Received interview invite about 7-10 days after application was submitted. I feel this is evidence Harvard looks to fill a class profile. Interview was conducted via Skype with Adcom who had reviewed my entire application. Interviewer made an emphasis to create a relaxed environment by being extra friendly and kept the interview as conversational as possible. She specifically stated the purpose of the interview was to get to know who I am which was a relief to me after preparing for a stress interview. Looking back this was definitely an interview tactic – do NOT fall into the trap of being too generic in your answers or forget that you are interviewing for Harvard. The questions listed below are paraphrased by topic.
- How did you end up joining the military after high school
- How did you pick your current job
- Walk through how each job shows progression (I’ve had 3 in the military)
- What’s an average day like
- Conversation about extracurricular activities (Don’t underplay what you do)
- What do you do for fun
- What have been your favorite places to visit (I answered traveling for previous question)
- How do you stay connected to what’s going on in the business world (I serve overseas)
- What are some trends/stories going on the technology sector today (I’m interested in technology so conversation steered that way)
If I had the chance to re-do this interview I would emphasize the following: interview in person, prep for 2 types of interviews (stress & casual) – make sure you have a game plan to sell yourself in each scenario, answer each question as if it starts with ‘why’. I ended up not being accepted into Harvard and am certain this was due to a poor interview.
