Anyone who has had a Harvard interview has some suggestions/pointers? Yale.

I have an interview for Harvard tonight, and I was wondering if anyone who has had a Harvard interview (or just anyone in general) has some suggestions/pointers? Maybe some questions that Harvard is likely to ask?

I know the typical 'be yourself/dress professional/smile a lot' advice. I was hoping for something else helpful.

Thanks in advance! =)

Is this at the school or an alum in your town?
If it is the latter, you might want to ask if the person is interested to read one of your essays as well as get your background c.v. in advance. That will help save time and focus the interview. (If it is at the school, they already have all of this in your app.)

Be prepared to answer the question: Why do you want to go to Harvard? As an alumnus I interviewed students for Harvard for 15 years and had only one really outstanding interview in all that time.

Really? Only one outstanding interview? What made that person stand out in your mind (passion, focus, commitment, knowledge)? What abut the others made them ordinary or sub par (applying for the wrong reasons, canned answers, lack of charisma)?

I won't be interviewing for Harvard, but I would still like a glimpse into the process.

if possible, do as much research on Harvard's history as you can. It shows them you took the initiative to research your potential Institute's background...

linmark actually made a great suggestion, i never thought about it, but why not? Why not give your interviewer stuff about you ahead of time to speed up the process, to allow them to know more about you, and then go into more in depth stuff in the interview? Alumni interviews usually dont mean anything from an admissions stand point because most are all the same, just good, general stuff, but if you give stuff to them before hand, they know more about you, they can have a greater impression on you, and then they can write a GREAT evaluation of you which actually could make a difference. Wish I had thought of that, I'm done w/ my college interviews for this year, had my last one at brown today(although I didnt have one for most schools, either they randomnly assigned or they didnt have enough room).

gmbradshaw, if you don't mind i would REALLY love to hear about the interview that stood out
what did they say? how did it go?
what about it stood out from the others?

I know I am too late, but I wanted to say I hope it went well and also that a good strategy is to turn the interview around and interview them. Imagine that you are skeptical about the school and that you have to really put this person to the test. This will enable you to ask intelligent questions confidently and really have a meaningful discussion with the interviewer, especially if you have done your research.

:-)

I know I am too late, but I wanted to know how your interview was?

Harvard Interview ?
WOW...Congratulations, I heard that's Top 1 university in US.

Congratz, tell me if you make it

Yale interview - tips and suggestions for me to be confident?

Hey guys I have my Yale interview in a couple of days. Could anyone please give me some tips or suggestions other than dress professionally, smile a lot, be confident? Your help will be much appreciated :)

One of the most important things that you should pay attention to during the interview is that you should be positive. Never use negative sentences. Sometimes they may ask you some tricky questions. For example, what are your weaknesses? Even in this case you should not use negative statements. Eye contact is another important thing. You should introduce yourself as a confident person. Gather as much information as you can about Yale. If they asked you about your academic skills or extracurricular activities try to explain them clearly and use the question as an opportunity for setting yourself apart from other interviewees. List your abilities and your experiences on a paper and talk to yourself about them. It would be better to practice with someone or talk to yourself in the mirror. Record your voice and then listen to it. This would help you to find your errors. And as you know, appearance is very very significant factor that you should take it into consideration.

Google "interview tips" to find loads of information in this concern.

Hope the comment helps
Regards
Ahmad

Thank you so much Ahmad! Your help means a lot and it certainly helped me devise a strategy. Pray for me.

I see you're from Iran, that makes us neighbors and friends by default :)

Regards
Mashal