Interviews: Skype, advice and questions

What are the questions asked in a college interview on Skype?

I was asked to answer this question on the website Quora.com 

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Skype interviews are not all that much different than interviews that take place face to face.  Some schools now require all students to interview and for those who cannot do an in person interview, then Skype is a useful alternative. Some schools interview all international applicants and Skype is an easy way to accomplish this.

Virtually every counselor who advises students  emphasizes finding a school that "fits". Schools themselves are trying to enroll students that fit them too. Given the limitations of  measures like GPA and SAT score when it comes to determining fit, schools look at essays, recommendations and activities. In my opinion, more schools should use interviews too. Currently it is a small number that require them and most do not use them at all. As long as all students have the option to have an interview ,, even via Skype, I believe this personalizes the process for both the school and the student. If you are a  student would you want to be interviewed? Do you think this would give a school a better sense of who you really are? 

Here are few things to keep in mind if you are a student and are going to be interviewed. (I first wrote about  this when asked about Ivy interviews)

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The questions you will be asked are not tough but if you want to make a great impression you should prepare for them. Virtually every interview will cover at least 3 topics and 1 other part that is as important as the first 3. The first of these will have to do with your academic experience. You might be asked about an academic interest, a favorite class or teacher or something you have a passion for, or, in some cases, all of these. The second set of questions will cover why you are interested in the university or college you are interviewing for.

Both of these sets of questions often elicit pretty standard answers and as a result, there will not be much of a chance to stand out. For example, a student who takes about a love of history might cite a specific class, such as AP American history. The student will say they have a great interest in the topic and that the teacher was great at making facts and data into something more. But if this is all you’ve got, it won’t stand out. What you should do, perhaps, is have a story or two that will demonstrate in a real way your interest. Let’s say you took a trip to Gettysburg and while there you went up to the set of rocks called the Devil’s Den. You could describe the landscape and then invoke the ghost of Joshua Chamberlain and the killer angels books. You could make a specific moment stand for something that represents a much larger interest. History, after all, means stories and being able to convey an academic passion through a story will stick in the mind of your interviewer.

The same approach can often be effective when you talk about why the school you are interviewing with fits your particular needs. To take the same example, you could say you attended a particular professor’s class when you visited the school and when he talked about the battle of Gettysburg and the Devil’s Den and Joshua Chamberlain the facts of troop numbers and killed in action disappeared and the faces and the cries and the smoke and the mini balls became real.

Interviews are used for different reasons in part depending on the selectivity level of the school. If the school is selective, then they may challenge you a bit with the questions. If the schools is not all that selective they may wish to get, first and foremost, a sense of your speaking skills.  Remember an interview goes both ways. They are also trying to get you to think the university is great, so they tend not to try to ask questions that are too hard or too easy. 

Think of  your interview as a conversation rather than an interview. 

Have a couple of stories that you can tell  using details rather than abstractions (about your life in and out of school. (Who, what, when, where, why.) Try to come up with something that is unique to your experience.  This approach will help them remember you.

Try to relax and certainly don’t sound as if you are reading off notes. Have a couple of specific questions to ask about the school too. Demonstrate you know the school well.

Below are 2 sets of questions you might be asked. As you can see they are somewhat different, but cover much of the same ground in terms of your personal experiences. 


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• How are you? You having a good day so far?
• Why do you want to study in the US?
• Describe your high school.
• If there were one thing you could change about your high school, what would it be?
• What does your high school do well?
• Have you grown since you entered high school? How?
• How do you operate as a student? Reference in class and while studying.
• What are your strengths academically?
• Which teachers have you connected with in high school and why?
• What elements make a great teacher for you?
• Tell me about your friends.
• Has your friend group changed since you started high school? Why? How?
• Which of your friends do you most admire and why?
• If you are having a bad day, what types of things do you do to cheer yourself up?
• Who makes up your family tree?
• Describe what sorts of things you do as a family?
• How is your family supporting you through this college search?
• How do you hope college will be different from high school?
• In creating your college list, what are key characteristics you are seeking in an institution?
• Given your expectations, why is X University on your list/of schools?
• University?
• What exactly do you hope to gain from your overall X university experience?
• What can I tell you about X university? 
• Do you have other questions?

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1. What did you do this summer?
2. What do you do best?
3. What do you hope to do after graduation?
4. Why do you want to go to college?
5. How do you define success?
6. Who do you most admire?
7. What is your biggest weakness?
8. Tell me about your family.
9. What makes you special?
10. What can our college offer you that another college can't?
11. In college, what do you plan to do outside of the classroom?
12. What three adjectives best describe you?
13. What do you think about the latest news headline?
14. Who is your hero?
15. What historical figure do you most admire?
16. What high school experience was most important to you?
17. Who most helped you get to where you are today?
18. Tell me about your community service.
19. If you had a thousand dollars to give away, what would you do with it?
20. What subject in high school did you find the most challenging?

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Remember to get the interviewer's contact information.  Write a thank you note within 24 hours. It may be you can establish a dialogue via email and if this happens then this will likely help you so long as you ask pertinent and probing questions instead of just writing and saying how much you love the school and want to enroll. Some schools do track demonstrated interest and having a bright student show interest never hurts.

For more on how to prepare for interviews go here and here and here.