A student who is invited to a college interview is lucky. The Dean and her staff want to meet you. Do not blow this opportunity to shine above the other applicants!
The Interview Is Not Meant to Recite Your College Application
This is one of the few times in your life where you are expected to talk about yourself. A narcissist’s delight!
The Goal of the Interview
The desperate high school student must prove to the Dean at the interview that he or she is a multi-dimensional person.
Qualities the Dean Wants to Observe in Applicants at the Interview
- Goal Oriented.
- Entrepreneur.
- Risk Taker.
- Team Player.
- Focused.
- Resiliency.
- Humility.
- How Overcame Challenges.
College Interviews and Employment Interviews Are the Same
Wake up high school students! Applying to college is a precursor to applying for a job in the real world. The difference is that it is harder to get a job because only one position is being filled, as opposed to getting accepted to a college freshman class of two-thousand seats. #REALITYSUCKS
When a person applies for a job, they submit a resume. When a dopey high school student applies to college, they submit the common application (common app) ‘resume’.
The common app resume is the main repository for the subjective components of your application which include Extracurricular Activities (EC’s), Essays, References, and the Interview.
When the subjective components of an application are reviewed in their totality, the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions can gauge whether the applicant is engaged and compelling. These characteristics are critical to predict the future success of the applicant. The same is true for an employment resume.
Time to put your big boy and big girl pants on now. Welcome to the Real World (no, not the tv show).
Tips for a Successful Interview
1. Tell the Truth!
2. Liars Go Home!
3. Do Not Talk About Resume At Beginning of Interview!
4. No Bullshit Allowed At The Interview!
5. Introduce Yourself to the Interviewer First!
6. Be Yourself!
7. Let ‘Your Hair Down’ — Show the Interviewer You are Human and have a Sense of Humor!
8. Talk About Challenges You Overcome; What You Learned From Defeat!
9. Prove the Accuracy of Your Resume; Explain in Detail One EC and How it Evolved.
10. Tell the Interviewer Why You are a Fit For this College.
11. Tell the Interviewer How You Would Contribute to Your Campus Community.
WISEWORDS: Students must stand above and apart from classmates applying to the same top colleges, and ask themselves ‘do they want to make an impact in their universe’? The only chance in hell to even make it to the final rounds of the admissions committee, is to be a qualified student who possess an extraordinary, multi-dimensional skill set that validates #ENGAGEMENT, and therefore catapults you above your classmates who are all vying to attend the same top college. #OVERTHETOP #COMPELLING!
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