How odd is it that one of the most effective ways to learn about college applicants tends to be among the least frequent steps in the process. How valuable is direct conversation for evaluating prospective members of an educational community and what might the future hold? Amy and Mike invited college admissions expert Parke Muth to explore the importance of college interviews.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What is typically meant by a college interview?

2. How common and impactful are interviews in the current admissions process?

3. What are the best ways to prepare for college interviews?

4. Why should interviews be used more often?

5. What are some of the downsides of requiring more interviews?

MEET OUR GUEST

Parke Muth has worked in education for over 35 years. Most of the time he served as a Dean at the University of Virginia in the admission office and in the English Department. He now works with companies, schools, families, and students across the world but mostly focusing on Asia where he spends about 1/2 of the year. 

While at Virginia, Parke was, among other things, Director of Selection and Recruitment of Honors Scholars, Director of Application Assessment Training, and Director of International Admission. He’s been serving for over 25 years as a member of the Jefferson Scholars selection committee. This four-year, full scholarship is among the most elite programs in the United States. Parke also serves as an advisor for the Ron Brown Scholars Program, an elite scholars program that provides financial support and leadership training, networking, and career services for underprivileged black students. 

Because of his experiences in admissions, Parke is a highly sought-after speaker He has been interviewed by the New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, Bloomberg, Associated Press, NBC, etc. He has had over 6 million people read his responses on the website Quora.com. He also has a blog with over 4,000 pages of content, all free, no ads or promotions: https://onlyconnectparke.blogspot.com/

Parke previously appeared on this podcast in episode 81 to discuss You Can't Handle the Truth: Secrets of College Admissions and in episode 148 to discuss Stop Making $en$e: The International Student Problem and in episode 292 for an IEC Profile.

Find Parke at [email protected].

LINKS

Glimpse by InitialView

Can You Answer These 10 College Interview Questions?

Askwith Education Forum Details Impact of Wealth on College Admissions

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ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our past episodes on the show page and keep up with our future ones by subscribing to our email newsletter.

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS

Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you’re interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.