graduate school.
Make sure you are ready to explain why you are interested in a particular field. What experiences or high school courses piqued your interest?
At some large universities it is possible that you will need to pick a field of study when you apply. For example, some of the California public universities are trying to balance enrollments within different programs. And if you are applying to a business or engineering school within a larger university, you will often need a specialized application for that school.
Q-5) Does your high school record accurately reflect your effort and ability?
This interview question provides you with an opportunity to explain a bad grade or weak spot in your academic record.Ans)
Nearly all highly selective colleges have holistic admissions, so the admissions officers want to get to know you as a person, not just as a list of grades and test scores. Your interviewer knows that you are human and that extenuating circumstances can sometimes affect your academic performance.
That said, you don't want to sound like a whiner or grade grubber. If you have mostly A's, don't feel that you need to come up with an excuse for that one B+. Also, make sure you're not blaming others for your own academic performance. The admissions folks won't be impressed if you complain about an unreasonable teacher who doesn't give out easy A's.
So, how should you answer a question about the relationship between your record, your effort and your ability? In general, take ownership of your grades and justify low grades only if you have truly extenuating circumstances. The responses below would all be appropriate:
"My parents got divorced at the beginning of my sophomore year, and I'm afraid I was too distracted to put in my best effort at school." Fair enough. Big upheavals at home -- divorce, death, abuse, frequent moves -- can certainly make it difficult to devote 100% of your effort to academics. If a large domestic issue did affect your grades, your interviewer will want to know about it. Ideally, however, your academic record shows that the dip in grades was short-lived. If your grades never recovered, the admissions officers will wonder if you have gotten your act together enough to do well in college.
"I had gallbladder surgery in 9th grade and was on a lot of pain medications." Serious illness or surgery can certainly disrupt your academic efforts, and it is worth mentioning this type of disruption if it had a negative impact on your grades. Here, as with the response above, your record should show that the dip in grades was temporary. Make sure you are talking about serious health issues. Your interviewer will not be impressed if you try to blame that weak semester on the sniffles.
"Yes, my record does reflect my effort. I didn't work as hard as I should have in 9th grade, but by 10th grade I had figured out how to be a successful student." The honesty of this response is refreshing. Some students figure out how to succeed later than others. There is nothing wrong with this. In general, colleges will be pleased to see that your grades have trended upwards throughout high school. A downward trend will raise red flags.
Again, don't be tempted to explain every little aberration in your academic record. The interviewer is really looking to see if you had any major extenuating circumstances that affected your grades. If you come across as the type of student who goes on a rant complaining about a single B+, you're going to sound like an annoying whiner.
BOTTOM LINE:- BE YOURSELF AND BE CONFIDENT
No comments:
Post a Comment