"Hi" "Hello" "My name is Justine Rumbel.
I'm an admissions counselor from the University of Rochester.
Welcome to campus. We'll be about twenty to thirty minutes
for the interview. Then if you have any questions we'll come back
and get them answered then."
In some cases the parents will be hesitant to leave. If this happens
here is an example of how you might handle the situation.
"I thought maybe I would just go with you."
Actually we do interviews on a one on one basis that gives the student
an opportunity to be themselves and answer questions with a little less
distraction. It also shows their independence
in the application process a little bit more. If you want, you can have some
coffee in the lobby, we'll be about twenty to thirty minutes
then come back and see if you have questions then." "Thank you."
"Alright! So, welcome to Rochester. I actually will be the first person
reading your application, so I'm really excited to get to know you.
I'm interested in a lot of the same things that you are too.
I did a lot of that while I was in college."
Put the student at ease by starting off with light conversation, then
transition into the interview when the student seems comfortable.
Remember, there are no required questions you must ask.
Your goal is to have a relaxed conversation that provides additional
insight into the applicant's interests, passions, and unique qualities
that could not necessarily be gleaned from their application.
This helps to gauge whether or not they are a good fit for Rochester,
and vice versa. So most of your questions should help elicit responses
to help us determine this. For example:
"But I see you're interested in engineering so tell me a little bit
about where that interest came from."
"Yeah, well I'm interested in how things come from conception to reality,
I guess." Some students may not be as talkative as other because
they are nervous or shy. If this happens try to get them to open up
by asking more open ended questions that will allow them
the opportunity to say more than just 'yes' or 'no'. Something like:
"So when it comes to your courses in high school and
what you've been doing all along; what were some of your
favorite experiences from high school?" "Well, I've been
pretty active on my debate team and I've done a lot of speech events
in particular. I've gone to a couple tournaments and done extemporaneous
and impromptu speech events. And I've placed a couple times.
And I'm going to be even more involved this coming year. I'm going to try to get
some more debate involved in there, do some Lincoln/Douglass events.
Hopefully go to a bunch more tournaments and it should be a pretty cool experience."
Towards the end of the interview give the student the
opportunity to ask you questions about the U of R and your own experiences.
They may have questions you can't answer. If this is the case
let them know that you will look into it and get back to them
with the answer and any other information they are looking for.
If you direct the question to Beth Luke in the admissions office
she'll get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.
"So, do you have any questions that you want to ask me?"
"Well, yeah, like I said earlier I've been pretty involved in my school's
young democrat club. So I wondering how you
stand on the upcoming election and what you think the result is going to be?"
Here's an example of a question it might not be appropriate for this type of discussion.
If you are asked a question that deals with politics, religion, race, or some other controversial
subject, it's best to steer the conversation away from these topics.
Likewise, please don't ask the student about their personal viewpoints on sensitive topics.
"Hi!" "Hi" "So we had a really good conversation. I was just wondering if you had any questions at all?"
Save some time at the end of the interview to speak with the student's parents.
Let the family know that if they have any questions later on that they can contact you.
After the interview is complete you'll need to fill out your evaluation.
Try to do this as soon as possible so the details are still fresh in your mind.
It doesn't need to be long. Be sure to capture the highlights of the interview
and any information that provides more insight into the student's
interests, strengths, and unique characteristics. Remember to submit
your interview form to the admissions office via email or online.
Just to recap here are some points that you should remember when
preparing for and conducting interviews: