Q&A with Ibrahim: How Command Education Helps Students Stand Out in College Admissions Interviews

A: Interviews are rarely conducted by admissions officers themselves. Typically, they are led by alumni from the school in a student’s region, and the interviewers’ notes are added to a student’s admissions folder. With this in mind, the objective of an admissions interview is typically to get a sense of a student’s personality, assess whether they will fit well in a particular campus culture, spot any red flags, and ensure that the information provided on the application aligns with what a student shares. Essays that sound like they were written by a seasoned professional and interview responses that are half-baked and inconsistent will raise red flags, so it’s important that students review their materials and remain consistent in what they highlight to admissions interviewers.

Interviews are often more binary than students expect. Interviewers are not meticulously evaluating your answers; they’re more interested in making sure you’re not rude, arrogant, dismissive, or behaving in a way that would make you a poor roommate or classmate. Interviewers want to know: Is this someone we’d want on campus?

A: Of course, students should be diligent in preparing for their interviews. But the interview format isn’t a monologue or a TED talk—it’s a conversation. Students should be comfortable enough with what they want to share that the dialogue flows as it would if they were speaking with a friend or coworker. The goal is to be authentic to yourself while demonstrating that you can hold an engaging and lively conversation.

Students should also keep in mind that there’s a fine line between highlighting their strengths and being overly self-congratulatory. The latter often occurs when students resort to certain “trigger words”: for instance, saying that they are the “smartest kid at school,” or framing themselves as the hero of every story. Language that can be construed as arrogant and self-aggrandizing will likely cast doubt on the applicant’s ability to be a respectful roommate, charitable community member, and collaborative classmate.

A: Research is critical. This is not something that students can fake or demonstrate off the cuff—demonstrating a thorough understanding of a school’s programs, strengths, and culture requires preparation. This doesn’t mean that students need to memorize facts about a particular college, but they should identify distinguishing characteristics of the department or program to which they are applying, faculty members whose interests align with their own, or clubs and organizations on campus that stand out to them. Having one or two specific talking points is enough to show meaningful engagement with an institution’s distinctive qualities. For example, a student applying to Harvard who talks about their interest in the i-lab will show that they have done their research and understand the school beyond a superficial Google search or visit to the department’s homepage.

A: I encourage students to start preparing for interviews as soon as they submit their applications (for early applications, in early November; for regular decision applications, in late December). Before that time, it’s generally too early—not only is their energy better spent on writing their application materials, but the process of compiling applications is helpful for interview preparation. The interview matters, but it’s not as important as the application itself.

The best way to prepare is through mock interviews. I tell students to prepare thoughtful answers to a handful of questions that they are likely to be asked. These are typically school-specific questions (“Why this college? Why this major?”) and questions related to their background and experiences (“What extracurricular activities were you most involved in? What is a challenge you have faced and how did you overcome it? What are your hobbies and interests?”). If there are particular accomplishments or achievements you want to highlight, it’s also a good idea to practice discussing these during your mock interviews.

A: Typically, students conduct mock interviews with their parents, and while any mock interview is helpful, parents are not equipped to give targeted feedback. Most parents are only familiar with job interviews, which are completely different from admissions interviews. At Command Education, we have a whole team of experts who give rigorous, specialized, and thorough feedback. We understand this niche genre. We know the questions interviewers actually ask, what particular schools are looking for in applicants, and how students can leverage their unique profile in creative ways through the interview process. Most importantly, we have a collective repository of knowledge to draw on—topics that stimulate conversation, red flags to avoid, questions that admissions interviewers typically ask at Princeton vs. UMich, etc.—to ensure that students are preparing strategically for every interview.