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Preparing for College Interviews
    Good morning, everyone. Today, my presentation will focus on the preparation for a college interview. After you have applied for a college you’re interested in, there is possibility that you need to prepare for an interview before you’re considered qualified by the college. Then how do you prepare for an interview? Well, I’d say, practice makes perfect. There are two ways you can practice your interviewing skills and responses.
    The first is by doing mock interviews with others who are also applying, or someone else who is willing to help. Mock interviews, I think, are a good first step to understanding what an interview will be like. Of course, the quality of the mock interview experience will depend largely upon how prepared your interview partner is. If you can find someone who is willing to read your application carefully, then you are likely to get a good mock interview. The ideal person to team up with, I think, should be someone who is applying for the same school but has a very different background from yours, and who is willing to be tough when necessary in the interview.
    It can be difficult to find the right person, of course. So I’d suggest, in order to make the mock interview work, first, it is not only fair but also good for you, to switch roles with your partner. Second, if you read his or her essays and data sheets with an eye to seeing what his or her strengths or weaknesses are, what he or she will contribute to the program and the like, you will more readily understand how someone else will do this with you in a real interview. What’s more, your interview partner can tell you which responses were convincing and which were not, and why. You have to be persistent, and force your interview partner to be specific, in noting what worked and what did not. For example, whether you wandered instead of staying focused, tried too hard to excuse some prior mistake, stayed too stiff, or pleaded rather than persuading. After all, the point is not what you say, but what your interviewer hears that determines the success of your interview.
    Now let’s come to the second way. The second means of practicing your interviewing skills is to make sure that if possible, you get an interview first with the school that matters less to you. This allows you to develop and refine your interview skills and get rid of your first interview nerves without too much at stake.
    I’d think that it is a good idea to use both approaches from time to time if you can. Maximize the potential benefits by asking your partner questions about the mock interview or reviewing the experience yourself. You have to make sure that you understand what worked and what needed more thought and why. Then you are going to benefit from those experiences in a real interview.
    OK. To conclude, we have discussed how to prepare for a college interview. You will get more interview experience through the approaches I suggested just now. Next time, we will focus on interview questions, both general and specific, that you are required to get ready for before an interview. Thank you.