Yale Interview

I had my interview with a senior Yale student on Wednesday at 1pm. I had asked my friends in the Ivy Scholars Program how their interviews went, because since it would be my first college interview, I was nervous. They told me not to worry; the interview was quite casual and conversational and the interviewers they had had not been intimidating. Still, while standing in the Yale Admissions Building Lobby, waiting for my name to be called, I was consumed with anxiety. However, that changed when I met my interviewer, Susan.

She bore a friendly smile and made me feel at ease as soon as I sat down in a chair across from her in her office. She asked me to tell her about myself, so I proceeded to explain my background, most especially about my involvement in band and speech and debate at school. From there, she asked me questions such as "What has being a drum major taught you?" and "Can you give me an example of an impromptu speech?". For the former, I elaborated on the valuable skills in leadership, communication, professionalism, and confidence I've gained as being leader of the marching band. For the latter, I gave a short persuasive speech about why Yale should install paper towel dispensers or air hand dryers in their bathrooms. When she was done asking me questions, she asked me what questions I had for her. I asked her "What do Yale students who are interested in attending graduate school for business typically major in? (Yale, like Stanford, doesn't offer an undergraduate major of business). She told me that many major in economics, but many others major in just about anything, like history or comparative science. The question I posted to her that garnered the most interesting response, however, was "What made you fall in love with Yale?". She talked about her experience as a whole, but for a specific answer she described an experience in her sophomore year. Despite being a comparative science major and having no experience in composition, Yale let her write a complete one act play. Not only did Yale let her do it, however. It encouraged her to do so; she gained much guidance while writing the piece and many talented Yale actors readily agreed to act in her play. I loved how this story of hers reflects how Yale is for people with eclectic interests, and besides satisfying your interests in many different fields, it encourages you to do the most that you can with them. I'm not entirely sure about if I did well enough in the interview to greatly increase my chances of acceptance into this wondrous school, but it was definitely a half-an-hour well spent