My college apps are in…so what do I do now?
If this sounds like you, enjoy some time away from stressing about college and sing at the top of your lungs in a car packed with friends who have also finished their college applications. After you let out your inner emotions, it’s grind time.
You’ve just written a bajillion essays about why X college is the one you want to attend and pressed the submit button. However, you’re an overachiever and are wondering what more you can do to increase your chances to gain admission into your top school. For most schools, this 2-3 month gap is called, “The Waiting Game,” where there is simply nothing else except waiting for the admissions results to come out. However, a small portion of schools, such as Washington University in St. Louis, offer interviews for prospective students. These interviews are typically conducted by alumni, admissions officers, or current students to get to know an applicant better. If you are offered an interview, congratulations! Here are examples of common college interview questions:
- Tell me about yourself.
- How do you see yourself at X college/university?/What do you hope to accomplish in college?
- What do you want to study and why?
- What are your hobbies?
With each interview that you walk into, you should have answers prepared for at least these four questions. You should tailor your answers to highlight your personality and connect it to the interests of the school. As someone who has interviewed applicants for several organizations, your interviewer wants to know about the real YOU, not some perception of you. As cliche as it sounds, if you just be yourself, then you will end up where you need to be.
Another piece of advice for high school seniors at this moment in the application season is to relish every small moment with your family and high school friends. The relationships that you build with some of your childhood friends is special, but there comes a time where that path diverges as people begin to chase their career and individual pursuits. For now, go on little adventures to explore your small town or watch the sunset on a picnic date and do all the fun activities that you convinced yourself that you never had the time for in high school.