Top tips to ace a college interview

Students have to face many interviews during their academic years. The performance in an interview, especially one for college admission, is instrumental in deciding their career path. So, it is important for them to be prepared well in advance. However, a student prepping for college doesn’t naturally have the experience required to ace an interview. Here are some handy tips for your would-be college goer to breeze through the process.  

Rehearse interviews with family and friends 
Excelling in an interview comes with a lot of real practice. Therefore, students must start preparing for it early on and sit down with their parents, mentors and peers for mock interviews to improve their performance. In the trial sessions, students should learn to answer a list of commonly asked questions and note down the time and promptness of the answer delivery. It will be a good idea to record the mock interview so that the interviewee can figure out the areas that need to be worked on and improved.  

Maintain polite gestures  
A polite greeting and smile can go a long way in helping students ace a college interview.  Also, make sure that your teenager is dressed in formals. The body language should exude confidence, poise and calmness. Motivate her to take mock interviews at home in front of a mirror. This will help her improve the gestures. Keeping the tone conversational will be a good approach. Also, advise her not to look at the watch too often during an interview session.   

Prepare answers for common questions 
College interviewers often have a set of favourite questions. Here are the examples of a few commonly asked ones: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why do you think you should study this subject? What are your goals and other interests? These are the topics the students should focus more on, while prepping for an interview. Also, students need to remember that it’s okay if they are unable to answer all the questions. What matters is their presence of mind. So, train your youngster to tackle questions that he isn’t prepared for.   

Make a list of questions to ask 
Candidates often don’t realise that an interview is more of an interactive session rather than a one-sided affair. So, the interviewee should be ready to both answer and ask questions. The most common question students can ask during a college interview is about the faculty and the facilities they are offering in great details. However, they must remember to narrow down the questions to a few and keep the interaction short, crisp and effective. They should also be prepared to face unexpected responses. A student must also clarify why he is interested to attend the institution.