Many colleges don’t require admissions interviews, some only recommend them, still others don’t offer them at all. If you have a chance to interview with a college admissions representative, don’t pass it by. A good interview can create a friend and advocate for you when the final decision about your application is made. At the very least, interviews help you become a real person to someone in the admissions office. And that just might help you get admitted!

1. Call The Admissions Office To Set Up An Interview
2. Make The Travel Arrangements Necessary To Get To The Campus
3. Listen Up! Prepare For The Interview
   • Figure out what you want the admissions rep “to get” about you
   • Put together an activities resume and bring it with you to the interview
   • Write down 3-5 things reasons why you want to go to this college and bring them with you to the interview
   • Write down 3-5 questions to ask the admissions rep and bring them with you to the interview
   • Practice answering questions that the admissions rep is likely to ask
4. Do The Right Things At The Interview
   • Smile! Act positive and be upbeat! Remember the first three or four minutes of an interview is when the interviewer forms an impression of you.
   • Use your prep materials (resume, written reasons you like the school and questions) to get you through the interview.
   • Do everything you can to get the interviewer to talk about him or herself, i.e., “Why did you decide to work as an Admissions Officer?”
   • Be super-considerate to the person.
5. End The Interview With A Bang
   • As you leave, ask for the interviewer’s business card, shake his/her hand, and thank the person for the interview. Tell the interviewer that this college is one of your top choices, if not your #1 choice.
   • When you get home, email a thank you note

	Spring Semester, Junior Year Most colleges don’t offer interviews to juniors, but if you can talk someone into an interview as a junior, by all means do it (but only if you are prepared)! Summer Before Your Senior Year This is a good time to begin scheduling interviews
	Fall Semester, Senior Year Sometime during the fall of your senior year is probably the best time to do admissions interview.
	Parents Because you or your spouse will probably be making travel arrangements for college trips, it probably makes sense for you to call admissions offices to set up interview appointments for your child. You will know the trip schedule and what times are available. However, if your student wants to do it, by all means let him or her do it. The most important thing you can do is make sure that your child is prepared for an interview. Everything your child needs to know to have a successful interview is contained in the complete Interviewing Guide.

If you want more information about any of the above, or

• A list of questions that admissions officers usually ask
• A list of questions that you can ask
• Insight into what interviewers look for
• Where to get information about colleges to prepare for interviews
• Tips about how to practice for an interview
• Info about what you should wear and bring to an interview
• Little things you can do and say to create a friendly, conversational atmosphere
• What to do if you are shy
• A failsafe way of dealing with questions that you have no clue how to answer
• Ways of dealing with tough topics such as your less than top grades or test scores or a learning disability
• A sample thank you note to email an interviewer

If you want to gain access to Guide 14, Admissions Interviews, click here for an online, bare bones version.

You can also purchase an illustrated, formatted, printable, PDF color version of this guide for $2.50. We offer this and 14 other printable color guides in order to support the upkeep of this website and to develop a future Spanish language version.

How the color PDF version differs from the free online one can best be demonstrated by your viewing a free guide by clicking here.