10 Tips to Ace College Interviews

Prospective student engaged in an online interview, applying strategies to excel in college admissions - The Red Pen

You might be getting ready for your interview with admissions officers, other university representatives or alumni in preparations for your studies abroad. While the purpose of the interview is to help a university better understand where you may fit into the campus environment, it is also a wonderful opportunity for you to ask questions, convey your sincerity, personality and other things that can’t always be put down on paper.

Here are some useful college interview tips and reminders:

1) Mind your manners and appearance:

Dress appropriately and arrive/dial in on time. Remember the interviewer’s name and say thank you at the end of the interview. DO NOT text, WhatsApp or take calls during the interview. Maintain eye contact and do not fidget. If your interview is virtual, ensure that you have a backup internet connection and that no one will walk into the room during your session.

2) Know all the details on your application, resume and essays inside out:

Knowing yourself, your passions and your interests puts you in a better position to provide interesting responses to questions.

3) Make note of potential questions:

If you were reading your application, what questions would you have for yourself? Those are probably the questions you will get during the interview.

4) Research the college/programme:

Ensure that you research each programme you would like to attend as this can help you clearly articulate why this college/programme is THE choice for you.

5) Read, read and read some more:

It’s important that you are aware of what is going on in the world around you. Read the newspaper or watch the news, especially in the week leading up to the interview to get up-to-speed on current events and world developments.

6) Admission committee vs alumni interviews:

For MBA applicants, if the interview is with an admissions officer, there is more of an emphasis on academic fit with the programme and recruiting objectives. With an alumnus, it tends to be more about fit from a personality or outlook perspective. The alumnus is trying to figure out whether they would want to be up at 3 am with you to finish a project or be proud to call you a fellow alumnus 10 years from now.

7) Be succinct:

Applicants are expected to be able to provide succinct answers. For MBA applicants, business schools are looking for candidates who can make convincing arguments or statements without rambling.

8) Prepare examples to demonstrate a skill set:

Have an example or story (real, not concocted scenarios) ready for each of the following categories: leadership, teamwork, tough decision, plans that failed, taking initiative, being challenged, working yourself out of a seemingly impossible situation and anything else that is unique in your profile.

9) Be professional:

Don’t be overly formal and don’t take yourself too seriously. Be engaging and have a positive attitude.

10) Be confident:

Display that you are confident in yourself without being arrogant or showing an attitude. Do not think that you know everything and be humble.

As one of our colleagues who regularly interviews said, “the best interviews are the ones that move away from a stiff Q&A session into an engaging conversation.”

At The Red Pen, we offer interview prep services for summer/high school and boarding school as well as undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA programmes. To know more about how to prepare for your interviews, get in touch with us.

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Anusha Bhagat

Chief Operating Officer

PGDM, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad;
B.A in Economics, Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University

Anusha Bhagat is a growth strategist and operations expert with 15 years of
securities-industry leadership
across Hong Kong, India and Singapore.
At UBS she served as Chief Operating Officer – Equities & Investment Banking, India,
transforming an at-risk equities franchise with legacy infrastructure into a
robust, growth-ready platform and rolling out new products under enhanced
governance.

She has launched cash-equity, equity-derivatives and prime-broking businesses in
multiple Asian markets and sat on the deal-closing teams for UBS’s
acquisition of ABN Amro’s global F&O business (2006) and the GS-JB Were
Australia joint venture (2003).
Her track record spans in-house M&A, technology turnarounds,
process re-engineering and enterprise-wide risk remediation
.

Known for a collaborative, cross-functional working style, Anusha combines
front-office product insight with settlement, control, technology and
regulatory frameworks to deliver end-to-end solutions. She derives energy from
tackling challenging build-outs and supporting teams in achieving
their growth and career goals.

If Anusha weren’t a COO, she would be …
helping early-stage founders scale up as a full-time venture advisor.

The question she’s asked most often …
“How do we turn this legacy process into a competitive advantage?”

Kavita Sonawala

Chief Marketing Officer

Shikha Dhar

Associate Director, Institutional Services

Nainika Ajani

Associate Director, Partner Relations

Aneri Shah

Manager, Boarding School Admissions

Mehnaz Jaffer

Associate Director, Sales, Business Development and Marketing, Undergraduate Applications and Preparation

Aarti Anand

Associate Director, Client Servicing, Undergraduate Preparation

Sheetal Vora

Associate Director, Client Servicing, Undergraduate Applications

Tripti Singh

Associate Director, Postgraduate Services

Natasha Mankikar

Manager, MBA services

Neil Maheshwari

CFO & COO, U.S. News
& World Report,

MBA in Finance, Illinois State University;
Chartered Accountant; CPA; Bachelor’s in Accounting

Neil Maheshwari is CFO & COO of the U.S. News & World Report, L.P. He has overall responsibility for financial strategy, capital allocation, business operations and strategic investments.

He has over 30 years of experience in the media business, especially related to corporate finance, business operations, taxes and digital strategy. He was a key member of the team that led the digital transformation of U.S. News in 2010.

Neil’s career began at the New York Daily News in 1993, following its acquisition by Mort Zuckerman. Over the years his responsibilities have encompassed budgeting, contract negotiations, tax management and IT operations for the New York Daily News, U.S. News & World Report and other media entities under the family’s ownership.

As a member of the executive committee, Neil participates in crucial business-strategy decisions and their implementation. He is also deeply involved in evaluating all potential acquisition and divestiture opportunities for the media companies owned by Mort Zuckerman. His prior experience includes leading the sale of Fast Company to G & J in December 2000, as well as the sales of Atlantic Monthly, Radar magazine, Applied Printing Technologies and, most recently, the New York Daily News to Tribune Publishing in 2017.

Before joining the Daily News and U.S. News, Neil spent over four years with a mid-town CPA firm, specialising in audits and mergers & acquisitions for publishing clients. He also gained experience at the India offices of Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young.

Namita Mehta

President

Dr. Kimberly Dixit

CEO & Co-founder of
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