Who Should Follow This Page?

Campus Visits & Interviews

INTERVIEWS Campus Visits & Interviews Overview Planning your interviews Preparing for your interviews Interview manners and etiquette Interview Do's Interview Don'ts The most common interview mistakes Strategy for admissions interviews Opening questions - Admission interviews Opening-ended questions - Admissions interviews Final questions and impressions - Admissions interviews Additional possible questions - Admissions interviews Strategy and questions for Professor interviews Final impressions - Professor interviews

Planning Your Interviews

Schedule your interviews for the same day as your campus visit.  This will be an efficient use of your and your parents’ time (see Scheduling your campus visits and interviews).

Make an appointment for an interview with an admission officer and a professor who teaches in the department of your planned college major.

The admissions office will schedule an interview with an admissions officer.  Ask for the name of the admission officer and the time, date, and location of the interview.  Be sure to write the information on your College Visit Itinerary.

Schedule an interview with a professor in the department of your major.  Ask the admissions office for the telephone number of the department you are planning to major in.  Call the department and ask to speak with the professor you would like to interview with (find the best professor to interview with by researching the college department’s website - see below).  If you don’t have a planned major and will enter college as an “undecided” student, it is not necessary to schedule an interview with a professor.

To find the best professor to interview with, go to the college’s website and research your major’s department faculty.  Select a professor that teaches the subject you are most interested in.  For example, if you’re planning to major in biology, see if there is a special emphasis in biology you can express interest in (such as bioengineering, molecular biology, or genetics).  The department may offer an emphasis and/or extra courses in such specialty subjects; see who teaches these classes.  Call that professor and see if he/she is available to see you sometime on the day of your campus visit.  If not, see if you can interview with the department chairperson. 

Schedule to talk with anyone else you think will give you the best information about what is important to you (students in your major, students belonging to interesting on-campus clubs, a coach in your sport, etc.).

To get the maximum 1-on-1 time with admission officers and college professors, avoid scheduling interviews during one of the college’s “Open House” or “Open Campus” days.  Typically there are hundreds of students and families touring the campus during an “Open House” day so there’s not much opportunity for you to meet with college representatives and spend quality time.  You’ll be able to make a better, stronger impression with college representatives on another day.