【智梦顾问专栏】我的第一次大学面试的经历，以及我的建议

智梦顾问简介：Corbin，威廉姆斯学院（US News 2017美国文理学院排名1）比较文学专业毕业，威廉姆斯法律期刊主编。

My First College Interview

我的第一次大学面试的经历

（有中文参照）

I still remember my first college interview (with Hamilton College). From the place we sat in the café in a city nearby my hometown (table for two near the service bar; my dad waited patiently outside of earshot), to the shirt that I wore and my interviewer (light blue with darker blue vertical stripes), all the positively horrendous mistakes I made, while perhaps the occasional burst of potential intelligence—the overall process was at once daunting and especially rewarding. I could finally put a face (of an alumna) to this school that I honestly did not know much about besides physical location and academics; but what was the culture like? How could I make a good impression that would not encourage the admission officers to feel repulsed at my application?

我仍然记得我的第一次大学面试（文理学院汉密尔顿学院的面试）。从我们坐在家乡附近的城市的咖啡馆（我们坐在吧台附近的两张桌子，我爸爸在听力所及范围外耐心的等待），到我穿的衬衫和我的面试官（浅蓝色的衬衫上带着深蓝色的垂直条纹），面试期间我犯下的所有极其可怕的错误，尽管也许还有偶然爆发的潜力，让整个面试过程令人望而生畏又感觉特别值得的。我终于可以把校友和这所学校对上了，可是对于这个学校，除了地理位置和学术，我真的不知道多少; 她的校园文化是什么样的？我应该如何做才能给招生官留下一个好的印象，让他们在审核我的申请的时候，不会产生反感？    

Perhaps you are wondering what mistake I cringed at when recalling this experience. Well, after the interview, I hugged my interviewer. Hugging has its own time and place, but even in America this intimacy in such a professional context is unlikely to be fully appropriate.There are many other gaffes that one probably should not incorporate into their interview, but this is one aspect that somewhat haunts me still.

或许你在好奇，我在回忆这段经历时，我的什么错误令我难堪。那就是，面试结束后，我拥抱了面试官。其实拥抱是需要特定场合和时间的，在美国，在面试这种正式情境下，拥抱是不恰当的。还有很多其他不得体的行为，不应当在面试过程中发生，我的过失时至今日仍然萦绕在我的心头。

Returning to the interview, we went through the coterie of questions: Can I treat you to coffee or a bagel? I’m fine; thanks. Why are you interested in Hamilton? Well, I find the open curriculum particularly attractive because that sort of academic freedom is exactly what I hope to get out of my education.

回到面试当天，我们进行了以下几个问题。面试官：我可以请你喝杯咖啡或者吃个面包圈吗？我：不用了，谢谢。面试官：你为什么对汉密尔顿感兴趣？我：我觉得开放式课程特别有吸引力，因为这种学术自由正是我希望从大学教育中得到的。

After a few more preliminary questions to make sure that high-school-aged me had spent some time thinking about my decision toapply to Hamilton, my inteviewer asked: do you have any questions for me or the college?

问过更多的问题，以确保高中学生的我花了一些时间来考虑我的申请汉密尔顿的决定后，面试官问我：你有什么问题要问我吗/关于我们的学校你想知道什么？

At this point, we can finally address this key question that allows you, the student interviewee, to highlight your brilliance. The research you have done, the questions you have asked current students, the emotions you feel toward a school culture can all be treated and acknowledged by this interviewer in a way that can show your interest, as well as your preparation for what is essentially a first impression of you to the university. So, what are some questions that you might consider asking?

在这一点上，我们终于可以去解决这个，让你- 接受面试的学生，突出你的才能的关键性问题了。 你所做的研究，你问过在校大学生的问题，你对校园文化的感情，都会被面试官记录和认可，他们通过了解你的兴趣和你为大学做的准备来获取对你的第一印象。 那么，你可能会问面试官什么问题？

a. How was your time at ____ University/College?/ Do you have a favorite memory from your time there? Alumni love tot alk about their experiences at their schools. So please feel free to use this question as a warm-up to buy some time to think about/recall your following questions at this stage in the interview.

你在____ 大学/学院的时间是怎样度过的？/ 最棒的回忆是什么？校友/招生官喜欢谈论他们在大学的经验。所以，请使用这个问题作为一个热身，在面试官回答问题的时候，你可以利用这段时间去思考/回忆以下问题。

b. I am interested in ____ (academics, sports, activity) at (insert name of college),do you happen to know about how it is there? For this question to be particularly effective you might want to consider having looked up your interviewer’s name and see their LinkedIn profile or other online social profiles. This can potentially good conversation starter that draws a mutual interest between you and the interviewer. But use careful judgment. This question should still be focused on you mostly. It should not go like “I remember seeing that you did ____ for three years and that you have a picture with a friend. Can you tell me more?” That is probably too extreme. Balance is key.

我对____大学的（学术，体育，活动）感兴趣，你知道它怎么样吗？为了使这个问题达到预期的效果，你可能需要在LinkedIn中搜索面试官的名字，并查看他们的个人资料或其他社交网站个人资料。这很有可能成为一段谈话的良好开端，会吸引你和面试官共同的兴趣。此时要小心，这个话题应该主要集中在你身上。你不应该说“我记得看到你做了___三年了，你和朋友还拍了一张照片。你能告诉我更多内容吗？”这样可能是太极端了。保持话题在两人身上平衡是关键所在。

c. Remember that these questions are using the interviewer’s experience and expertise. These should never be questions that can be found on the university’s website. Ever.

请记住，你问面试官的这些问题是根据面试官的个人经验和专业知识而提出来的。不应该用从大学网站上的可以找到答案的问题。

However anxiety-inducing the college interview might seem, the more preparation (and good rest!) that you giveyourself, the more you will get out of the process and the more successful the meeting can be. Your 18-something years of life offer plenty of content to discuss during the interview. Take advantage of this!

大学面试可能会引起你的焦虑，你做越充分的准备（和好好休息！），你的面试就会越成功。在你十几年的生命中，有大量的内容可以在面试期间谈论。好好利用！