easypeasy Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Specifically, Ivy interviews - but also any one-on-one admissions interview: Should the student research the interviewer at ALL? Or is that weird? 😅 BK and I can’t decide which is expected. Should he have some basic understanding of his interviewer’s publicly-available life story or not look them up at all? Unsure if that’s something he’s be expected to chat about (two of the interviewers are CEOs of some large local businesses) - of if he should be ignorant of that fact. We are SO unsure that I looked them up but he’s avoiding it until we know what he should know 😂 Help! 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzberrymom Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 I do alumni interviews for an ivy, and I can say that I would be rattled if it seemed like the kid had googled me. What I find is that students have rarely even googled the school and department itself! I get a lot of kids who seem to have no idea why they want to go there, whether it would be a really good fit. I would spend time on that instead. I’ve rarely chatted about my own story. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easypeasy Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 1 hour ago, rzberrymom said: I do alumni interviews for an ivy, and I can say that I would be rattled if it seemed like the kid had googled me. What I find is that students have rarely even googled the school and department itself! I get a lot of kids who seem to have no idea why they want to go there, whether it would be a really good fit. I would spend time on that instead. I’ve rarely chatted about my own story. Perfect. That's exactly what we needed to know (and what we were hoping to hear). I knew that "back in my day," you'd go into it blind - but with everything (and everyone) so "google-able" nowadays, I wasn't sure if it would show a lack of interest to not at least have googled the interviewer a little bit to have an idea of who they were and what they did for a living. BK did not want to look them up, so he was on the right track. 🙂 BK is super prepared for the "why I want to go here" part and has a really good handle on the schools themselves, what they offer, and how he thinks those schools will help him achieve his goals. He did all that research before applying to each school - he could give me a presentation on exactly why he wanted to apply to each and every school before I would foot the application bill. 😄 I love this kid's gumption. I really do appreciate your input!! My bio kids didn't apply to schools that had one-on-one interviews like this, so this is new territory for me to guide a kid through the process. 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmmIbrahim Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 13 hours ago, easypeasy said: Perfect. That's exactly what we needed to know (and what we were hoping to hear). I knew that "back in my day," you'd go into it blind - but with everything (and everyone) so "google-able" nowadays, I wasn't sure if it would show a lack of interest to not at least have googled the interviewer a little bit to have an idea of who they were and what they did for a living. BK did not want to look them up, so he was on the right track. 🙂 BK is super prepared for the "why I want to go here" part and has a really good handle on the schools themselves, what they offer, and how he thinks those schools will help him achieve his goals. He did all that research before applying to each school - he could give me a presentation on exactly why he wanted to apply to each and every school before I would foot the application bill. 😄 I love this kid's gumption. Just jumping in to agree with this. My son did a lot of interviews, and there were actually a mix of different styles and it wasn't always the case that he would know who he would get in advance. One of the ivies just had a group of kids come to interview with a group of alums in a fixed location, and each kid would get somewhat randomly paired with an alum. So definitely no expectation of knowing anything about your interviewer in advance. The interviewers that he would be able to find in advance, he would just search to get an idea if they would have particular information about his major or fields he was interested in. He said he never brought up anything that he learned about the interviewer, lol. I think you are right on in having your child be quite familiar with the school and know lots about why they want to attend. So as long as they aren't interviewing with Brown and talking about how much they like Princeton, or something else equally egregious (I've heard that really happened, lol), you should be just fine 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 You should also research whether the interviews are informational or evaluative. DD has had one of each recently. The evaluative one (where the interviewer will submit a report on the candidate that will be used in the admissions process) was more traditionally interview-like; whereas, the informational interview was a bit more relaxed and conversational. Both were with recent alumni and via Zoom and both were very good experiences, but knowing which ‘type’ the target school is using can be helpful to set expectations in advance. Just Google it and you should be able to figure it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzberrymom Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 1 hour ago, fourisenough said: You should also research whether the interviews are informational or evaluative. DD has had one of each recently. The evaluative one (where the interviewer will submit a report on the candidate that will be used in the admissions process) was more traditionally interview-like; whereas, the informational interview was a bit more relaxed and conversational. Both were with recent alumni and via Zoom and both were very good experiences, but knowing which ‘type’ the target school is using can be helpful to set expectations in advance. Just Google it and you should be able to figure it out. I wonder if it is an either/or on this. The ivy I do interviews for asks me to do both—I have to write a report that goes to admissions, but I’m also supposed to be an ambassador and give them a feel for what the school is like. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easypeasy Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 10 hours ago, UmmIbrahim said: Just jumping in to agree with this. My son did a lot of interviews, and there were actually a mix of different styles and it wasn't always the case that he would know who he would get in advance. One of the ivies just had a group of kids come to interview with a group of alums in a fixed location, and each kid would get somewhat randomly paired with an alum. So definitely no expectation of knowing anything about your interviewer in advance. The interviewers that he would be able to find in advance, he would just search to get an idea if they would have particular information about his major or fields he was interested in. He said he never brought up anything that he learned about the interviewer, lol. I think you are right on in having your child be quite familiar with the school and know lots about why they want to attend. So as long as they aren't interviewing with Brown and talking about how much they like Princeton, or something else equally egregious (I've heard that really happened, lol), you should be just fine 🙂 He has had a couple Zoom interviews like this already - where there have been several potentials and one or two school representatives (or alumni). These are local(ish) people who graduated from these schools. I imagine pre-Covid, these would have been in-person interviews (which this kid excels at. Zoom, on the other hand,... is difficult for him to focus. UGH COVID). I think that's a good point to have just a general idea of who the interviewer is (ie. does this person have *anything* in common with BS or did he get a theater arts degree) - without bringing those things up to the interviewer. So maybe I'll give him a very broad understanding of the person's current career field without too many details to make it creepy. 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easypeasy Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 9 hours ago, fourisenough said: You should also research whether the interviews are informational or evaluative. DD has had one of each recently. The evaluative one (where the interviewer will submit a report on the candidate that will be used in the admissions process) was more traditionally interview-like; whereas, the informational interview was a bit more relaxed and conversational. Both were with recent alumni and via Zoom and both were very good experiences, but knowing which ‘type’ the target school is using can be helpful to set expectations in advance. Just Google it and you should be able to figure it out. These upcoming interviews are definitely evaluative interviews. He had one yesterday and, while the interviewer was reeeeally nice and skilled at conversation, he said he definitely felt "grilled well-done" afterwards. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easypeasy Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 (edited) 8 hours ago, rzberrymom said: I wonder if it is an either/or on this. The ivy I do interviews for asks me to do both—I have to write a report that goes to admissions, but I’m also supposed to be an ambassador and give them a feel for what the school is like. Yes, the interview yesterday was like this as well. The person grilled BK, while reminiscing about their own time at this school and bringing up clubs, nearby points of interest, etc to BK. It worked too - BK researched those things afterward and is even more interested in the school with this firsthand information. 😄 Edited February 1, 2022 by easypeasy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easypeasy Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 @rzberrymom and anyone else with input.... one more question... BK should write an email follow-up after the phone/Zoom conversation, yes? Just to thank them for the convo and follow up on any interesting points of the conversation? (NOT for "this will help my chances" reasons, but because it just is the polite thing to do, yes?) Another adult told BK that would look "Schmoozy" but.... a follow up feels like the right thing to do to BK and to me? Are we wrong and a follow up would appear schmoozy (whatever that is, exactly? lol)? Thanks for all the input above, folks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibiche Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 @easypeasy Always, always, always send a thank you note. It’s not “schmoozy,” it’s polite. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easypeasy Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 10 minutes ago, bibiche said: @easypeasy Always, always, always send a thank you note. It’s not “schmoozy,” it’s polite. That's exactly what we thought! I was shocked when this adult (a trusted individual who has known BK longer than I have and helped get him out of a bad situation and into our home) said this to him!! Ugh! Luckily (for better or for worse) BK is using me to help navigate these waters and lucky for both of us, we can ask questions here!! 😄 He's already written a thank you note to send in the morning via email. (We would've decided to send it unless dozens of people came on here saying it was a terrible idea... because it's the polite thing to do!!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Seems like the right thing to do, but I have no idea whether DD did so! I’ll have to ask her. DD received one more interview request yesterday. That makes three for her, so far, this cycle. She enjoys interviewing and always walks away even more excited about the school than before. I guess that’s a large part of why schools conduct them! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmmIbrahim Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 10 hours ago, easypeasy said: He has had a couple Zoom interviews like this already - where there have been several potentials and one or two school representatives (or alumni). These are local(ish) people who graduated from these schools. I imagine pre-Covid, these would have been in-person interviews (which this kid excels at. Zoom, on the other hand,... is difficult for him to focus. UGH COVID). I think that's a good point to have just a general idea of who the interviewer is (ie. does this person have *anything* in common with BS or did he get a theater arts degree) - without bringing those things up to the interviewer. So maybe I'll give him a very broad understanding of the person's current career field without too many details to make it creepy. 😄 Yeah, even though the end of my son's senior year got shot by covid, I will say that because of the application timing, he was able to get in all of his interviews in person before things shut down. So I guess that's something! My kid would also have hated doing zoom interviews, so I feel your pain. I hope your son hangs in there. I will say the whole process was good practice for future interviewing of all sorts, so I'm glad that we went through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmmIbrahim Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 9 hours ago, easypeasy said: @rzberrymom and anyone else with input.... one more question... BK should write an email follow-up after the phone/Zoom conversation, yes? Just to thank them for the convo and follow up on any interesting points of the conversation? (NOT for "this will help my chances" reasons, but because it just is the polite thing to do, yes?) Another adult told BK that would look "Schmoozy" but.... a follow up feels like the right thing to do to BK and to me? Are we wrong and a follow up would appear schmoozy (whatever that is, exactly? lol)? Thanks for all the input above, folks! Oh no, we definitely had DS send everyone a follow-up email to thank them for their time. I saw this recommended many places, and it's definitely not considered schmoozy! One of DS's interviewers actually had several follow up emails about a topic that came up during their conversation, because the interviewer was interested in something that DS is really into. Then, when DS was accepted at the interviewer's school, there was another follow up contact from him to discuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 @easypeasy glad he's sending a thank you note. It's definitely the right thing to do - I don't think it can every hurt but can definitely help. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzberrymom Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 6 hours ago, fourisenough said: She enjoys interviewing and always walks away even more excited about the school than before. I guess that’s a large part of why schools conduct them! Yep. I’m kind of convinced that 95% of this is about improving yield. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 17 hours ago, easypeasy said: @rzberrymom and anyone else with input.... one more question... BK should write an email follow-up after the phone/Zoom conversation, yes? Just to thank them for the convo and follow up on any interesting points of the conversation? (NOT for "this will help my chances" reasons, but because it just is the polite thing to do, yes?) Another adult told BK that would look "Schmoozy" but.... a follow up feels like the right thing to do to BK and to me? Are we wrong and a follow up would appear schmoozy (whatever that is, exactly? lol)? Thanks for all the input above, folks! I did interviews for my alma mater. I really appreciated a follow up email thanking me for my time. Pre-covid, between travel, interview, and write up, it was easily 3-4 hours investment per interview. And yes, it's polite and adult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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