How to Ace the College Interview

November 2023

Summary: Your primary goal is to demonstrate that you’re a likeable, curious, enthusiastic student who thrives on intellectual stimulation and personal challenges, and that you’re a perfect fit for that school.

What is the college interview?

Many times when you’re applying to college, you’ll get an email notification after you’ve submitted your application asking if you’d like to interview with an alumni. (Sometimes you can even get one before you submit your application.) These interviews may be done in-person or online, depending on where you live and how you or the interviewer prefer to handle them. These interviews are strictly optional. But it’s generally recommended, since the comments that the interviewer provides back to the school can account for as much as 25% of your application.

It also demonstrates that you’re genuinely interested in the school. Declining an interview might not be the end of the world; lots of times it doesn’t happen because of scheduling conflicts, travel plans, sudden illness, etc. But done correctly, the alumni interview offers you one final opportunity to sell yourself to the admission committee, and give your application the boost you need to turn a “maybe” into a “yes.”

What if you don’t get invited for an interview?

Don’t despair. It doesn’t mean anything. Some universities are so big or busy that they only offer interviews to certain applicants. Some colleges may offer interviews to their favorite candidates, while other colleges may reserve precious interview spots for candidates they’re unsure about, so-called bubble candidates. That’s why you can’t read too much into it. It’s safe to say, however, that if a college wasn’t interested in you at all, they wouldn’t bother offering you an interview. So at minimum it means that they’re curious to learn more about you.

What you can expect.

Generally, the interview will last between 30-60 minutes. In most cases it will feel like a friendly, relaxed “get to know you” conversation. It will be conducted by someone who graduated from that school, and now volunteers their time during busy application season to give back to the school. In other words, they don’t get paid to do this; they do it because they love their school and want to see it continue to prosper.

Your interviewer may be fresh out of college (young), or very far along in their career (not so young). It gives these interviewers a chance to protect the reputation of their alma mater, since they have a small say in who gets in and who does not. Many estimates say your interview accounts for up to 25% of your application, but this varies by student and institution. Still a 25% bump may be all you need to turn your “maybe” into a “yes,” so take this opportunity seriously.

What they’re looking for.

The primary purpose of the interview is to help the college identify candidates who will be a good fit for their school’s curriculum, campus, and culture. If you go into the interview without a clue about the school, or with total misconceptions about the school, they’re not going to be impressed. You should do as much research about the school as possible beforehand, so that your discussion and follow-up questions can revolve around things you couldn’t find online. You should sound like an informed consumer who’s looking to glean more insights, like you’re in the last stages of buying a car, but can’t quite decide between your two or three favorite models.

While every school is looking for something slightly different (Harvard says they’re looking for “leaders,” while Stanford says they want “innovators” blah blah blah), most competitive schools are essentially looking for the same two things: intellectual vitality and personal achievement. I wrote a separate article where I talk about these elements in more detail. Your interview answers should focus on demonstrating both of these qualities. When the interviewer sends the college notes about your interview, he or she should remark about how: 1. You’re a naturally curious person who loves learning about the world, and 2. You thrive on personal challenges and push yourself beyond your comfort zone to achieve great things.

What will they ask me specifically?

There’s no one set of interview questions. But the most common questions by far are: What would you like to tell me about yourself? What do you enjoy doing in your free time? What’s an accomplishment you’re most proud of? What interests you about this school? What’s your favorite academic subject and why? What’s your greatest strength and weakness? What do you want the admissions committee to know about you? You can be fairly certain that you will be asked some form of these questions, in addition to others.

The best way to answer these questions is to show that you’re an upbeat, enthusiastic, intellectually curious person who’s looking forward to taking full advantage of the unique courses, clubs and programs the school has to offer. Because let’s face it: they’re not asking questions about you just because they’ve got free times on their hands. They want to know specifically how you’re going to add value to their campus: both in-class and out-of-class, and how you’re going to enhance their reputation after you graduate and leave your imprint on the world. What do you want to study and why? What professors are you dying to work with? What clubs do you look forward to joining and why? How does this school fit into your master plan to make the world a better place?

Remind yourself of this fact: colleges are not charities. They’re billion-dollar businesses, and their bottom line is prestige. (Yes, most leading universities boast billion-dollar endowments.) More than anything else, they want to continue to boost their prestige, and they do that by attracting top students. Even though they don’t come right out and say it, they’re much more concerned with “What you can do for us” than “What we can do for you.” Remember that. The top schools can make any student better; that’s easy. They pop them out, and suddenly they’ve got a great job. But it’s the rare student who can make the college better. Those are the students they want. Your goal is to present yourself as one of those rare students.

They’re not going to admit you because they feel sorry for you, or want to take a chance on an unknown quantity. They’re going to admit you because they have a keen sense that you will make them look better, one way or another. Whether that’s because you win them a track championship, or earn them a research grant, or found an important social advocacy group, or expand upon their diversity objectives, they’re eager to know up-front what you will do for them.

Answers to avoid.

There are things you shouldn’t talk about in your interview. First, it’s a bad idea to talk about how your ultimate goal in life is just to make a boatload of money. That’s the real goal for many students, but leading universities don’t want to hear that. They’re looking to recruit students who are hungry to pursue knowledge for its own sake, not for some cynical or calculated means to an end. They’re also hungry to find students whose goal is to make the world a better place, to right some wrong, to leave things a little better for future generations. If your only goal is to make money, keep that to yourself, and come up with something that sounds better.

Similarly, don’t feel pressured to over-share all of your faults and weaknesses. We’ve all got them; that’s what makes us human. At times, we all feel lazy, selfish, unmotivated, pessimistic, arrogant, unlikable. Save that for conversations with your best friend or therapist. Your college interview is your time to showcase the “superhero” side of you: the side that is dynamic, ambitious, generous, accomplished, unstoppable. As with any true superhero, you should always present yourself as humble and grateful, but nonetheless you’re excited about everything you’re going to accomplish in life. Do you see how this is better than someone who’s gloomy, or boring, or arrogant, or wishy-washy? You’re interviewing for the “role” of the star student. Give the people what they want, as they say, and show them how you fit that bill.

Final thoughts.

The primary purpose of the college interview is to demonstrate why you’re a great fit for that school. It’s a golden opportunity to show how your academic ambitions and personal passions align beautifully with the specific programs and campus culture that the college has to offer. It’s also your chance to ask some intelligent questions about the school: things you’re genuinely curious about but couldn’t find answers to anywhere else. That not only helps you better understand the school, but shows you’ve done your homework.

Wait… should I do background research on my interviewer?

Usually you’ll be told the name of your interviewer ahead of time, so many students like to Google their name or look them up on LinkedIn to get a handle on what year they graduated, what they majored in, and where they work now. Many college consultants recommend doing this as well. Personally, I don’t think it really matters. While it might be helpful to know your interviewer graduated in 2012 with a B.A. in Economics and now works for Morgan Stanley in their Global Equities department, the interview isn’t about them; it’s about you, and how you fit into the school. Also, it could come across as a little cyber-stalky if you know too much about them, like the fact they have a border collie named Nicky (from Instagram) or recently changed their relationship status to Single (from Facebook). If you do research your interviewer, that’s fine, but don’t go overboard.