1bassoon Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Any good tips or hints? My dd18 is the typical over-achieving eldest. Very bright, but she freezes a bit in new situations. It takes time for her to relax and really "shine". She's participating in a BIG scholarship weekend at her top choice school on Feb 4&5. The good news - she's got a "warm-up" interview at school #2 on Jan. 22. But really and truly she wants to do well in February. So - help me with strategies, ladies! That week, we'll be going to get her hair cut at our favorite salon. I'd like to take her for a manicure - she is terrible about picking her cuticles until they bleed :glare: - but not sure she'll go for that. Any good advice? Should we practice beforehand, or would that even help? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 That's a difficult question as everyone has a different personality and each school has their different scholarship weekend plans. My suggestion would be to practice really informally. As you're driving or eating or something familiar, ask questions that might come up (such as, "what did you think about homeschooling," or "why do you want to come to ___," or "what do you think about (latest headline event)?" In my limited experience, the more kids have truly thought about questions - several questions - the better they are at answering them under pressure. However, to try to mimic the exact setting can backfire when the "script" isn't exactly the same in the actual time/place and that can throw some kids way off. Therefore, keeping the question practice low key (not even focusing on the setting) is preferable for us. ps The homeschooling question can be a biggie. Keep in mind that the interviewers probably came from ps, so one ought to be really diplomatic with their answer (don't diss ps outright when answering - stick with the positives of hs for the individual). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 (edited) I think insisting or even commenting on the need for a manicure might make her even more nervous. I like Creekland's idea of more informal going over possible questions she may be asked. Keep it LOW KEY at all times. And let her know - EVERY kid going in for an interview is nervous. The college folks know that! They honestly want every kid to shine and will try and make her feel comfortable. And - she has no control over whomever else is being interviewed. My ds interviewed at one school and the entire group was told beforehand that NOT being accepted meant nothing - that they all were smart, great kids or they wouldn't be there for the interview in the first place (ok, college folk said it better than I am remembering) but with only 5 scholarships and 150 kids interviewing.... Edited January 14, 2011 by JFSinIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace is Sufficient Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 You may want to search for the thread, but here are some of the highlights I remember (in no particular order.) She should prepare for the interview by making sure that she is knowledgeable about the school and the department in which she will major. Then, for example, the answer to 'Why do you want to go this school?' can be backed up with, "Dr. So-and-so's research/award/??? in this area blah blah blah...." Similarly, she should have some questions prepared in advance -- not things that are easily answered from a quick perusal of the website. The point of these two is to show a high level of interest in the school. One question which might come up, and a topic the student needs to think about it advance is: Beyond what the student wants from the school, what can the student contribute to the school? Finally, if the student wants to go all out to impress them, wear something with the school's colors. I also searched for other threads, almost all of which were on admissions interviews rather than scholarship interviews, but I figured the information would also be useful, so I recommend doing that, too. We're halfway through the process... he had the 'practice' version at a school we were less interested in (it was not a good fit for him and they must have recognized it as well. We were surprised at the low award he received) The scholarship competition day for one of his top choice schools is in two weeks. I do think it will be very good that she has a lower choice school to practice at. My son will be much more comfortable next time because of having done it once already. Blessings, Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 (edited) Also have your daughter refamiliarize herself with her application. At one scholarship event, my daughter was asked to "Tell us more about ..."; she saw that the interviewers had her application in front of them. Edited to add: Thinking back to stressful times in college, what I wanted to hear from my parents was, "Good luck with .... We love you however you do." Regards, Kareni Edited January 14, 2011 by Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bassoon Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 You all are giving me great stuff - and, by and large, good reminders of what we already are doing :) I did finally decide to reschedule the science class I usually teach on Friday mornings, so I can be there along with my hubby. I'm just - so - proud of her for even getting this far, kwim? She's a huge blessing to us. . . (OH, and dh is up for a job at this same school. Hellloooo tuition discount!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 And let her know - EVERY kid going in for an interview is nervous. The college folks know that! They honestly want every kid to shine and will try and make her feel comfortable. . This is so true. My daughter couldn't come up with an answer to a question in her interview and they ended up prompting her with things they'd seen on her transcript and activities list. (And she got the scholarship.) The more thoughtful she is about a question, the more they will be impressed, whether she comes out with anything exciting to say or not. If it looks like she's thought about life deeply in ANY area, that will also impress them. Typically, those kids who look like they've taken some incident in their life and gotten something out of it that changed their perspective on things look really good to interviewers. Having anything to say about future plans that makes it look like she's thought about life is always a plus (other than, "I want to make lots of money"). Humor is definitely ok and appreciated, but not to the point of flippancy. And my daughter got absolutely no questions about homeschooling. Some colleges have a set of questions that they just ask everyone and the interview isn't all that long, so unless someone on the committee happens to think about the homeschooling issue in the context of the other questions, it may not even come up. My husband does these sorts of interviews. What he finds really *not* impressive is those kids who just want to go into a prestigious field because someone told them it might be interesting or lucrative -- without any real drive on their part. But he's really impressed by kids who think, even if they're still struggling to find the answers, and who seem to have some interests that they like to talk about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Practice makes perfect. I had her do mock interviews w/friends , smart adults I knew, or one of her teachers. She did about 4 prior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memphispeg Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 She should prepare for the interview by making sure that she is knowledgeable about the school and the department in which she will major. Then, for example, the answer to 'Why do you want to go this school?' can be backed up with, "Dr. So-and-so's research/award/??? in this area blah blah blah...." Similarly, she should have some questions prepared in advance -- not things that are easily answered from a quick perusal of the website. The point of these two is to show a high level of interest in the school. One question which might come up, and a topic the student needs to think about it advance is: Beyond what the student wants from the school, what can the student contribute to the school? I particularly like these ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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