After helping the admissions department with campus tours and class visits last year, I was excited to become an “Admissions Fellow” during my second-year. Admissions Fellows contribute to the department in different ways; specifically, by conducting nearly all campus interviews for the Daytime program, but also supporting other programming and marketing efforts. After I became a Fellow, I went through required in-depth training to learn how to conduct effective interviews.

When I first interviewed at Fuqua as an applicant, I was a bit surprised when a student led me to the interview room. But since then, this practice has come to make great sense. Fuqua prides itself on a very active student body and the practice of students interviewing students helps emphasize that reality. Not only can current students answer questions from an “on-the-ground” perspective, but we can also help evaluate an applicant’s potential to succeed in a very unique culture that we hope to protect year after year.

If you come in for an interview, you will notice that your interviewer has conducted quite a bit of brainstorming on the best approach to your discussion, based on your resume. Often, you may see underlines and circles on that resume to highlight interesting points that the interviewer wants to discuss further. Your resume is the only portion of your application that a Fellow will ever see. Interviews at Fuqua tend to be far more of a discussion about your interests and passions than any kind of “grilling” or intense one-on-one evaluation. We just want to get to know you.

Ultimately, the interviewer provides feedback on the applicant’s potential fit at Fuqua. Interaction and discussion with a student during the interview is an important part of the decision-making process for both applicants and the admissions committee. However, Fellows (and any other student interviewers) do not participate in the final evaluation and decision process.

That being said, it is worth emphasizing that the interview is just one portion of any application. Therefore, you should take every part of the application seriously.