Tips for SMFA First-Years
To be honest, my first year at SMFA at Tufts was a bumpy road. I laughed a lot, cried a lot, but most importantly, I learned countless important life…
Interviewing Part 2: Tips and advice
So you have decided you really want an interview. And you say, Sayaka, didn’t you say you had some tips for me? Oh yes, reader, I do. Today I’m going to share some tips for maximizing your interviewing opportunities.
Applying for an interview
You’ve hit submit on your application and you received our email thanking you for your application and giving you access to the all-important portal (aka “Application Status Page”) that will be your close buddy throughout the Tufts application process, letting you know what elements of your application we have received and what we’re awaiting. Above the checklist, there’s a section called “Forms” where you can click on the last link… REQUEST AN INTERVIEW, hit yes to an interview and…
Wait! I told you had some advice, right?
Interview opportunity tip 1– request early, especially in Early Decision
As I explained above, you can only request an interview after you have applied. If you apply ED on the last possible day and wait until the last moment to request an interview (7 days later), you have a smaller window to get and complete an interview. If you have applied before the application deadline, request your interview early too!
Interviewing opportunity tip 2 – Embrace the virtual
At this point you are given the opportunity to state your preference on virtual interviews and this is my advice: say YES. Of course, we would all prefer a local, in-person interview, but by saying yes to a virtual interview on Skype or FaceTime, you are maximizing your chances of getting an interview. It does not rule out in-person interviews – our interviewers tend to prefer to meet in person too – but it does mean that if there’s no interviewer in your area who has capacity, an interviewer from another area with capacity has the opportunity step in and give you a virtual interview. Once you submit this preference, it CANNOT be changed, so please click wisely.
Interviewing opportunity tip 3 – Check your email, check your junk folder on the regular
After you’ve requested your interview, what happens next? If an interviewer is able to interview you they will reach out to you from their own personal email. While it seems obvious, the following scenario happens every year – someone finds their email from their interviewer in their junk folder, but a month too late. So please make sure you check the email you have provided us with every day and check your junk folder.
BONUS information – Be patient
Please remember that all our interviewers are volunteers who have jobs and other commitments. If you don’t hear by January 9th for an interview, please do not call the office to ask about an interview – interviews for ED2 are arranged and conducted from December through to late January, and for Regular Decision this is extended through to late February. Your interviewer will not contact you straight away the day after you request an interview, please be patient.
Okay, we have lift off – you requested an interview [early], you maximized your chances by saying yes to virtual interviews, and you checked your email and rescued the introductory email from your interviewer in your junk mail folder to arrange an interview – YOU HAVE AN INTERVIEW!!!
Calm down everyone (and me, too). Take a deep breath and have a calming cup of tea - in my next blog I’ll share tips from the interviewers themselves.
Feature Image Calendar* used through Creative Commons license by Flickr user Dafne Cholet (CC BY 2.0)
