The Secret Technique to Ace your College Admissions Interviews
How to Succeed in your College Admissions Interview?
Are you wondering how to prepare for your college admission interview? College admission interviews might seem really scary. It might be what’s standing between you and your dream college. But college interviews can be a breeze if you know about this technique that I have developed: the “WOW” technique.
Sounds cringey but this technique works like a charm in helping you stand out in your college admission interview.
I am not here with some basic blogpost about 10 cliché interview tips. I am here to tell you about only one thing – the “WOW” technique.
There is 5 parts to it and I am going to tell you ALL about it today. So, strap in and let me help you win your college admission interview.
DO YOU WANT TO UP YOUR COLLEGE INTERVIEW PREPARATION?
I made a e-book on the most common college admission interview questions & answers and I decided “why not, I give it to my readers for FREE?”
Yes, you read that right! Just tell me where you want me to send this 10-page pdf of the BEST answer strategies to!
Do college interviews matter?
Yes! This is your golden opportunity to sell yourself. While you can see a college interview as a “pitch”, remember to see it as a friendly conversation too.
How do college interviews work?
You have to stand out in your college interview and this is where the “WOW” technique comes in.
In addition to mastering this “WOW” technique, you will also need to prepare answer strategies for common college admission interview questions.
Sounds like a lot of work, right?
That’s why I carefully curated this document of the common college interview questions + answer strategies. This pdf document along with the “WOW” technique will guarantee your success in your college admission interview! So, if you STILL haven’t signed up to get this valuable resource, do it now!
The “WOW” technique to do college admissions interviews better
“WOW” technique. WOW isn’t an acronym, by the way. Whatever you do in your interview, you must make your interviewer say “wow”. You don’t have to make them say “wow”. They just need to feel that way. From your first greeting to how you answer the questions to how you end the interview, everything must make your interviewers feel “wow”
A key part of this technique is the “wow” factor. In this article, I will help you find your own “wow” factor too. So, read on!
1. Start with a bang
I am a strong believer in first impressions. There is an obvious difference between an applicant who greets the interviewer with a shy, nervous smile and an applicant who greets an interviewer with brimming confidence.
The way you say “Good Morning!” is super important so, please don’t underestimate the power of a powerful greeting.
Remember interviewers love students with confidence. You need to show them that you are enjoying yourself. So, walk into the room and give them your most enthusiastic and cheerful greeting ever! Don’t forget the WIDE smile!
2. Find your “wow” factor
We all have that one special thing about us. Maybe it’s the turning point of your life. Maybe it is a specific incident that happened in your life. Or it is a special skill/talent. Whatever it is, I need you to identify it. This will be the main point of your entire interview and might possibly be that one thing that helps you to stand out from the other applicants.
So, how do you find your “wow” factor?
You will need to do some good old reflection, of course.
Recommended Read: Why you should spend a minute every day to reflect
a. Get a paper and pen and jot down all the things that come to your mind about you and your life. Things you like, things you don’t like, things you are good at, things you are bad at, things you enjoy doing, key incidents/events that happened in your life, etc.
b. Cancel out those items that are not “good”. For example, if getting angry easily is one of the things you listed, cancel it out. Unless that negative quality or incident of yours demonstrated something good about you! An example of a negative event could be you flunking all your tests for a particular semester. However, if you have picked yourself up from that failure and stayed resilient to improve your scores greatly for the next semester, that can possibly be your unique factor.
c. Once you have identified the “good” parts of you and your life, highlight those that are super unique. Things like friendliness, kindness are common qualities so it might not be interesting enough to use as your “unique factor”. Avoid having mainstream things as your unique factor. Community service and leadership are things a lot of students talk about. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk about your achievements in those areas. If you have done something really exceptional in those areas (such as leading a HUGE group of students to organize a HUGE event), then go ahead and pick it to be your unique factor!
From this little reflection activity, you should have at least one unique factor to talk about. If you still don’t, think harder! We are all unique in our own ways, we all have our own stories. You just need to identify them. So, don’t give up!
3. Make sure all your answers tie in with your story
Now, that you have identified your “wow” factor, it is time to tie it into all your answers. Ok, maybe not all… but you get the point!
The best place to bring up your “wow” factor is when your interviewer asks you the popular “tell me about yourself” question. Start with some basic info, then introduce your “wow” factor. Then, you can bring up your “wow” factor when answering other questions when relevant and appropriate.
For example, let’s say my “wow” factor is that I have 100,000 followers on Instagram.
Even if I don’t have 100,000 followers, follow my Instagram @highlybasicblog , because there’s so much motivation & productivity tips that you wouldn’t want to miss 🙂
Anyways, if having a huge Instagram account is my “wow” factor I am going to bring it up for several questions. For example, when the interviewer asks me about my greatest strengths, I will say content creation or social media management. Then I will support the point with examples. This is where my “wow” factor will come in 🙂
Another example of a question I can bring up the “wow” factor is “what are the biggest challenges you have faced and how did you overcome them?”
I can talk about my struggles of growing my Instagram following initially or how it was difficult for me to cope with schoolwork and handle my Instagram account at the same time.
A lot of times your “wow” factor will serve as a super effective example/evidence that supports the points you are making during the interview.
4. Believe in yourself
Self-talk is so important. Before the interview, make sure you hype yourself up. Talk to yourself. Things like “It is just a conversation,” “They can’t eat me up” are ways you can calm your pre-interview jitters.
Instead of being nervous, channel it into excitement. Think about your “wow” factor. Think about how unique and special you are.
“I am so cool because of my “wow” factor and I am so excited to wow the interviewers”
“they are going to love me”
“I am going to use this “wow” technique like a BOSS”
Get excited to enter that interview. Believe in yourself and be confident. Sounds cliché but it works wonders.
5. End with a bang
I know I said I am a strong believer in first impressions. But I am also a strong believer of last impressions!
You have wowed them at the start. You have wowed them during the interview. Now, you just need to wow them one last time before you leave the interview. One way to do it is to ask a question to them.
Example:
What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?
What kind of opportunities have the students here been able to get?
How is the community like?
What are the greatest strengths of this school?
Another way is to connect with your interviewer. If there was something helpful you learnt during the interview, let them know. If you bonded over something with the interview (eg. a common experience), mention it before leaving. Let them know you enjoyed the interview!
Then, leave with a big thank you. Oh, and don’t forget you million-dollar smile 🙂
Finally,
In the end, your ultimate objective of the interview should be to stand out from the other hundreds of applicants. You have to make your interview memorable. Interviewers interview so many students in a day. So, it is difficult to be remembered. That is why the “wow” technique is so important so that you can be known as the one with the {wow factor}”
From the way you talk to your “wow” factor, to how you answer their questions to how you interact with them, everything counts into making yourself stand out.
All the best! And I believe in you (so you should believe in yourself too!)
You now know how to perform at your college interview. But, preparation is super important and you know that. That is why, I have made a list of all the popular college admission interview questions AND answer strategies for each of those questions.
With this document, you are going to walk into your college interview feeling 100% confident because you will be SUPER prepared.
From fun college interview questions, to the hardest college interview questions, this document will have you all covered. Grab this carefully curated, college admission interview questions & answers pdf if you haven’t yet!
How to prepare for your university admissions interview
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