Your Result: Unprepared

WHAT THIS MEANS

Your interview readiness has significant gaps — limited format knowledge, no practice, and unprepared answers mean that an interview invitation from a selective school would currently work against you.

College interviews, particularly at selective schools, are a meaningful signal of genuine interest and self-awareness. Walking in underprepared sends the opposite message.

The good news: interview preparation is one of the fastest gains available in the college process. Four to six focused practice sessions can move you from unprepared to confident.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Many selective schools weigh interviews as a meaningful data point — not just a formality. An underprepared interview can undercut an otherwise strong application.

Alumni interviewers specifically look for self-awareness, intellectual curiosity, and genuine fit. Vague answers to basic questions like 'why this school' are noticed and noted.

Interviews are also an opportunity to convey parts of yourself that don't appear in the application — qualities that are hard to fake but easy to show when you're prepared.

WHAT STRONG APPLICANTS DO DIFFERENTLY

• —They do at least four practice interviews before their first real one — with a counselor, teacher, or using a recorded self-interview — and get explicit feedback on their weakest answers.
• —They research each school's interview format in advance: alumni vs. admissions, virtual vs. in-person, structured vs. conversational — the format changes the preparation.
• —They prepare three to five strong school-specific answers to 'why this school?' — built around specific programs, professors, clubs, or experiences — not generic strengths they could say about any school.