Crush Your College Interview
This is the time of year when I help my clients schedule college interviews. Many of the calendars for interview availability post in late July/early August, and they often fill up!
Don’t miss the opportunity—many colleges use interviews to get to know applicants better and gauge their interest in the university. Helping my clients leverage their chances of demonstrating interest (covered in next month’s newsletter, so stay tuned!) is a big advantage of The Magnolia Method.
Help Your Child prepare
Colleges offer two main types of interviews: evaluative and informational. Understanding the differences and how to approach each type is crucial for successful preparation!
Using my library of questions asked in recent interviews at that institution as a starting place, my clients learn to speak clearly and directly about oneself in a professional, polished, and memorable way. To help your child prepare for interviews, consider the following approach:
First, develop a list of 3-4 areas of expertise that your child has developed in high school. Leave middle school out of the equation. This often looks different for each of my clients! For some, we emphasize their involvement in athletics or service. For others, we articulate what was learned during summer research or in a unique academic pathway offered at one’s high school. Learning to cover everything in a 20-30 minute interview can be daunting. Start prep for this early on!
Get a friend to do a mock interview who doesn’t know your child well. I am very familiar with my clients and they feel secure with me. While this is a beautiful part of my professional practice—offering a warm, safe place to be oneself—I like the mock interview to be more representative of the authentic experience. My team of interview experts (who currently work in college admissions) covers things like body language, unexpected questions, and how to turn what I call “The Bag of Tricks” (meaning all of my client’s key strengths) into an articulate and impactful response to many different questions for my clients as part of the Magnolia Method.
Have a professional, polished, one-page resume. Teens are very tech-savvy! While a bare-bones, basic resume is completely fine, consider a more polished resume that you can build for free on platforms like Canva. With the Magnolia Method, a dedicated team of professional resume builders will create an editable, professional resume that can be edited and adapted to the interview, college, or summer program.
Dress to impress. It is NOT cringy to wear the university’s colors! Go all out - this is a way to say, “Pick me!”. Do you fidget with your hair? Wear it back! Tinker with jewelry? Take it off. You can be yourself, but take it up a notch.
Expect the unexpected and be willing to pause and think. For example, during a recent interview with Syracuse (July 2024), my clients were asked about their favorite picture, favorite book, and favorite purchase! So fun…but unexpected. Tell the truth and if you need to think about it, then do!
Mostly, though, you will be asked to cover two key areas:
Who Are You? And Why This University?
Magnolia method
for interview success
The Magnolia Method includes an entire section of my handbook that addresses how to prepare for an interview and here are a few highlights to help you get started:
What are you most proud of?
Think about what you achieved in high school. Use quantifiable measures of success. “I started a club that has over 50 active members.” “I have served 300 meals this year to the homeless.” “I worked 40 hours a week for ten weeks this summer as a server at a restaurant that caters to thousands of tourists each year.”
Why are you interested in XYZ University?
Do your homework in your area of impact. Speaking of Syracuse, I coached a client this week to reference this article to illustrate not only why she was a good fit for their Department of Engineering but also that she had done her homework on everything that makes the university special.
How have you demonstrated leadership?
Not everyone is a team captain or student body president! You have leadership experience! Are you the one everyone turns to for homework help? Do you know how to delegate on a group project? Do you offer encouragement when someone doesn’t get the grade they wanted in Physics? Do you lead with compassion, humility, and kindness? If so, OK, then tell them how!
Ask good questions!
I remember a friend who is the Dean of Admissions at a very prestigious college telling me he gets offended when kids don’t have questions. He said. “I am the #1 expert on admissions at this school who carved out time for you! Seriously, you don’t have anything to ask me??!” Point taken!
Don’t be basic!
Do not ask if they have a study abroad program—they do! Are you test optional? Google it! You can also Google to see if they offer merit scholarships or when their deadline is!
Didn’t get to mention something important? Then, turn it into a question. “I really enjoyed my time studying under Dr. Johnson at Johns Hopkins this summer, identifying the early stages of cancer. Does your university allow undergraduates access to undergraduate research?”
Ask a question about student life, and again - show what you know! “I love that Cornell has a residence hall for students who love musical theater! I really enjoy performing but worry about balancing this as an engineering student. Do you know of students who have lived there and majored in Computer Science like me? Can you connect me to someone with that experience?
Lastly- get them talking about themselves (everyone loves to do that lol!). What is one thing I must do as a student at USD? What is your favorite tradition at Washington & Lee?
And don’t forget - the fortune is in the follow-up!
Send a proofread email and reference something you discussed during your interview. For example, my daughter, Margeaux, Class of 2025, had an interview this week, and she mentioned that she was reading Lessons in Chemistry for her school book club, which led to a discussion about why she liked this book. The admissions rep sent her a picture on his walk home that same day when he passed one of those little libraries on the street. Lessons in Chemistry was there, and he sent her a photo! What incredible serendipity! It is a great thing to mention in the future when she follows up later this fall!
Do not be afraid to say something like this at the beginning: “I was worried I would get nervous, so I prepared a few notes that I might reference during the meeting. Is that OK?” This is not only fine but encouraged. They don’t want you to be robotic, so if you are relaxed with some talking points, the experience will be better for both of you.
Getting an interview offer at an Ivy League university does NOT mean that you are likely to get in! Most Ivy League and highly selective universities offer interviews as a courtesy, and they're really not considered evaluative. Also, sometimes, there is no one in a local alumni association available in your area. So if a friend gets an offer from Harvard to interview, and you do not, don’t sweat it—it means nothing! TRULY!
Check your email and portals! Interview invites come via email. Responding weeks later is embarrassing and in poor taste. Even if the interview is not evaluative, take the chance to learn about the college to which you are applying, and if nothing else, get practice for the more competitive scholarship interviews or truly evaluative interviews.
Pay attention to time zones for virtual interviews. 8:00 in New York is 5:00 in Seattle. This can throw off even the most experienced adult, so be mindful of time zone differences!
Start checking calendars now! Interviews start in the summer and typically wrap up by mid-October. A missed opportunity to interview can get you waitlisted at a school you might otherwise be a shoo-in for, or even better—this school is a reach, and you have a slam-dunk interview—it could get you over the finish line!
Whether you’re a student, parent, teacher, or advisor—you recognize the tremendous benefit of higher education and its impact on shaping one’s future. And no matter your role within this incredibly defining decision-making process, it can be a stressful time for you.
I’m here to be your advisor, organizer, tutor, cheerleader, friend, and compass through this journey. I’ve helped over 2,000 students locate and gain acceptance to the college of their dreams, and I’m so excited to help you, too.
Let’s get to work!
-Allie Pierson, Founder