Ace the Interview: Your Comprehensive Guide to College Success

Navigating the college application process can feel like traversing a maze, filled with uncertainty about the best academic path and future career. Informational interviews can offer clarity, connecting you with experts in your field of interest to discuss their academic or professional experiences. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of informational interviews, covering everything from preparation to follow-up, and explores the college interview process, offering invaluable tips and strategies for success.

What is an Informational Interview?

An informational interview is an informal conversation with someone studying or working in an area of interest to you. These interviews are most often used to better understand the realities of a career, but they can be equally useful for better understanding paths of study or life at a particular university.

Benefits of Informational Interviews

Informational interviews provide many benefits, including:

Gaining firsthand information: Researching online can be incredibly helpful, but an informational interview can provide you with invaluable firsthand, current information. You’ll be able to gain greater context, learn about someone’s personal experience, and get specific answers to specific questions you may not find answers to online. By the end of the informational interview, you may find you answered questions you didn’t even know you had.
Learning about a particular organization or school: Informational interviews are a great way to learn about what it’s like to study there, what the student body is like, how heavy the workload is, what on-campus and off-campus housing are like. This is your time to better understand the professional culture, what kind of opportunities are available, what average salaries look like… the list goes on.
Expanding your professional network: Even if you’re not looking for a job at the moment, it’s always helpful to expand your professional network. You never know-maybe they’ll be forwarding you job leads in a few years.

Finding People to Interview

It can be difficult to identify people for informational interviews. Start by listing as many people as you can whose academic or professional trajectories interest you. Here are some categories to get you thinking:

Family and Friends: Are there uncles, aunts, cousins, or friends who it would be beneficial to interview? Do your parents know someone you could connect with? If you’re nervous about your first informational interview (totally understandable), it can be helpful to start with a low-stakes interview with someone you already know well. Not only will you learn about their trajectory, you’ll gain confidence and even be able to ask for their feedback to strengthen your abilities for future interviews.
Contacts through School: Do you have a high school teacher who worked in a field that interests you? Or if the answer is no, consider asking your teachers if there’s anyone they might recommend you speak with. Perhaps a previous student of theirs shares your interests, or their friend works in the exact field you’re considering.
Contacts through Extracurriculars: If you’ve been involved in extracurricular activities throughout high school, think about your mentors. These don’t have to be people directly related to the field/s you want to learn more about. Could you ask one of them about their professional trajectory? Could they connect you with friends or colleagues of theirs?
Community Members: People in your neighborhood, faith community, or any other community you’re a part of can be a phenomenal resource as well. Is there an organization or business in your area that does work in the field/s you want to explore? Hit them up-you lose nothing by asking politely, and if it’s clear you share their values and interests, there’s all kinds of potential.
Other People: You can also reach out to people with whom you have no direct connection. While this can be a little more intimidating and sometimes less fruitful, it’s still a good option. Be polite and concise. Make sure to include the following:
- A brief introduction. This should include your name, where you’re attending school, and your class year.
- How you heard about them. Mention any mutual friends or contacts who recommended you reach out to them. Indicate that you heard they’re working in __ or studying __ and that you’re interested in learning more about that field. You can also add in any experience with the field you’ve had already, even if it’s just a high school class or extracurricular activity. Maybe you’ve really enjoyed writing for your school paper, and that’s what’s sparked your interest in Journalism. Or you took a summer course in Psychology and are curious about what being a Clinical Psychologist would be like.
- Request to meet. Meeting in person is ideal, but if that’s not possible, a video call or phone call is great too. Ask for just thirty minutes max of their time (even fifteen minutes can be valuable!), and make sure to accommodate the days and times that work for them, rather than suggesting particular times yourself.

Preparing for an Informational Interview

Perhaps the biggest mistake you can make is to go into an informational interview without preparation. To make the most of an informational interview, you’ll want to do your homework.

Research the field of study or career you’re interested in: This will allow you to ask more relevant questions and demonstrate you have a basic understanding of the field. It's probably best not to ask questions that you can easily find answers to via a Google search. For example, you don’t want to connect with a mechanical engineer, only to ask them what the difference between mechanical and civil engineering is. (Even Wikipedia probably has you covered there…)
Know who you’re talking with: Before your interview, make sure you look into your interviewee’s background. Check out their current position, previous positions, and educational background. If you’re well-prepared, not only will you be able to ask more pertinent questions, your interviewee will likely be flattered that you took the time to learn more about them.
Prepare a brief introduction: Before you launch into your questions, you’ll want to introduce yourself. You can mention majors or careers you’re considering or what kind of big questions you’re hoping to gain clarity on.
Develop questions: Think critically about what you want to learn from the informational interview. What information have you not been able to find in your research so far? What are some things that can only be answered by someone with experience? You’ll want to have a list of questions, but also be open to questions that arise naturally during the interview. Rather than jumping around randomly, organize your questions by category so that the interview flows more naturally. It’s fine if you don’t end up asking all of the questions you prepared. They’ll serve as a guide, particularly at the beginning of your conversation.

Here are some sample questions to get you started:

If you’re interviewing a student and want to learn about their studies:

What is a typical school day like for you?
How did you decide on your major?
What do you like most about your major? What do you like least about your major?
What kind of attributes or skills do you feel are necessary to succeed in this major?
What kind of internships or research opportunities are available to you?
What’s the most interesting class you’ve taken, and why?
What do you like most about your college? What do you like least about it?
What is student life like?
How many hours do you spend in class per week? Studying?
What do you do on the weekend?
What do you hope to do when you graduate? Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? If not, what would you change?
What advice would you give someone who is considering this field of study?
Is there anyone else you would recommend I speak with?

If you’re interviewing a professional and want to learn about their work:

What is a typical workday like for you?
What are your primary responsibilities?
What do you like most about your current role? What do you like least about it?
What’s most challenging about your current role?
What did you study? How relevant is your degree to your current role?
What kind of education and training is required for your job?
What was your first job when you graduated college? What are common entry-level jobs in this field?
How did you become interested in this field? What other fields did you consider?
What related fields would you recommend I look into?
If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? If not, what would you change?
What advice would you give someone who is considering this field of study?
Is there anyone else you would recommend I speak with?

The Informational Interview Itself

The day has arrived! It’s time for your informational interview. A few quick pointers:

Dress neatly and appropriately.
Arrive on time or (preferably) a few minutes early. Aim to arrive to venue 15 minutes early.
Bring a notebook and pen or your computer to take notes.
Briefly introduce yourself.
Be respectful of their time! If you asked for thirty minutes of their time and it’s nearly the thirty minute mark, acknowledge it and say that you want to respect their time. Your interviewee may want to continue the conversation or cut it off there.
At the end of the interview, ask if there’s anyone else they would recommend you speak with. This is a great strategy that can set you up for future informational interviews.
Ask if you can reach out to them with any follow-up questions.

After the Informational Interview

Just because you finished the interview doesn’t mean your work is done!

Send a thank-you note to express your gratitude.
If they recommend you get in touch with someone else, reach out to that contact as well.
If it’s appropriate, stay in touch with your interviewee.
Make sure to take some time to reflect on what you learned from the interview. What was surprising? Did it make you more or less excited about a particular field? What questions do you still have?
And then it’s time for the next interview! Remember that the more interviews you do, the more comfortable they’ll become.

College Interviews: An Overview

Many selective schools conduct interviews as part of their admissions process. These interviews serve multiple purposes:

Demonstrating Interest: Some universities believe that students who interview are more likely to accept an offer of admission (if they’re given one) than students who don’t interview. Just doing the interview-regardless of how you think it went-counts for something. Some schools track how much active interest you’ve shown: Are you applying early? Did you visit? Did you interview?
Providing Additional Information: Maybe you didn’t exactly crush it in your essays. Or maybe you’re so beautifully magnetic that words on a page just don’t do you justice. Or maybe you’ve done some awesome things since applying that weren’t in your original application. You can share these things in your interview.
Humanizing the Applicant: An interview helps humanize a student-it’s easier to turn down a file than a person.

Do College Interviews Matter?

Sometimes. And they matter to some schools more than others. It depends on the college. To determine how much weight a school places on the interview, Google [name of the school] and the words “Common Data Set.” This will pull up a table that indicates how much weight the school places on each part of the application, including the interview.

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It’s important to note that the "honest-to-god ‘Heck yeah, we are evaluating you!' interviews with admissions staff tend to be much more important than those 'merely informative' type interviews with, say, an alum.”

What If I Decline to Interview?

If you’re offered an interview and decline, it could look bad, or at least raise questions. Most of the colleges I’ve asked say that the interview almost never hurts the student. The only time Monica or I suggest that students not interview is if they’re terribly shy. Having said that, a lot has to do with preparation and even the shyest student can shine in an interview. There is, after all, no one who knows you better than you.

The One Thing Colleges Are Looking For Above All Else

Intellectual vitality. That’s it. That may sound a lot like intellectual curiosity but it’s different. Lots of kids have intellectual curiosity. But colleges want to see the kid who has actually DONE something with their curiosity. How have they acted upon it?

Consider the student who reads books about game theory because he’s an avid investor. Or the one who works on the campaign of a state representative running for office because she’s fascinated by politics or the guy who wants to intern for the World Affairs Council because he’s into geo-politics.

Preparing for a College Interview

Research Common Interview Questions: Many students tell me “I can’t really prepare because I don’t know what they’re gonna ask me.” But there are really only 20 or so commonly asked college interview questions.
Craft and Bullet-Point Answers: Bullet point your answers to the three essays I recommended writing below (rather than writing them).
- "Why Us" Essay: This statement avoids these pitfalls.
- Short Extracurricular Essay (150-250 words): Writing this one out will actually help you answer a variety of questions. This essay should incorporate these six techniques.
- "What do you want to study and why" Essay: Have at least one unexpected answer to the "What do you want to study and why" essay.
Organize Your Content: Because, chances are, once you’ve written all this stuff your brain is going to be exploding and if (you’re like me and) you have some perfectionistic tendencies, you’ll start to stress about remembering it all.
Develop a Message Box: A message box is basically a PR-term for the 3-4 points you definitely want to hit in the interview. And here’s a secret that every PR person (and most politicians) know: You can segue to one of these 3-4 points no matter what the interviewer asks.

Developing a Message Box

Spend about 45-60 minutes on the following (or, if you’re doing the “one hour” version of this, just pick one of the ideas below and spend 10 minutes on it):

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Do the 21 Details exercise that’s here.
Take a blank piece of paper and spend 15-20 minutes filling the page with everything you’d want a college rep to know about you. Fill it with adjectives. Doodles. Memories. Basically everything that makes you, well, you.
Ask your family or friends: What’s your favorite thing about me? What’s the most impressive thing about me?
Then pick 3-4 of those things.

Questions to Ask Your Interviewer

When I'm interviewing a student and I ask, "Do you have any questions for me?" and the student is like, "Not really," how do you think that sounds? Not great. I'm not saying it reflects negatively, I'm just saying it doesn't add anything to the student's application that I can write down.

When asking questions of your interviewer, here are a few dos and don’ts.

DO be specific.
DO make sure your answer isn’t easily Googleable (i.e. DON’T ask what the average SAT score is for incoming freshmen).
DO build a connection.
DON’T be afraid to ask the interviewer personal questions about what he or she likes and dislikes about their alma mater.
DON’T bombard them with questions. Keep an eye on your interviewer’s body language so you know when to wrap up your questions. But if your interviewer is stimulated by the discussion, don’t be afraid to keep the conversation going.
DO be prepared. Have a list of 3-4 questions to ask.

Pro Tip: If you haven’t yet written and submitted your “Why us” statement, let your interviewer help you write it. How? Ask questions that may help you make a better case for why you’d be a great fit for the school.

Here are some types of questions to consider:

Ask a question that shows you’ve done your research: Ask great school-specific questions.
Pick questions that show you're serious about your area of interest: Ask an advanced-level question in your field of interest/expertise.
Pick questions that invite a personal connection: Ask questions only the interviewer could answer.

Remember that you're talking to a real person-not just a college rep-and that person has hopes and dreams, regrets and wishes just like you. Be brave and dare to make a real connection.

Sample Questions to Ask College Interviewer

Personal Questions

What was the best part about X college? What was honestly the worst part?
What did you study? Which professors would you say I have to study with if I attend?
What would you have done differently in college?
What do you wish you’d known before attending X college?

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