College interviews are a unique opportunity, for students who are given it, to show the admissions committee what you may not have fully conveyed on paper. While not all schools include interviews as a part of the admissions process, an interview can help to seal the deal on your acceptance if you’re able to successfully convey your passions, enthusiasm, and why you’d be a great addition to the school. If you may be faced with a future college interview, you should consider the below questions and prepare thoughtful answers to put your best foot forward.
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Question One: Tell Me About Yourself
Why They’re Asking This Question
In case you get prompted with the “Tell Me About Yourself” topic, you want to be well-prepared to give this one your best shot. Interviewers will ask this for two reasons: one, they genuinely want to know about you, and two, they want to know what makes you unique, memorable, and a specific value-add to their university. The most important thing about your answer to this question is that it isn’t cliché or generic. The interview is your opportunity to really stand out and to hammer home why you would be a unique and valuable addition to the university, so take advantage of it!
What They Are Looking For
As we mentioned, when asking you to tell them about yourself, universities are looking for what makes you stand out from all the other applicants. They want your answer to set you apart from other applicants and bring your application to life with the sincerity and passion you convey. They also want to see that you are self-aware, so you know your strengths, weaknesses, and passions, as well as where you plan to grow in the future. Interviewers are giving you the opportunity to discuss the specific passions you have, the obstacles you’ve overcome, and the long-term goals you have, as well as how this particular university aligns with these goals.
How to Prepare
The best way to prepare for this question is to craft your unique story and ensure it encompasses why you are specifically suited for the university. You should think about your background, interests, and your future goals, and craft a story that includes all three. Once you come up with the story, run it by a few people or mentors you trust, possibly your parents, peers, guidance counselors, and any mentors or college consultants. Rehearse the story for them and request constructive feedback. You don’t want to come off stiff and memorize your story like a script, but you should refresh your memory and rehearse the story ahead of any interviews, while still remembering to be as genuine as possible in your interviews.
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Question Two: Why Are You Interested in This College?
This is one of the most important questions you’ll get asked in a college interview, and it’s your opportunity to prove why you’re a good fit for the university at hand and what you’ll add to the student body. Most colleges are overwhelmed with qualified candidates, so they want to be sure to only offer their limited spots to students who have a strong and compelling reason for choosing that university. Additionally, colleges want to see what you’re bringing to the table in terms of the potential value-add to their student body, so you’ll want to think of this ahead of time.
What They Are Looking For
Colleges are looking for future candidates who are well-suited to their university for reasons more specific than a top student seeking the high rank and prestige of a good university. All students want to attend a good university, but those schools can only admit so many qualified applicants. This question is your chance to demonstrate why you will add uniquely and positively to the university, and reciprocally, why the particular university will add uniquely to your chosen future career path.
How to Prepare
The way to prepare for this question begins with research. You should research the university as much as you can, as well as find any connections you might have to the university. Think about specific majors and departments that you might be interested in and mention why you’re interested in that major or department at that university. You can also consider the location, culture and any specific focus of the university and include why that resonates with you in your answer. All in all, you need to be as specific as possible here to prove that you have a good reason for choosing this university, and this university has a compelling reason to want you as an addition to their student body.
Question Three: Why Are You Pursuing This Major?
Why They’re Asking This Question
Since college is an educational experience, admissions officers want to see that you’re thinking about and prioritizing the right things, like your academic goals and interests. A student who has thought about their potential future major comes across as intellectually curious and driven towards their long-term goals. For students who are undecided, admissions officers still want to get a feel for what areas might interest you and why, as well as your plans of discovering that future major and potential career choice.
What They Are Looking For
Colleges are seeking out students who are driven, goal-oriented, and intellectually curious, and forethought about a future major or career path demonstrates all of the above. Admissions officers realize you’re young and don’t expect you to have everything figured out, but they do want to see that you’ve given serious thought to which subjects and industries interest you most and how you might pursue those further. They also want to understand the reason behind those motivations, so they can get a better idea of the experiences and factors that have influenced you so far.
How to Prepare
Preparation for this question is twofold: it can focus on your current interests, and it can focus on the university’s offerings. You can begin by looking into the departments and majors that university is known for. You should also consider your current interests and passions, as well as any topics you may want to probe further in college. Armed with this information, you can prepare your story regarding why you have an interest in pursuing a certain major or discipline, as well as why you want to do so at this particular college.
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Question Four: What Are Your Academic Strengths?
Why They’re Asking This Question
Colleges want to admit students who are introspective and self-aware and being able to identify and articulate your strengths is one marker of this. When they ask about your academic strengths, they are looking to see if you’re able to substantiate your answer with proof and examples. Additionally, they want to see how you may have discovered these strengths and if you plan on utilizing them in the future.
What They Are Looking For
When it comes to strengths, colleges want to hear about the areas in which students have found that they excel academically. They are also looking for the reasoning behind this, perhaps the ways a student has put those strengths to use, and how these strengths may have influenced a student’s future goals. It doesn’t matter which subjects or aspects of your academic career are your strengths, whether it’s science, writing, or public speaking, but admissions officers want to see how you’ve discovered these strengths and how you’ve been able to capitalize on them in your studies.
How to Prepare
In order to prepare for this question, you should think broadly on your academic career, the subjects you excel in, and any feedback you’ve gotten from peers, teachers, and mentors. Once you determine which strengths you’d like to focus on, you should craft the explanation of how and when you discovered the strengths and how they’ve impacted your academic career thus far. You should also plan to take the question one step further and explain how you plan to use those strengths in the future, in college and in preparation for a specific career path.
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Question Five: What Are Your Academic Weaknesses?
Why They’re Asking This Question
Very similar to the reason behind the prior question, colleges want to see that students are self-aware, but they also want to see that you’re humble and open to growth and constructive criticism. Acknowledging your weaknesses shows just that, especially if you can do so in an objective manner and by offering up suggestions for how you plan to improve those weaknesses. Colleges know that no student is perfect, and a student who isn’t aware of their flaws will be much more difficult to work with in an academic and professional setting.
What They Are Looking For
In your response to this question, admissions officers are looking for an honest, objective, thoughtful, and specific answer. They don’t want to hear the generic “I’m a perfectionist” or “I have a fear of failure” type of answer; they want to hear the specific weaknesses that have impacted your academic journey and how you’re dealing with them. The most important thing colleges are looking for here is your plan of improvement, as this shows that you’re constantly striving for personal growth and bettering yourself, even if that means accepting negative feedback.
How to Prepare
The best way to prepare for this question is to sit down and think back on all the classes you’ve taken, and any common weaknesses or areas of difficulty you’ve experienced. Was test-taking always a time crunch for you? Were you nervous about presenting in front of big groups? Think of your experiences, as well as any feedback and constructive criticism you’ve been given by peers, teachers, and mentors, and build your answer around this. However, you also want to be careful to only share strengths that you can and will actively improve on and describe that plan of improvement as well. The one thing you would never want to include in your answer is a lack of motivation or a disinterest in learning, as these could be deal breakers when it comes to college acceptance.
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Question Six: What Do You Expect to Be Doing in 10 Years?
Why They’re Asking This Question
While colleges realize you’re young and won’t have your entire future planned out, they do want to see that you have direction, ambition, and some type of passion. Colleges also want to see that you have enough foresight to think about your future and at least consider some potential career paths. Even if your current plans change drastically from what you end up doing after college, what matters most is that you’re thoughtful and motivated enough to have some type of plan in the works.
What They Are Looking For
With this question, admissions officers are looking for students who have honed in on their strengths, interests, and passions, and how they plan to use those in the future. They want to hear the career paths you might consider, as well as why, and what led you to these options. They also want to hear what you’ve been doing now to explore any of those paths, which could be through your elective class schedule, extracurriculars, an apprenticeship, internship, or any type of personal project or independent research. Students who have gone above and beyond to explore these potential areas of interest outside the classroom demonstrate real drive and intellectual curiosity and will have a clear advantage over their peers.
How to Prepare
In preparation for this question, you should really think about what subjects, disciplines, or industries you’re passionate about and which you might pursue in higher education and a future career. You should strive to be as honest as possible with this question, rather than just formulating an answer that you think would sound impressive. If math is your least favorite subject, you probably shouldn’t say you want to be a statistician or financial analyst unless you have good, solid proof to back it up. The truth here is that admissions officers care a lot less about what you say you’ll be doing in ten years and a lot more about how you came to those conclusions and what you’ve been doing now to discover them.
Question Seven: Who Do You Most Admire?
Why They’re Asking This Question
Colleges are asking this question both because they’re genuinely curious about the greatest influencers on your life and because they want to gauge your priorities. Your answer to a question like this can easily build a strong personal and emotional connection with your interviewer or can make you come across as out of touch or even vapid. The interviewer wants to see what you consider an influence and what you consider an admirable character, and this will tell them a lot about you and your values.
What They Are Looking For
There is no one right answer to this question, but there are wrong answers, or at least, wrong ways to phrase your answer. You could choose almost anybody for this question, but the one thing that will put you on the acceptance side of the fence is the reasoning behind your answer. If you name a celebrity and give materialistic, shallow reasoning behind your admiration for them, you’re not going to come across all too well. However, you don’t have to choose Albert Einstein here; you just need to choose someone whose actions or career path has made a great impact on you and your future decisions. This could be a parent, a mentor, a CEO, a scientist; anyone really, as long as you back it up with good reasoning.
How to Prepare
Preparing for this question comes down to reflection, possibly research, and an honest story. You should be able to think of people in your personal life or people you look up to in a certain field or in the media and consider how they may have impacted your life. Be as specific as possible in your reasoning, and prepare to explain the exact traits about that person you admire, why you admire those traits, and how they’ve had an impact on you and perhaps how they may impact your future plans and goals.
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Question Eight: Why Is College Important to You?
Why They’re Asking This Question
Universities realize that college isn’t for everyone, and it definitely isn’t the only option for high school graduates these days, so they want to understand why their applicants have chosen this path. Additionally, given that there are limited spots at each university, colleges want to hear the compelling reason a student feels that college is important or necessary for them and what they believe they will get out of the experience. This question may also help expose students who have a true interest in learning or deep passion for exploring a specific path, versus those whose parents are simply forcing them to attend university “because they said so”.
What They Are Looking For
It’s simple what interviewers are looking for with this question: they want to hear a genuine, believable, compelling reason why college is the ideal path for you now and how it will help you towards your goals. Too many students dropout of college, fail out, or simply get lost in the partying and socializing and forget why they’re there in the first place – even at top universities. Admissions officers want to ensure they admit highly motivated, focused candidates who are there for the right reasons, and this question is your chance to hammer that home.
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How to Prepare
In preparation for this question, consider what you believe a college experience will do for you and why it will be beneficial or even necessary for your future goals. Based on your chosen career path, college might be a requirement, but there could be additional reasons and benefits for you to attend. For example, you may be seeking to explore multiple areas of study to determine exactly which is a fit for you before declaring a major and confirming your future career pursuit. You may also be interested in meeting a wider diversity of peers and teachers and widening your world views and perspectives. College can be a great time for personal, academic, and professional growth, and this question can convey exactly what you hope to get out of it.
Question Nine: What Do You Like to Do For Fun?
Why They’re Asking This Question
This isn’t the most important question you may be asked, but it is an opportunity to distinguish yourself as an interesting person with diverse hobbies or passions. If there’s anything uncommon or unique that you do for fun, this would be the time to elaborate on it. Colleges want to see that they’re admitting more than a bookworm, and they want to create a student body of interesting people with a wide variety of hobbies, talents, and interests, and this is your chance to show how you can contribute to that.
What They Are Looking For
With this question, interviewers are looking for the truth, but they’re also looking to see if you have anything unique to add to their incoming class. Generic answers like shopping or hanging out with friends won’t be the best here, whereas answers relating to your unique passions, gifts, hobbies, or talents can paint a better picture of who you are as an individual. Maybe you like to write screenplays, or perhaps you like to collect historical artifacts. Whatever your answer is, the more unique, the better, and if you can elaborate on how you found this hobby or interest and the role it’s played in your life, even better.
How to Prepare
You can prepare for this question by simply thinking about what you love to do with your time outside of school. How have you spent your nights, weekends, and summers when free from schoolwork? Have you embarked on any big personal projects? Have you spent time creating anything you’re proud of? You should be able to build your answer around the interests or hobbies that have taken up most of your time outside of school, and the more sincere and enthusiastic you are about your answer, the more your passion will come across to your interviewer.
Question Ten: What Makes You Unique?
Why They’re Asking This Question
College interviewers ask this question to get at the heart of what they’ve been searching for all along in the previous questions. They want to know why you’re a uniquely valuable addition to their university and what makes you so special and unlike all the other applicants they’re considering. You don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to ace this question, but you do need to plan ahead. The key to this answer is going to be specificity, sincerity, and proof.
What They Are Looking For
When asking this question, the interviewer is looking for the answer that confirms just how unique, special and individual you are, as well as why that college needs you. This could be as simple as an obstacle you overcame, the background and upbringing you experienced, a talent or passion you’ve dedicated your time to, or a future goal of yours. Whatever you say, you want to back it up with examples of how this unique trait or aspect of your life has played a part. Additionally, if you can tie it to how you will contribute uniquely to the university or the student body, you can really hit a home run with your answer.
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How to Prepare
If you don’t have an obvious talent, accomplishment, or passion that comes to mind for this question, think about your life experience, any hardships you’ve faced and overcome, and your future goals and interests. You’re a unique individual, so if you think hard enough, you’re bound to come up with the areas in which you’re unlike other students. Once you decide upon your unique trait (or traits), you should build the story to explain how this has impacted your life and how it might bring a positive impact to the university, if possible.
Conclusion
College interviews can feel like walking into an intimidating, stressful situation with no clue of what to expect, but with enough preparation, enthusiasm, and confidence, they don’t need to be at all. As long as you think through, review, and rehearse your prepared answers ahead of time, you can go in feeling confident that you’re as prepared as can be. If you do get asked questions you haven’t prepared for, stay calm and be thoughtful, detailed, and professional in your answers. Interviewers know that this is an unfamiliar situation, and they’re there to hear your story, so take your time and give it your all.
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