What Not to Talk About During Your College Interviews

One of the most boring and predictable things you can do in a college interview is try to sneak in your SAT scores. Some students will use any and every annoying tactic to get in a mention of how great their scores were.

We even know one guy who got a 1400 and said in an interview that he was disappointed in his scores. Obviously he wasn't disappointed. He just wanted to mention those big numbers. The college’s admissions officer thought he was totally lame.

A former Ivy League admissions officer once told us about a game she used to play with pushy applicants from certain high schools. She would keep asking questions that she knew would give the students opportunities to work in their SAT scores; then, every time they were about to mention them, she would change the subject. This drove the applicants crazy and kept the admissions officer alert during interviews that she otherwise didn't enjoy. Needless to say, not many of these pushy students received acceptances.

Now, you may say that it's unfair for admissions officers to put so much emphasis on SAT scores and then not want to hear you talk about them. But whoever said life was fair?

Don't worry.

Your scores are the first thing the admissions officer will look at when he or she picks up your folder. You don't need to wave a flag.

Push yourself to find more creative things to talk about and come up with interesting answers to their questions that have nothing to do with stats, scores, and class rank.