Questions to Ask College Interviewer
Questions that draw out an alumni interviewer's own experience of the college: why they chose it, what they got wrong, what they would change, and what they would look at if they were applying now.
The questions
Open any question for the note
When did you graduate, and what do you do now?
Why ask it
It sets the frame for everything else. Someone three years out and someone thirty years out are describing different institutions, and knowing which you have keeps you from trusting the wrong details.
What were you like as an applicant, and why did you pick this school?
Why ask it
Interviewers rarely get asked about themselves and usually relax when they are. The reasons they name also tell you which of the school's qualities have stayed constant.
What surprised you in your first year?
Why ask it
First-year surprises tend to be practical: how unstructured the time was, how far things were apart, how many people already knew each other. Those are things you can plan around.
Who was the person at the school who mattered most to you?
Why ask it
Almost everyone has one, and the interesting part is how the relationship began. If several interviewers from the same school describe the same route, such as a lab job or a small seminar, that route is real.
Which class changed the way you think?
Why ask it
This gets past the ranking of departments and into the teaching. Someone who cannot name one may have had a school experience built more around activities than coursework, which is itself a description.
What did you get wrong about the place before you arrived?
Why ask it
The gap between the brochure and the first semester is where interviewers are most candid. It also gives you a chance to check whether your own assumptions match theirs.
What did you do in your summers, and did the school help?
Why ask it
Summer opportunities are where career paths diverge, and how much the school contributed varies enormously. Ask whether the help came from the career office, a professor or a family friend.
Where did your closest friends come from: the dorm, a class, an activity?
Why ask it
This tells you which structures at that school actually create friendships. At some places it is housing, at others a team or a publication, and the difference matters if you are shy.
What kind of student thrives there, in your experience?
Why ask it
Interviewers describe a type, and it usually reflects the culture more accurately than official language. Listen for whether the description is recognisably you rather than obviously flattering.
Is there anything about the school you would change?
Why ask it
A person who lists nothing is being careful or was not paying attention. Real criticism, delivered without bitterness, tells you the rest of the conversation was honest too, and you can weigh whether the complaint would bother you.
How has the school changed since you were there?
Why ask it
Alumni track their school through news and reunions. What they mention, whether growth, cost, selectivity or a new emphasis, tells you which direction the place is moving in.
What did you study, and would you study it again?
Why ask it
The second half separates the department from the memory. Regret about a major often comes with a clear reason, and it is usually one you could check before you choose.
How did the school treat students who did not know what they wanted?
Why ask it
Some places require a declared path early and others tolerate two years of wandering. If you are undecided, this is the most useful question in the conversation.
What happened in the semester when things went badly for you?
Why ask it
Nearly everyone has one. What the school did, or failed to do, describes the support system better than any list of services on a website.
Did you ever think about transferring?
Why ask it
The answer gets past the highlight reel to what the low point actually looked like and what changed it. Many interviewers answer this candidly because time has taken the sting out.
What do people from your class do now?
Why ask it
A spread of destinations tells you the degree travels; a very narrow one tells you the school funnels people, which is either exactly what you want or exactly what you do not.
What do you do for the school now, and why do you keep doing it?
Why ask it
People who volunteer year after year usually explain in one sentence what the school actually gave them. It is also a genuine question rather than flattery, which interviewers can tell apart.
If you were applying now, what would you look at that you ignored then?
Why ask it
It converts hindsight into criteria. The answers are often unglamorous: cost after aid, advising quality, how easy it is to get into required courses.
What should I look at or ask about if I visit campus?
Why ask it
Alumni know which parts of the tour are theatre and which buildings tell the truth. You also end up with a short list you can check against what you are shown.
Is there anything you would like me to expand on before we finish?
Why ask it
It gives the interviewer a chance to close a gap in what they will write, and it shows you would rather be understood than impressive. A specific request is an opportunity; a no usually means the read is already good.
Talking with the person interviewing you
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Who is usually across the table
Most college interviews are conducted by alumni volunteers rather than admissions staff. They are unpaid, they interview a handful of applicants a year, they cannot tell you your odds, and they write a short report afterwards. That shapes what is worth asking: their experience of the school is first-hand and valuable, while their knowledge of current policy, aid and admission standards is usually out of date. Treat the conversation as an interview with a graduate who happens to be assessing you.
Getting a real conversation
Ask about them early, not only at the end
Questions saved for the last two minutes get short answers. One question about their own experience in the first ten minutes changes the register of the whole meeting.
Follow the specific detail, not the general claim
When they mention a professor, a job or a bad semester, ask what happened next. The follow-up is where you get information nobody else applying to this school will have.
Name the second half of your question
"Would you choose it again?" and "would you study that again?" do the work. Without them you get the version they would give anyone.
Common pitfalls
Asking them to predict the decision
Alumni interviewers have no access to the outcome and are uncomfortable being asked. Ask what they will write about, or what you should expand on, instead.
Asking for facts they cannot have
Current aid packages, class sizes and deadlines have changed since they were a student. Save those for admissions and ask this person about experience.
Skipping the awkward questions
What they would change, and whether they considered leaving, are the two questions that produce honest answers, and both are perfectly polite when asked plainly.