College interviews are so stressful…

I thought I had finished the college process after I joyously clicked submit on my final application. Little did I know that I would soon be overwhelmed with emails from college alumni asking to interview me to see if I would be a “good fit for our school.”

The college interview is completely different from submitting an application. When writing your application you have time to think carefully about your answers, delete and edit what does not sound right, and take a break to de-stress and drink some tea if needed. In the interview, however, you are expected to come up with strong, sensible answers while trying to sound eloquent and proficient. The interview does not only test your knowledge of the college and your ability to showcase your strengths and qualifications, but also challenges your speaking skills and your ability to get your message across.

With so much riding on a single conversation, I turned to the app LikeSo to help me prepare for the slew of college interviews that I had to face. I knew that along with having good posture and eye contact, I would also have to work on keeping a good pace and eliminating filler words so as to not dilute my statements. Instead of stressing out about the five interviews I had in the coming week, I focused my energy on using LikeSo to practice my speaking skills and answering realistic interview questions. Answering these questions while getting feedback on my pace and filler words made me feel more comfortable and prepared to answer them when the time came. During my interviews I smiled when I recognized some of the questions from the app and effortlessly answered the questions I practiced without hesitations or filler words.

Now I am inspired to improve my speaking skills not just for interviews, but also to be prepared for everyday life, so that I can always be confident in my speaking abilities whether in school, at my job, or for the college interview next week that I was just contacted about.

In the end, I am still not any closer to knowing if I got into college, but at least I know that I have mastered the college interview!