There are two types of interviews that are offered by colleges. Your attitude should differ for each type. The first is an informative interview, which is done with the sole purpose of trying to provide applicants more information about the school and an opportunity for the student to ask any questions they may have. This interview plays a minimum role in whether or not the interviewee is actually admitted to the school. The rare instance in which the applicant really offends or in other way upsets the interviewer would be one of the only situations in which it could affect the applicant. The student should attend these prepared to ask questions about the university that cannot be answered easily online.
The second type of interview that is conducted is an evaluative interview. The interviewer has the goal to establish whether or not he or she thinks the applicant would be a good fit. The interviewee should be intent on communicating things that are left out in other parts of the application and he or she wants the admissions committee to take into account. It is best for the student to sit down and evaluate his or her own application and find out where the weak points are. Once those weak points are found, a strategy that encompasses how to deal with each one during the interview should be formulated.
The interviewer will have her own agenda during the interview. Depending on the school, he will have been given a set of questions to ask or certain points to address during the interview. Other schools will simply ask the interviewer to formulate their own method of evaluation and have a casual conversation to get a perspective on the student. In the next section, we will discuss who could possibly be your interviewer.
