Bright college days
Oct. 14th, 2001 09:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaAn admissions counselor for Reed College contacted me the other day. Would I be kind enough to interview a couple of prospective students in my area, and tell them about Reed? Their normal mid-Atlantic states rep had to cancel her trip to Maryland because of health problems, and... and...
Sure, I said. Why not? And so I've been trading e-mail with a nervous, carefully polite high school senior from the Eastern Shore, setting up an appointment at a Borders cafe. After which I'll write a letter to Reed, telling them what I think about his suitability for admission.
I worked for the admissions office my senior year, and I interviewed a lot of high school seniors then. (And juniors. And junior college students. And homeschooled kids.) My first year at Iowa I think I interviewed two kids there. I've done the admissions thing fairly recently myself, of course - the whole round of internship interviews in the winter of '99. But those were much more like high-pressure half-day job interviews. In college admissions, all you have to do is convince the interviewer that you're an interesting person. You don't have to have firm career goals and a therapeutic orientation.
I'm out of practice at this. I remember that a big part of the interview is talking about Reed - what it's like to be a student there, what the possibilities are, how this kid would fit into the picture. I remember the convention that you don't mention other colleges by name, although you can do generic comparisons - I had a whole spiel about why you might choose Reed over Large State University. I remember fielding questions from parents about drugs, and nose piercings, and why the tuition was so high.
I remember that I used to have a good repertoire of questions to ask. I think my routine opener was "So, what got you interested in Reed?", but I don't remember what I used to ask next. Hey, LiveJournal world: what would you ask a nervous 17 year old to help them reveal their inner coolness? What would you want to be asked, that would let your coolness unfold?
Sure, I said. Why not? And so I've been trading e-mail with a nervous, carefully polite high school senior from the Eastern Shore, setting up an appointment at a Borders cafe. After which I'll write a letter to Reed, telling them what I think about his suitability for admission.
I worked for the admissions office my senior year, and I interviewed a lot of high school seniors then. (And juniors. And junior college students. And homeschooled kids.) My first year at Iowa I think I interviewed two kids there. I've done the admissions thing fairly recently myself, of course - the whole round of internship interviews in the winter of '99. But those were much more like high-pressure half-day job interviews. In college admissions, all you have to do is convince the interviewer that you're an interesting person. You don't have to have firm career goals and a therapeutic orientation.
I'm out of practice at this. I remember that a big part of the interview is talking about Reed - what it's like to be a student there, what the possibilities are, how this kid would fit into the picture. I remember the convention that you don't mention other colleges by name, although you can do generic comparisons - I had a whole spiel about why you might choose Reed over Large State University. I remember fielding questions from parents about drugs, and nose piercings, and why the tuition was so high.
I remember that I used to have a good repertoire of questions to ask. I think my routine opener was "So, what got you interested in Reed?", but I don't remember what I used to ask next. Hey, LiveJournal world: what would you ask a nervous 17 year old to help them reveal their inner coolness? What would you want to be asked, that would let your coolness unfold?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
hah!
Date: 2001-10-18 12:36 pm (UTC)-How would your best friend describe you?
-If you could take time off school and had unlimited resources, what would you do?
-give examples of how you have applied what you learned in HS.
-what do you do when you have too much to do? (I usually do ask about time management but I ask it a little differently)
-what is the most rewarding thing you have ever done?
-what motivates you to do well in school?
I usually start out by telling them some about my and my expectations for the interview and then asking them about their extracurricular activities and hobbies so that I can pick on one that sounds interesting and we can talk about that. You can usually see them kind of light up when you get to asking about the one they are REALLY passionate about. Of course I don't always successfully discover this...
and, er, so far my record of admission is 0 for 4, so maybe my advice isn't the best... then again, there was only really one of the 4 that I did want to get in, so... I guess I'm more like 0 for 1.
this is spiffy. I'm all inspired for tonight now. of course I may be too late to be helping you... but you didn't put an expiration date on the post! hah!