NOTES
General questions
These questions help an interviewer
understand your personality and
background.
Tell me about your family.
How would you describe yourself?
What do you enjoy reading outside of
school?
Why are you interested in our school?
What are you passionate about?
What is your greatest strength and
weakness?
What subject do you enjoy the most and
why?
What subject do you like the least and
why?
What makes you unique?
What extracurricular activities are you
interested in?
Questions about experience and
background
These questions help an interviewer decide
whether your values match those of the
private school.
How do you handle stress and
pressure?
What motivates you?
What do you think you might study in
college?
In what ways have experiences
prepared you to attend this school?
What talents and gifts can you bring to
our school?
Who are the people you most admire?
Do you know what you want to be when
you get older?
What memorable cultural experiences
have you had?
Do you hold a leadership position at
your school currently?
Are you involved with any community
service projects? What have you
learned?
In-depth questions
These questions are intended to give the
interviewer a more in-depth look at who
you are.
How do you evaluate success?
What do you think is the most
important thing you can learn in
school?
What is your current school like? What
do you like and what would you change?
Have you ever had trouble
communicating with a coach or
teacher? If so, what did you do?
How will you benefit from attending
this school?
If your best friend asked if they could
copy your homework, what would you
do?
Have you ever had conflicts at school?
If so, how did you deal with them?
How have you recovered from a
disappointment or setback?
If you had one wish, what would it be?
If you could meet one person in history,
who would it be and why?
Tell us about what you do outside of
school.
Admissions committees are looking for
well-rounded candidates. You should be
prepared to speak eloquently about
something that's of interest to you outside
of academics, whether it's sports, music or
drama. A good answer should also include
whether you intend to continue that
interest while at a new school. You could
also answer this question by sharing a new
interest.Example: "I recently became
interested in photography. I've taken some
online workshops outside of school and
then, most recently, have been
volunteering my time at a local animal
rescue, taking photos for the organization's
social media sites."
What is an obstacle you've faced and how
did you get through it?
Admissions officers want to know if you've
overcome any obstacles and gauge your
determination and persistence in
overcoming them. A great answer to this
question shares a time when you faced a
problem that challenged you and required
you to put in a significant amount of effort
in order to resolve it. This obstacle could
be related to school, your home life or an
extracurricular. Describe the scenario
briefly but spend the majority of your
response emphasizing what you did to
overcome the obstacle.Example: "Last year
I started playing on the soccer team.
Unfortunately, during our third game, I
injured myself and at first, it seemed like I
was going to have to sit out the rest of the
year. However, I talked to my physical
therapist and together we came up with a
plan to rehab my knee more quickly. It took
a lot of work and fighting through the pain
initially, but after several months I was able
to return and play the last part of the
season in a different position. I was thrilled
Tell us about an accomplishment that has
made you feel especially proud.
While the answer to this can be academic,
it doesn't have to be. It could be that
you've written your own music,
coordinated a successful fundraiser or
even just helped a family member in need.
A great answer will highlight your passion
and why you were motivated to excel in
this situation.Example: "I was part of the
Spanish club in my last school. We wanted
to take a trip to the Mexican peninsula and
stay with families there to fully immerse
ourselves in the culture. We coordinated
several fundraisers, from selling Spanish
cookbooks that we made ourselves to
selling chili at basketball games. The hard
work paid off and we were able to pay for
our trip!"
Tell us about a time when you
demonstrated leadership.
A great answer to this question describes a
situation in which you took initiative,
whether it was in the classroom, with your
team through sports or in a lab. Use the
STAR interview response technique where
you briefly describe the situation, then the
task, your responsibility in the situation,
then the action you book and finally the
result you achieved.Example: "I participate
in a competitive cheer squad outside of
school. During a competition, one of the
flyers fell and because she was younger
than most of the squad, most of the team
immediately blamed her. I knew girls were
still upset before our next practice and I
knew how guilty the flyer felt.Before the
coach started practice, I told my team to
come over to the edge of the mat to talk. I
reminded them that we are a team and we
win together and lose together. I reminded
them that we have all made mistakes at
some point and that it's how we get better.
I reminded them that if we want to be the
best, we have to act as a team."
