I’m applying to CSULA’s Honors College and got an interview invite. Has anyone gone through this? What should I expect in terms of questions or format? Any particular points I should focus on to make a good impression?
Congrats on your interview invite! While I can't provide specific details about the CSULA Honors College interview, I can give you some general advice for college interviews that might be helpful.
Typically, college interviews are conversational. The interviewer usually is a faculty member or an alumnus who wants to get to know you better, understand your fit to their program, and answer any questions you might have. You can anticipate questions around your academic interests, extracurricular activities, leadership experiences, and your reasons for applying to the Honors College at CSULA.
Don't feel required to extensively prepare a script, but it would be very beneficial to think about how you would respond to the following questions:
1. Describe yourself as a student and as an individual. What drives you?
2. Why are you interested in CSULA, and specifically its Honors College?
3. What kind of educational and career goals do you have? How does the Honors College help you achieve these aims?
4. Can you tell me about a challenging experience, what challenged you, and how you handled it?
5. Can you tell me about a time you contributed positively to a group or community?
When responding, be as specific as possible, giving concrete instances from your life experiences. For example, if you're talking about what interests you in the Honors College at CSULA, you may tie it to a specific course you want to take, a professor's work that inspires you, or aspects of the honors college culture that fit well with your learning style and ideals.
Also, it might help to do a bit more research about the Honors College and CSULA itself, if you haven't done so already, so you can tie some of your responses to particulars about the school. Remember to sound enthusiastic and interested, but be yourself.
Finally, remember that this interview is not just for you to impress them, but also for them to persuade you that their program is a great fit. It's great to have questions prepared so you can better understand what your experience would be like at the Honors College.
Good luck with your interview!
CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.