US college interview questions: a guide for Ghanaians
Expect questions about you, not tests of knowledge: what you do, what you want to study and why you want that university. Most interviews for Ghanaian applicants are friendly conversations with a graduate, in Accra or by video, lasting 30 to 60 minutes. If you are not offered one, MIT, Harvard and Princeton say it does not count against you.
Do US universities interview applicants from Ghana?
Some do. Many selective US universities ask their graduates to interview applicants as volunteers. In Ghana, that usually means a conversation in Accra or by video with someone who studied there.
You get one only if an interviewer is free. MIT, Harvard and Princeton each say they cannot interview every applicant, especially in countries with few graduates. They also say you are not at a disadvantage if they cannot interview you. Princeton lets you opt out on the application, and says that choice does not count against you either.
So treat an interview as an extra chance to be known, not an exam. It rarely decides your application.
Should I pay for an InitialView interview?
Only if a university on your list asks for or recommends it. InitialView is a company that runs short, unscripted, recorded interviews. Some universities accept them, mainly as evidence of your spoken English and as an extra view of you.
Claremont McKenna calls InitialView the preferred interview option for international applicants. Davidson strongly recommends it for them.
If you were taught in English in Ghana, many universities will not need it. Read each university's international applicant page. If it does not ask, keep the money for application and test fees.
When will my interview be, in Ghana time?
Most interviews fall between October and February, and the interviewer sets the time in US time. Ghana is on GMT all year. US Eastern time is five hours behind Ghana from early November to mid-March, and four hours behind for the rest of the year. The Pacific coast is three hours further back.
When you agree a time, confirm it in Ghana time, in writing.
- October to November
Interviews for Early Decision and Early Action applicants at universities that offer them, where an interviewer is available.
- December to February
Interviews for Regular Decision applicants. MIT says its interviewers usually make contact in January for this round.
- Within a day of the interview
You send a short thank-you email to the interviewer.
What questions will the interviewer ask?
Mostly questions about you, not tests of knowledge. An alumni interview is a conversation of 30 to 60 minutes, and the same questions come up at university after university.
| Question | What they are listening for | What a Ghanaian student often has to draw on |
|---|---|---|
| Tell me about yourself | Whether you can talk about yourself without reciting your CV | Your town, your school, what fills your week |
| What do you do outside class? | One or two things you care about enough to explain | Clubs, church or mosque roles, a family business, tutoring younger children |
| What do you want to study, and why? | Curiosity, and whether it is yours | The elective combination you chose at SHS and what pulled you to it |
| Why this university? | Whether you know anything specific about it | A course, a programme, a professor's work you have read about |
| Tell me about a challenge | How you think when something goes wrong | Boarding school, a subject you struggled with, responsibilities at home |
| What have you read or watched recently? | Whether you think about things on your own time | A book, a podcast, a debate you followed |
| What questions do you have for me? | Whether you are interested in them and the place | See the section on questions below |
None of these has a right answer. Afterwards, the interviewer writes a short report on who you are and what you would bring. It joins the rest of your file.
Give full answers. Many Ghanaian students learn to answer an adult briefly and respectfully, and to wait to be asked. In a US alumni interview, that can look as though you have little to say. You can stay polite and still talk at length, disagree gently and ask questions back. Calling the interviewer by the name they use in their email is normal.
How should I answer "Tell me about yourself"?
Take about a minute and cover three things: where you are from, what you spend your time on, and one detail that is yours alone. Then stop, and let the interviewer pick a thread.
Do not give a list. "I am the senior prefect, I am in the science club, I won the inter-house quiz and I volunteer at church" is your activity list read aloud. The interviewer already has it.
Explain one thing instead. "I go to school in Cape Coast and I am in the science programme. Most of my free time goes on the radio club. We run a fifteen-minute broadcast on Friday evenings, and I got interested in how the transmitter actually works." Now the interviewer has a question to ask next, and you have a conversation.
What should I ask the interviewer?
Ask two or three questions you actually want answered, about their own experience. Interviewers are graduates, not admissions officers, so they can tell you what the place was like.
Questions that tend to work:
- What surprised you most in your first year?
- How did you choose what to study, and did it change?
- What would you tell a student coming from far away about settling in?
- Is there anything you wish you had done there and did not?
Skip questions the website answers, such as the number of students or the deadline. And do not ask whether you will be admitted. The interviewer does not decide.
How do I set up a video interview from Ghana?
Plan for the power and the connection, and find a quiet room. Most problems on the day come from these two things.
- Power and data. Charge everything the day before. Keep a phone with data as a backup hotspot.
- A phone number. At the start of the call, tell the interviewer you are in Ghana and give them a number. If the call drops, reconnect straight away and apologise once.
- The room. Sit in a quiet room against a plain wall, with the camera at eye level and your face lit from the front.
- The household. If home is noisy, tell your family the time in advance. If nowhere at home works, ask your school whether you can use an office.
What should I do now?
Write down three stories you could tell for five minutes each: something you do, something you have changed your mind about, and something you want to learn. Then practise them aloud twice, with someone asking questions, before any interview is booked.
That preparation is most of what any coach would do with you. If you would like a practice interview with someone who knows how these conversations go, you can book a call with us.
Questions people ask
Do US universities interview applicants from Ghana?
Some do. They usually ask graduates who volunteer as interviewers to meet you in Accra or by video. MIT, Harvard and Princeton all say they cannot interview every applicant, and that missing out does not count against you.
What questions do alumni interviewers usually ask?
Questions about you, not tests of knowledge. Expect to talk about what you do outside class, what you want to study and why, why that university, something you have read or made, and a challenge you have handled. They will also ask what questions you have. Plan for 30 to 60 minutes.
What if the power or internet fails during a video interview?
Reconnect or call back straight away, and apologise once. At the start of the call, tell the interviewer you are in Ghana and give them a phone number. Interviewers who work with international applicants understand connection problems.
Should I book an InitialView interview?
Only if a university on your list asks for or recommends one. Some, such as Claremont McKenna and Davidson, recommend it for international applicants. Check each university's international page before you pay.