Questions: Do you Have a Good One?

What kind of meaningful questions could an undergraduate applicant be asked or ask of a Dean of Admission from his dream school during the Dean’s presentation at my high school?

Here is my answer to this question that was posed to me on Quora.com.

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First of all, there is a big difference between an AO coming to a school and talking with students in a group presentation. These presentations often involve power point slides and an overview of the school followed by a short period to ask questions and pick up printed materials. Depending on the college or university as well as the on the reputation and location of the secondary school, a Dean may conduct individual interviews with students, but this is quite rare among highly selective schools.

The former kind of visit means you will only have a minute or two to ask a question and typically the AO will not ask many or any substantive questions to you as there will be others around you at the time if the school is popular with students from your school. On the other hand, if the AO makes time for interviews the situation is far different and you need to prepare for a typical interview. For the purposes of your question, I will assume you are talking about the former than the latter as this is the typical scenario for school visits/presentations.

Here’s a story I can share from a visit to school that the Wall Street Journal calls the best in the world. I was there with 3 of the most competitive schools in the US. Each of us talked about our schools for about 10 minutes and then we opened up the floor for questions. There were about 100 people in the room. The 3^rd question went something like this—it was addressed to one of my colleagues. 

“Mr. Smith (named changed) I noticed you attended X school (name withheld by me) as an undergraduate. While you were there you served as editor of the newspaper. I am interested in journalism and would like to hear about your experience there. Did you ever have issues with the administration trying to censor any articles? Did you see your role as a watchdog or as a supporter of the school or something else?  As a follow up I would also like to find out if you have specific quotas for students from x (she cited both the school and the country she was in). Last year 36 students applied from this school and you accepted only 3. The average SAT for the students applying was 2250, most had virtually all A’s academically, and many have won awards in their areas of interest. It seems, given these stats, that the students here are held to a higher standard. Would you comment on this?”

Each of us in the front of the room was stunned. Here was a student in a country not known for free press asking about the toughest questions we’d ever heard. The data she gathered about applications and acceptance rates was not published anywhere—she’d done this research herself. In addition, she’d done her research on the person from the school and asked a specific question that demonstrated that.

She took a huge risk asking a tough question but then she asked it to a former journalist who would likely respond to it well. He had a tough time answering the question truthfully, but I can say that each of us, after the presentation, wrote down that student's name as one we wanted to recruit. Her courage and preparation was something I have rarely seen from any student ever. I recruited her but she ended up getting into and attending the school she has asked the question about.

If you don’t want to take that the risk of asking tough questions then smart questions would be best. (A risky question is just that. It could impress the person or could offend him or her. But risk takers who are smart often do well in life.) .

Here is a fictional example of what I would categorize as a smart question from a student:

“Mr. Rodriguez, I am interested in cognitive science. I noticed that Professor Zhang at your school has a research lab that investigates fMRI results when people are questioned about certain beliefs. I am wondering about how I would get involved with research early on. I have already read widely in the field and know I want to pursue this field. Do professors open up research for entering students? Should I contact him directly and are professors open to this kind of outreach?”

This kind of question demonstrates direct knowledge o the school, underscores a love of learning, and shows the student is seeking out opportunities specific to an area of interest about which they have a passion. This could be true of an extra curricular activity and not just an academic area. A question that demonstrates specific knowledge of the school and what it has that others do not always shows you are truly interested in the school and not just interested in attending a place because of its ranking.

If you are talking about what questions an AO might ask you in a presentation setting, they are almost always general as there is not time for too many specifics. But if you are asked why you are interested in school x do not just say: “It has a great reputation.” Instead, you should have a detailed, informed answer. For example: “I an currently doing some research on start ups in Ghana and Nigeria. I noticed that Professor Achebe has done a case study on this topic. I see also he offers a class on entrepreneurship in Africa and I think, given my interests and his expertise, I would learn a great deal from him and others in your top ranked business program.”

                                               

To sum up, the more detail to your story, the more you demonstrate specific knowledge and interest, then the more you will become the kind of student who leaves a great impression--the more you stand the chance of having your story told to lots of others by people like me who remember the rare cases in which students go far beyond what almost any other student does in preparing great questions and answers that are specific to a school.