College interviews - specifically, Yale University?

Question

Has anyone had a college interview before? My interview is with a Yale alum and her husband, who is also a Yale graduate... so basically I'm being interviewed by two alums. And it's at their house. I've never had an interview before, so I'm really lost. The person said the interview would last about 45 minutes.

What do the interviewers usually ask? Is it mostly talk about the school or is it about the applicant? like.. get to know the applicant better? or is it a mix of both?

How long did your interviews last?

And what should I wear? The interview is at their home... would jeans be acceptable? Dress pants are a bit too.. formal, right?

Haha and also, any extra info about college interviews would be highly appreciated! Thank you :)

Answer 1

How to get into Yale:

I went to Yale, but I only had an alum interview, for Harvard. This is how NOT to interview.

This stuffy old fellow who obviously still had fading red Harvard pennants up in his bedroom (from every Yale-Harvard game since 1941) answered the door and let me into his somewhat stuffy house. This was my first interview and I was applying to 8 schools. I didn't want to get my hopes up so I decided to just see where I got in.

So the second question he asked me, just as a lead-in, was "Why is Harvard your first choice of school?"

I replied, honestly, "It isn't."

I didn't get into Harvard. (But I did luckily get into Yale.)

Hope it helps (giggle)

Natasha

Ok, let's see if I can actually be helpful. Wear neat jeans and a sweater. You can't go wrong.

Maybe the most important thing to do in either a job interview or a school interview is: Find out something about the outfit and **prepare some questions to ask**. This always impresses them. Your questions should be reasonable and show interest. You might ask them how they decided to go to Yale. You might ask if there is really such a rivalry between Yale and Harvard (you can't think Yale without Harvard and vice versa. Also they won't accept the same people). I can't predict their answer. My experience is that everyone has a best friend who went to Harvard and they all party together at the tailgate parties after The Game. You could ask what they remember most fondly or what they regret the most from their years there. What course was the most interesting? You might just get them both a-talkin' and not have to peep!

Of course you have to be very ready to honestly and composedly answer similar questions. Such as, Why is Yale your first choice?! or what do/did you most enjoy studying in school? What do you want to study at Yale? Here's a tough one: What do you want to prepare yourself for at Yale?

Actually, there's another great question for them: Were you prepared for the outside world when you finished school, or is there something you wished you'd known before you studied there? They will like that one. Students often spend 4 years in school having no idea what the world is like that they are preparing themselves for. I personally believe in a year between high school and college so you can find out. Ask if they wish they'd had one.

Always be ready for the negative question: What are your worst character traits/ describe a time you made a wrong decision/ how would you handle impossible situation X? What's important here is that you are humble but don't make yourself look like an idiot. Make a joke about your mistake and explain how you learned from it; describe some character trait that's really actually ok/good such as: Well, I'm just tooo organized. I always insist on finishing what I start, even if it keeps me up late. Then I'm tired the next day... you get the idea. They'll be expecting that; it's not dishonest. They'll just want to see how well you can think on your feet..

Be polite; have a kind sense of humor; speak slowly (you will think it's slowly but it will be fast). Actually that's a lot just for a school interview! Reread this when you get a job interview.

One most important rule for an interview. Or class. Or a job: Figure out what the person wants and give it to them. Are they telling raunchy jokes? Then it's ok to be a wee bit ribald. Are their faces straight? Keep the humor to yourself. Do they look disapproving when you talk about time spent withh friends? Talk about working hard at school.

That is also my advice to get an A in every class. **Figure out what this teacher wants**-- pay close attention to what s/he seems to find important; pay attention to course description; don't make the same mistake twice on your homework; see if s/he seems to have a sense of humor to decide if your assignments can be amusing; etc-- and **give it to them**. Even if it's dumb. Maybe it has to be super neat, or ne-ver be longer than a certain length, or always be creative, or ne-ver be late. Maybe class attendance is crucial. Maybe the only grade is the final exam.

You could also ask your Yale couple if there is anything rule or motto that helped them through school when times were tough-- and if they still live by it.

And tell them how I got into Yale!

Natasha

Answer 2

Yale Interview

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
College interviews - specifically, Yale University?
Has anyone had a college interview before? My interview is with a Yale alum and her husband, who is also a Yale graduate... so basically I'm being interviewed by two alums. And it's at their house. I've never had an interview before, so I'm really lost. The person said the interview...

Answer 4

They'll probably ask you why you are interested in going to Yale, what you are like, how you feel about certain things, and anything else that will help them get to know you and help them decide if you are right for Yale.

You need to wear something that is presentable but do not overdress. No jeans, sneakers, anything with holes, anything inappropriate, no tee-shirt, or anything that is unprofessional. I would suggest wearing a collared shirt that is at least somewhat dressy with or without a nice sweater over it (make sure the cover is visible), khaki pants or work pants, and dress shoes. If you want to wear sneakers, make sure they are completely clean and they look nicer than sneakers you'd normally see.

Answer 5

college interviews specifically yale university

Answer 6

I have mine for Yale tomorrow. I'm nervous too. Wear dress pants, it is much more polished looking, but other than that, just relax, be comfotable, and enjoy talking abou the school you want to go to and bragging a bit. Good luck!

Answer 7

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George Bush attended Yale University. Now that you know this fact, you can easily answer you own question.

Answer 8

Yes it is. First of all, it needs to be ABET accredited. In PA, most companies look for Penn State or Drexel grads for engineering jobs. But they ignore many other well known schools in PA since those schools are well known for other majors like Med school or business. In Maryland, they primarily look for Penn State, Duke University, Virginia Tech, and University of Maryland College Park graduates for engineering jobs. In New York and New Jersey, they look at Cornell, Rutgers University, and NYU. Believe it or not, ever since the Penn State scandal, some small private companies banned hiring anyone who went to Penn State and fired all employees with Penn State degrees. Harvard isn't much of an engineering school when compared to MIT or Cornell, but the name Harvard makes you sound impressive and smart. My cousins went to Harvard to study political science, but they got hired to work at Google in California as Software engineers. They have no experience or qualifications for those jobs, but Google hired them anyways and gave them training.

Answer 9

Relax. They want to get to know you. Some kids have all the money and grades in the world but are complete scumbags that make trouble anywhere they go. they want to see how u are, how u talk , how u walk, the way u explain urself and after 45 minutes believe it or not they'll be able to somewhat assume wether u are a good fit or not. be open minded. and be YOURSELF b/c that will put all of you at ease.