College and university interviews allow admissions officers to gain a
more personal perspective on all applicants and what they can offer if they are
accepted in the institution. Because of this, the interview is an important
element of the whole college application process and one that all incoming
freshmen should successfully pass.
Although your teen will be the only who will be interviewed, and thus,
the outcome will depend on him or her alone, there are ways for you to help
your child prepare for his or her college admissions interviews. Here are some
tips for doing so:
1. Enroll your teen in a college interview prep
program
If acing interviews has never been your
teen’s forte because he or she tends to get easily overwhelmed by his or her
anxieties, you can help your child overcome this by signing him or her for some interview
preparation courses.
Under this program, qualified instructors will conduct mock interviews with your teen
to help him or her have an idea of how the whole process goes. The instructors
will ask questions that are normally asked during formal admissions interviews
and will assess your teen’s responses.
If the interviewers are not satisfied
with your child’s answers or feel that they are lacking, and he or she doesn’t
appear confident throughout the interview, they will give your teen pointers on
how to come up with better, more suitable responses.
The instructors will give your child tips
on how to boost his or her confidence and deal with his or her anxieties as
well.
2. Conduct mock interviews with your child
Allow your child to practice whatever he
or she learned from the prep course at home by conducting mock interviews with
him or her.
Aside from pointing out other weaknesses
your teen may not be aware of, you can also give him or her other tips on how
to improve. Make sure you tell your child the good points of the mock interview
and compliment your child whenever you
see him or her improving or making an effort. All these will help build up
your teen’s self-confidence.
3. Visit the college or university with your teen
Help your child feel more comfortable for
an upcoming admissions interview by bringing him or her to the campus before
the actual interview.
With a campus visit, your teen won’t have
to go through feelings of unfamiliarity during the interview which can affect
his or her concentration. Going for a visit will also help your child make a
more informed decision about choosing this particular school or selecting
another.
After the visit, encourage your teen to think about and reflect on the visit. Ask
him or her questions that will make him or her finalize or reconsider his or
her decision. If your teen really likes
the college or university, help him or her recognize why he or she would be a
good fit for the school.
4. Research about the school
Another great way you can assist your
teen in preparing for the interview is to read about his or her potential
college or university.
Compile some interesting facts about the
school by visiting their website and reading their online newspaper. Give the
information to your child and help him or her connect his or her academic passions, achievements, and
extracurricular interests to distinct features of his or her course and the
school.
By doing this additional research, you
will allow your kids to skip this extra step and focus more on preparing their
responses, and for the whole interview process.
5. Help your teen prepare questions to ask during
the interview
Since you already did some additional
research about your teen’s potential school, work with him or her to come up
with a list of questions to ask during the interview.
College admissions officers also
encourage applicants to ask questions after the interview. You will enable your
child to impress the interviewers by
coming up with relevant, well-thought-out questions he or she can ask.
Make sure these questions are not generic
or ones that can be answered by reading the school’s brochure. Try to think of
questions that are specific such as what the college or university’s plans are
of giving students more modern learning experiences, or how they will implement
new technologies in your child’s chosen course.
Lastly, don’t forget to share other typical tips that will help your
child ace his or her interview. These can include tips on:
●
What to wear
●
How much makeup to put on
●
What time to arrive for the interview
●
How to shake hands professionally
Always remind your child that smiling and being confident and
conversational will go a long way in enabling him or her to have a successful
interview and be admitted by the college or university.
AUTHOR BIO
Maloy Burman is the Chief
Executive Officer and Managing Director of Premier
Genie FZ LLC. He is responsible for driving Premier Genie into a leadership
position in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education
space in Asia, Middle East and Africa and building a solid brand value. Premier
Genie is currently running 5 centers in Dubai and 5 centers in India with a
goal to multiply that over the next 5 years.
