6 Steps to Ace The Ivy League College Interview Successfully

Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is a college admissions expert who used to be a Cornell University admissions interviewer. He was helping students to get into their dream colleges such as Harvard, Yale, or Brown for years and now he is ready to share his best college admissions interview tips that work in real life.

So here are Dr. Shemmassian’s 6 top college interview tips for enrollees:

1. By ‘optional’ interview colleges usually mean a required one

Most schools want their students to be interested in them. So if the admissions interviewers of a particular college see that you really want to study there, your chances to get enrolled are getting higher. Dr. Shemmassian says that there are two main reasons why they want to make sure that you will attend their school: “1) to make sure they enroll their target number of students; and 2) to protect their yield, that is, the percentage of admitted students who enroll.” So basically if you don’t accept an optional interview offer, you will be less likely to be enrolled.

2. You’ll have to prove that you fit with the school

When an interviewer asks you about your major, don’t just say something like “I love philosophy and I really want to learn more about it at college.” Show the interviewers that you are extremely interested in the philosophy department of that particular school and that you would like to study with their professors. Don’t praise the school too much, but show that you are interested in that school and you perfectly fit with it.

3. Tell more about your background

Very often there is not enough of space on the college applications, so a lot of students are not able to cover everything they want about themselves. However, your college interview is the very opportunity to tell more about your background, which will make your chances of enrollment even higher.

4. Discuss your interests with passion

College admissions interviewers like intellectually curious students who have unusual interests and discuss them enthusiastically. So don’t be shy and tell them about your greatest passions.

5. Come up with specific questions about your college

At the end of the interview you 100% will be asked whether you have any questions. So if you don’t have any questions, the admissions committee will consider you as the one who is not interested in their school. So make a couple of specific questions about the school before your interview and feel free to ask the interviewers anything you want to know about the college.

6. Within 24 hours send a thank you note to your interviewers

The admissions interviewers will make a report about your interview, so sending a thank you note will contribute to the final positive impression about you and show your courtesy as well. Don’t forget to thank your interviewers for some specific reasons such as providing you with information about campus life.