My teacher assigned us a college interview project, and I'm not sure how to start it off. What are some good ways to get started and make it interesting?
A college interview project sounds like a great opportunity to dive into the college experience from different perspectives. Here's how you might approach it:
1. Identify Your Interview Subjects: Reach out to a diverse set of individuals for the interviews. This could include current college students, recent graduates, professors, college administrators, admissions officers, and college counselors. Diversity in majors, school types, and experiences adds richness to your project.
2. Research: Before conducting any interviews, do your homework about the colleges these subjects attend or are associated with. This will help you formulate more targeted and thoughtful questions.
3. Prepare Your Questions: Tailor your questions according to the profile of your interviewee. For a current student, you might ask about daily life, favorite courses, or what they wish they had known before starting college. For a faculty member, try asking about their research or what they think distinguishes their institution.
4. Set a Friendly Tone: Remember that the interview isn't an interrogation - it's a conversation. Make your subjects comfortable by starting with light, easy-to-answer questions before moving into more detailed queries.
5. Schedule and Conduct Your Interviews: Use whatever medium is most comfortable for you and your subjects - phone calls, video chats, or emails. Remember to record the conversation (with their permission) or take detailed notes, so that you can accurately represent their thoughts in your project.
6. Organize Your Findings: Once your interviews are conducted, sort the responses according to your project scope. You could categorize responses by interviewee or by topic.
7. Present Your Information: After organizing the data, decide how to present it. You might compile it into a report, create a video, or design an interactive presentation.
Remember, successful interviewing is about listening as much as asking. You might draft potential follow-up questions, but be prepared to go with the flow of the conversation, as well.
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.