Stefanie in our Irvine office offers this college interview tip–make sure you listen to the question.
Don't scoff. That might sound obvious, but a lot of students are so concerned about their answers that they forget to listen to–and consequently don't answer–the question.
Stefanie interviewed over 400 students while she was an admissions officer at USC. And the first question she asked most of them was,
"Tell me a little bit about your high school, maybe one thing you like about it, and one thing you wish was different."
She asked it as a general question to help students feel comfortable and ease into the interview. But a lot of students would go right to detailed descriptions of their activities. They were so anxious, they couldn't wait to start talking about what they'd accomplished. But that wasn't the question they'd been asked.
None of those kids torpedoed their chances of admission with those answers alone, by the way. No college interviewer is out to get you, to trip you up and find the reason to reject your application. But it certainly would have been a stronger start if they'd carefully considered the question and given a thoughtful answer.
So during your college interviews, just relax and listen carefully to the question. If you don't have an answer right away, that's OK. Stop for a second and think about it. That's what thoughtful people do when posed with a good question.
But most importantly, remember that your college interview is a conversation. Good conversationalists are just as good at listening as they are at talking.
You can find even more advice in our "College Interviews" video. It’s $12.99 and available as a streaming download.