College alumni interview practice
Make your college interview a conversation they can remember.
Bring your interests and experiences beyond the essay. Rehearse with an AI alumni interviewer and tell your story without reciting it.
For college applicants, including gap-year and transfer applicants.
- Voice only, no camera
- Reads your essay and the college
- Every day, up to two hours
$12.99 a week or $29.99 a month. Cancel anytime in Settings.
“Why this college, and not the others on your list?”
- Subject understanding
- Thinking aloud
- Tackling the unfamiliar
- Teachability and engagement
“My first answer sounded like I was reading my activities list. The follow-ups helped me pick one experience I actually wanted to talk about.”
Questions you’ll practice
Common phrasings of what this interview asks, and what each one tests. An AI alumni interviewer works from your own application, so expect follow-ups on what you say.
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“Why this college, and not the others on your list?”
Tests: specific reasons from the college’s own page
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“Tell me about yourself.”
Tests: a short, natural story that leads somewhere
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“What do you like to do outside of class?”
Tests: genuine interests, described with detail
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“What did you do last summer?”
Tests: how you spend time nobody assigns
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“What is a class or book that changed how you think?”
Tests: intellectual curiosity in your own words
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“Tell me about a challenge you have faced.”
Tests: resilience and what you learned
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“What do you want to study, and why?”
Tests: direction without false certainty
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“What will you contribute to campus life?”
Tests: community and initiative
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“What questions do you have for me?”
Tests: curiosity about the alumni experience
Setup takes about two minutes.
At Georgetown, alumni interviews are “an important part of the first-year application process”, and “an evaluative report will be submitted and become part of the student’s admissions file”. Source: Georgetown University
Colleges weigh interviews differently. Either way, it goes better when it isn’t the first time you’ve said it.
The season in numbers
is typical for an MIT interview, “though they can range from 30 minutes to two hours”
Source: MIT AdmissionsKnow what to change before the real interview
See where your answer lost its point, what was missing and what to try next. Your own words, with feedback on each question and scores across four skills.
Real stories, but your best one came out as a list.
“So I do robotics, and debate, and I work at the restaurant, and, um, I also volunteer…”
Pick one activity and tell it as a story: what happened, what you did, what changed.
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“Why this college, and not the others on your list?”
You named something real from the college’s page. Now say why it matters to you, not just that it exists.
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“Tell me about yourself.”
Natural and short. End on what you want to study, so the next question has somewhere to go.
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“What questions do you have for me?”
One good question. Ask about their own time there, then follow up on the answer.
Illustrative example. Your scores will differ.
“I thought I needed a perfect answer for everything. Practicing the conversation helped me explain my interests without turning each answer into a speech.”
One question, and what a strong answer does
An example of the kind of question you’ll be asked, and what the feedback looks for.
“Your essay mentions working weekends at your family’s restaurant. What has that taught you?”
Follow-up: “How do you think that would show up in a dorm or a classroom here?”
What a strong answer does
- Picks one concrete moment instead of a general summary.
- Says what was learned in plain words, without overselling it.
- Links it to what the college offers, using something from its own page.
- Sounds like a conversation: brief, warm and open to the next question.
What it costs
Spoken interview sessions on either plan, up to two hours of interviews a day.
Spoken interview sessions, up to two hours of interviews a day
A week of focused preparation when your interview is just days away.
Need more than a week? Two weekly payments total $25.98. From three weeks on, the monthly plan costs less.
Cancel anytime in Settings, with no cancellation fee. You keep access until the end of the period you paid for.
Before you ask
Does the alumni interview even matter?
It depends on the college, so check each one’s own admissions page. Some weigh it more than others. Either way, it is a conversation you can rehearse.
Will it feel like a real conversation?
It is a conversation, not a quiz: one AI interviewer asks, listens and follows up on what you actually said. It is not a person, so use it for the reps.
Will it know my college?
Paste the college’s own page during setup. The interviewer asks why there from what the page says. It is built not to guess at facts the page doesn’t give.
How fast can I start?
Setup takes about two minutes and needs no account. You choose a plan before your first interview.
How it works
Set up in about two minutes, then interview out loud and see your scores.
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Add your essay and the college
Upload your resume or paste your application essay, then paste the college’s page. Both are optional, and setup takes about two minutes.
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Have the conversation out loud
Twenty minutes is preselected; choose 10 or 15 for a quick run. One AI alumni interviewer asks, listens and follows up.
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Get scored on four skills
Subject understanding, thinking aloud, tackling the unfamiliar, and teachability and engagement, with feedback question by question.
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Go again for the next college
Swap in another college’s page and practice the “why here” for each school on your list.
The night before
The same evening, two ways.
Without rehearsing
- You’ve read your essay so often you could recite it, which is the problem.
- Your “why this college” is the line everyone else will say.
- When they ask what questions you have, you have none ready.
After practicing out loud
- You’ve told your best story out loud, and it sounds like you, not your essay.
- Your “why this college” names something you found on its own page.
- You have two questions ready for your interviewer, and a follow-up to each.
Good to know
20 minutes by default
A 20-minute mock by default. Choose 10 or 15 for a quick run.
Voice only
Voice only: no camera and no video. Your spoken answers are transcribed so they can be scored.
Your interviewer’s accent
Your interviewer speaks with an American accent. You can change it in Settings.
At MIT, most Early Action interviews take place in November and most Regular Action interviews in January.
Questions
What to know before you start practicing.
Is the interviewer a real person?
Does it use my camera or record video?
Can I practice for a specific college?
How much does the alumni interview matter?
How long is a session?
What does it cost?
What doesn’t it cover?
Related interview practice
Updated on
They will ask “why here?”. Say your answer out loud before they do.
Twenty minutes with an interviewer who has read your essay. Start tonight.