About Interviews

Greetings! New York is buzzing today, celebrating the Super Bowl win by the Giants and anticipating Super Duper Tuesday tomorrow. It’s a great time to be in the city!

I’ve received some questions concerning interviews: Are they mandatory? How do you get an interview? Any tips on a successful interview?

To get some insight, I asked Melba Remice, Associate Director of Admission and liaison to the Counseling and Clinical Psychology Department, for the skinny on admission interviews.

For some programs, mostly doctoral, interviews are essential to gaining admission. For these programs, not all applicants are offered an interview, and getting an interview does not guarantee admission. Programs with December 15th deadlines are in the process of reviewing applications to determine whom they would like to interview. If your application is in the department for review, there is nothing more for you to do at this point. If the program would like to interview you, they will contact you.

What if I do not get an interview? Will I still be considered for the program?

As I mentioned before, not all programs conduct interviews as part of their admission process. So, depending on the program, you still may be eligible for admission. But the department reserves the right to deny admission to a Doctoral program or admit a student for a Master’s program in the same department without conducting an interview.

I got an interview! Now what?

First off, congratulations! If your interview is on-campus, make your travel arrangements pronto, giving yourself time before the interview to rest (if possible, you don’t want to arrive in New York the morning of your interview). With applicants from all over the country and the world, we understand that many interview candidates cannot travel to Teachers College for an interview. Students have been admitted to TC in the past with phone interviews. However, we do recommend visiting TC if it is logistically and financially possible. These interviews are not only a way for the department to get to know you, it is a chance for you to get to know the department. We want our students to succeed here, academically and emotionally. And there is something about visiting the Teachers College campus that cannot be replicated over the phone. But, again, visiting is not essential for an interview or admission in most cases.

How should I prepare for my interview?

Make sure you know your stuff before stepping into that interview room (or picking up that telephone). There will most likely be questions about your previous research and field experience, your current research interests, which faculty members you would like to work under, the list is endless! Well, almost. An application paints a specific picture of the candidate and it is the job of the interview to focus on any particular aspect and flush it out. Be prepared to defend every point you made in your personal statement and make a clear argument (without arguing) as to why you would be a good fit for this Teachers College program.

Best of luck in the admission process and keep the questions coming!