interview shminterview
oh god. i just scheduled my first interview for the grad school application process. i am terrible at interviews. i make a terrible first impression. i come off as a bitch. i really do. well, i mean, that is mostly what i am, but still. i'm lovable, really. but people who like me really only end up liking me after they are forced, by whatever cruel circumstances that god puts upon them, to spend a lot of time around me. and i'm not even sure if they really actually like me. they might just be pretending so i don't punch them in the mouth.
does anyone have any good grad school interview tips? will dressing in that slightly slutty v-neck sweater get me in? or should i go all-out puritan and wear a black suit with a collared button-down and my Very Serious Glasses with my hair in a bun so i look like someone who might someday be a real journalist? should i be chummy and giggly, or straight-faced and intellectual? personal and friendly, or cool and collected? DRUNK OR SOBER?
i have a 50/50 track record with admissions interviews, both of which were during college applications, both with fairly prestigious schools. one, the school i ended up getting into, was perhaps the best interview experience of my life. i somehow morphed unexpectedly into Witty Catherine. at 18, i was wowing the married couple who interviewed me in their posh home in mclean. i was amazing, intelligent, rattling off people i admired and serious goals i had in life. i was funny, kind, a tad sarcastic (but in the good way), self-depecrating, and determined. i hardly knew myself.
the other interview was with a school where i was eventually wait-listed. it took place over a cup of coffee at the amphora diner in vienna, which is perhaps the most atmosphereless place to talk to a person you have never met before and who is about to judge you mercilessly and then make a decision that could affect the rest of your life.
i did everything badly. i spilled sugar. i sloshed coffee. the dull, mousy man "interviewing" me barely did any talking, so i got extremely nervous and overcompensated by blabbering on for the better part of an hour. he only showed any sign of interest when i talked about my experiences as tennis team captain, and even then, i'm fairly sure it was because he was a gross fat lecherous person, not that he was inspired by my leadership.
anyway, seriously, if you do have interview tips, please let me know them. i can't write, i have a lackluster academic record, and short of sexual favors, an interview is my one great chance to convince these people that i'm worth a shot.
Comments
What? We're supposed to schedule interviews? Crap!
this is the only school i've encountered so far where we have to do i/vs before the applications. i'm sure it's not the norm.
It's all about eye contact. Also, declarative sentences. Turn your weaknesses into strengths!
I don't know about the rest, but I'm pretty sure you should drink after the interview, instead of before.
...but what do I know. Heck, go with your gut instinct on these things. You could even bring a flask and offer the prof a shot!
Good luck. --s
If you think a weakness can be turned into a strength, I hate to tell you this, but that's another weakness.
My best interview experience was the med school interview at UVA, where I was so comfortable that halfway through the talk, I almost flipped over backwards in my swivel chair because I was so far reclined. I think I had my foot on Dr. Davis' desk at some point. So my advice would be to just relax. I think you make a decent first impression. I mean, you laughed appropriately when I was imitating the weatherman, so I pretty much liked you from the start. I also think you should tell the story about your high school janitor.
ah, yes, the janitor story will be sure to make a great example of my ability to create convincing narratives and capture people's imaginations.
what kind of questions did you get asked in your med school i/v, scott? i know it's not going to be *exactly* the same as an i/v for j-school, but there might be some wisdom within anyways.
umm...just point them to your portfolio. don't even open your mouth. haha, jk
I got a lot of "why do you want to be a doctor" crap. I also got the "what are your biggest strengths and greatest weaknesses" question at some of the crappier schools, which i think is the shittiest question ever and why don't you put some amount of effort into thinking up important topics and i hated it so much that I actually told one of the nj schools I couldn't think of any weaknesses off the top of my head. Let's see, what else? The dean of Pittsburg asked me why I had cut my hair so dramatically from the afro headhsot I sent them. Oh, I always got asked why i thought I was a unique applicant (two words: Mr. peepers) and how I thought my degree in English would help me to be a better doctor. The harshest question I got asked was, "Explain the discrepency between your MCAT scores and your organic chemistry grade." Ouch. I don't know. I think med school questions are probably pretty boring and tame compared to journalism. I didn't get any current event questions or ethics scenarios or discussions about Paris Hilton. People did want to know a lot about water polo and movies though. And being a lifeguard. Basically they asked me about whatever the hell was on my application. I was talking to the dean here recently and he said that, for UVA med school, the only point of the interview is to make sure the person is engaging and socially interactive and not some hyperreligious freak who will attempt to impose his moral view of the world on his patients, but I'm not sure if it's different for other grad schools.
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