Admissions Interview: Your Secret Weapon to Getting Into the Dream College

After you’ve sent in all your college applications, you probably think that from now until you receive your results is just a waiting game. However, that isn’t necessarily the case.

With the thousands of applications that colleges are getting every year, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle even if you think that you’ve done everything to make an impact.

What do you do to stand out from the crowd?

Set up a follow-up interview with the colleges you are most interested in!

I know the idea of doing an interview after going through all that hard work of completing your application is not something that sounds appealing.

I remember when I was in high school, I had just finished all my applications and I walked into my counselor’s office feeling good about getting done early when she told me that if I really wanted to make an impact I had to go in and do an interview.

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In-Person Interview

First of all, in-person interviews are not on my list of favorite activities to do. For one thing, whenever I get put on the spot I tend to get nervous and when I get nervous I get twitchy, and I think it’s safe to say that twitchiness is never a good trait to have when trying to make a good impression.

Second of all, I thought I made a pretty good impact with my personal essay and resume so I thought that doing an interview with the college admissions office would be overkill and might make them think I was trying too hard.

Nevertheless, my counselor insisted and since I figured she knew better than me (since, you know, she’s a professional and I was the first and only kid in my family going through the college process), I decided to take a leap of faith and do an interview with the colleges that I applied for.

And, shockingly, they didn’t go all that badly! Even better, I don’t think any of them noticed (or were kind enough to pretend not to notice) my twitchy nervousness.

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The Results

So, am I glad that I ended up doing an interview with admissions after I turned in my application?

YES. I find that when it comes to the college application process, it often turns out that the more you do, the better off you’ll be when it comes to making a good impression and standing out to the admissions counselors.

The Limitation

Obviously there’s a limit to that, like if you send cookies every week or flood the counselor’s Facebook inbox with messages or something, but on the whole, if the counselor can hear your name and think of exactly how you can excel at his or her college, you’re practically golden.

Putting a face to a name in a sea of other students is something that gives you a huge advantage and is one of the reasons why personal interviews are so important.

Proof

Also, in case you want more proof, one of the colleges that I interviewed at is one of the most highly selective schools in the state of New York and I got a full acceptance from them after my interview. Not a waitlist, not even a selected waitlist, but completely accepted. I’m not just blowing smoke here; interviews can be your secret weapon to getting into your dream school.

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