College Interviews
I’m not sure if I wrote this same post last year, but even if I did… it needs to be said again.
Today I am delousing the house (thanks kids!!!) and setting up an interview for a young man. This young man has applied to the Ivy League University where I received my undergraduate degree. I am a volunteer alumnae interviewer, and this will be my third year doing this (often inspiring, occasionally frustrating) job.
Are you or a family member applying to a top-tier university this year? Will there be an interview? If so, please read these do’s and don’ts:
DO: Address me as “Ms. Super Woman” or “Ms. Woman” until I invite you to call me “Super”. It is like “vous” and “tu” in French. Assume the formal until you have been told by me otherwise.
DON’T: Begin your email to me with just “Super” and no greeting (ie “Super, I can meet you at….”).
DO: Dress in casual formal attire.
DON’T: Come in jeans or sweats.
DO: Stay focused and polite during the interview. Be prepared to tell or show me some things that are unique about yourself. Less than 10% of interviewed applicants are admitted. Why should you get into this university?
DON’T: Boast or brag about how you are the best, or smartest, or greatest.
DO: Prepare to answer questions about that University in particular (and not college in general). Know some thing about the school that make it unique and why you would fit in well there.
DON’T: Admit you know almost nothing about the school but are just applying because it has a good name and your parents want you to go there.
DO: Take cues from the interviewer about when it is time to leave.
DON’T: Act so awkwardly that the interviewer wants to end early.
DO: Send a thank you email or note appreciating her time and energy within one to two days.
DON’T: Let the interview be the last contact you have with the interviewer.
Hope this is helpful information! And if you know any of the young people that I will interview this year, please pass this link along. 😉
On a related note (related to de-lousing, not interviews!)…
Did you know that if you want to heat water to sanitize your hair brushes you need to turn on the burner under the pot of water? If, for instance, you turn on the wrong burner and accidentally heat up a pyrex container of left-over waffles, aforementioned pyrex container will explode ?!
Bet I just taught you something new! 🙂
Sometimes the social graces of today’s youth astound me! Hope your interviews go well!
Carrie
PS, My condolences on the loss of your Pyrex container!
Great tips for interviewing in general…and I had no idea that pyrex dishes could explode. (Of course, that’s an experiment I didn’t want to try.)
Rebecca
Talking With Rebecca
Your blog posts always leave me smiling 🙂 Thank you – as a seasoned SLP I just went for an interview and at least I know I did the right thing by sending the thank you email. Doesn’t only apply to college.
That’s some great advice.
Good luck with the delousing–as if your life wasn’t frantic enough, right?
Our one experience with lice has been enough for me not not want to repeat it. A friend “anointed” her kids with tea tree oil at the back of their necks and temples and her kids never got the lice that spread through the school. I’m not sure if it helped or if she was just lucky. But…I’d consider it.
And since I see you have an electric stove…you also need to remember that if you had just boiled water and then removed it…and if the burner was still hot, but not red…the pyrex would still explode. ;0) That wasn’t a fun lesson to learn.