Interviews

Interviews are normally conducted by most Graduate Business and a few Engineering schools, in order to determine the strengths of applicants for their respective programs. At the undergraduate level, for Bachelors and other programs, interviews are very rare and only in cases where universities need further information to determine aid or other benefits to the applicants.

Top Engineering schools normally prefer to interview applicants - both domestic and international - because of the intense competition for admission into their programs. Most international students would be given the option whether they could be interviewed or not. If the option is chosen, universities would then fix up and conduct a telephonic interview. This is more often an exception than a norm.

For admission into top Business schools in USA and other countries, interview plays a key role in the admission process. The B school admission committees firmly believe that an applicant could be evaluated only after interaction, in person or by phone. Therefore, wherever possible, the B schools will conduct interviews in person, through their Alumni within the country of applicant or by the school's representatives if they are visiting the applicant's country for business promotion or for attending in college fairs etc.

The importance of such interviews cannot be overemphasized, since they can make or break an applicant! One could be quite sound academically, have very good scores, present the application very well and submit top class essays. However, a rejection could always happen if the interview is not done successfully - as in the case of job interviews.

Usually interviews are scheduled to take twenty to thirty minutes, but they may extend to forty minutes or even an hour. In the beginning, the interviewer, who is typically the professor of your chosen department, will welcome you and check your name. It is not necessary to introduce yourself at length, especially as you can expect many questions asking you to describe yourself during the interview.

Normally, the professor questions first, letting you ask questions at the end of the conversation. It would be a good idea to prepare in advance one or two questions that indeed interest you about the program or institution. However, any questions should be well-grounded in information from the materials issued by the university. The department will expect applicants to have scrutinized such materials closely. As one Internet site on admission interviews puts it-"Don't ask things that are on the first page of the catalog." If your questions seem weak to you, it's better not to ask them.

The Most Likely Questions and possible replies

What are you doing now?

Describe your occupation and the ways in which it is relevant to your chosen field of study. If your current employment is not particularly relevant to your academic plans, do not linger in discussing it but go swiftly on to and emphasize your extracurricular activities, which must relate to your planned study if your current occupation does not. If what you say can draw the interest of the interviewer, most of the rest of the interview may be based upon what you have already said. That can eliminate the formality of the interview structure, allowing you to discuss more naturally what you have done.

What is the greatest challenge in your field of study (in your country)?

What do you believe to be root problems in your chosen field? Or, what do you believe to be the weakest point in current approaches to problems? Review such elements in advance, grounding your opinion with facts. It is good if you have a potential solution of your own to discuss. May be such problems relate to what you see as your own personal challenge in your field (which you may also be questioned about specifically)-also define your personal challenges for yourself and be sure to discuss them at the interview.

What disciplines in our curriculum are the most appealing to you?

You have to know details on the institution's curriculum before the interview (and you had better have them before writing your personal statement). It is understood that you will be familiar with the curriculum from the materials that you have been provided with by the university.

Choose three (the number usually asked) areas most attractive to you among the courses. Preferably, choose areas from the core or major areas of concentration (not those from the introductory term or those weakly related to the field's stem). Be prepared to explain your choices.

More Questions and tips for answering them

Are you ready for multinational (or overseas or cross-cultural) study?

In answering, discuss any multinational experiences that you have had. It is odd, but, in fact, the multinational environment is impossible to escape. Many ethnic groups contribute to each of our societies. Some of these groups preserve their genuine culture or at least its remnants. If you do not have international experience, you may connect the everyday life experience of interaction with the representatives of such groups with your preparation for living in a multinational environment. Also, you can discuss your tolerance towards other nationalities whether based on an abstract understanding or on actual experience socializing with other ethnic groups. You should not have to consider tolerance towards you or be worried this as an issue for the interview since fostering tolerant academic environment is a general policy of U.S. universities.

Recollect any experience of living in an environment distinct from your usual one. You may have traveled abroad or even visited regions of your own country with distinct culture or languages. Explain such experiences in a positive way, illustrating your adjustment to such environments. Perhaps you may love traveling and learning about other cultures or languages. Discuss this point in answering this question.