Most colleges don’t have interviews anymore – there are far too many applicants. But smaller colleges (typically, liberal arts) will often have an optional interview. Should you take them up on this option?

If you live relatively close to the college, and you feel you will interview well, then yes! You should opt for the interview. If you live far away, then obviously you’ll have to take into consideration travel time and cost, and it won’t be held against you if you don’t interview. The third scenario is tricky: What if you live close to the college, but you don’t think you’ll interview well? On the one hand, you don’t want to seem disinterested in the college, but on the other, a bad interview could negatively affect your chance of admission.

The best solution is to prepare for interviews so that you will interview well. Here are five tips to help you do so:

1) Know yourself. Most high school students cannot articulate why they want to study a given subject. If you know what you’d like to major in, be sure to back it up with a succinct explanation. (And if you don’t know at all what you might study in college, you should be prepared to tell your interviewer which majors interest you. Are you into the arts? engineering? humanities? sciences?)

2) Know the college. Take the time to research the college. It’s true that many students interview on their first trip to a campus, so it’s hard to know why you might like to attend. But you should figure out in advance what about the college appeals to you: Is it the proximity to home, or the reputation of the school’s music program, or the opportunity to interact with faculty members? Maybe it’s the study abroad program, the library collections or the debate team?

3) Create a résumé. You will be reminded of all of your accomplishments. What did you participate in for several years? Which awards and honors have you won? How many summers did you work? If you create a résumé in advance, you won’t be struggling to remember what you’ve done the last few years. Keep in mind that a résumé should only be one page at most, so you’ll be forced to keep only those activities that mattered most. You might want to bring this to the interview, especially if you have an impressive academic and extracurricular background, but it’s not necessary.

4) Bring a list of questions. Your interviewer will likely ask if you have any questions for her/him. You should plan in advance those questions that you want to ask, and don’t be afraid to write them down and bring them on a piece of paper. This will ensure that you haven’t forgotten any questions, and impress the interviewer that you took the time to prepare for the interview.

5) Practice. The best way for you to be comfortable talking about yourself, your interests and why you want to attend a particular college is to practice with someone. Find a friend, or a parent or a school counselor who is willing to give you a mock interview. The actual interview should only take about 20 to 30 minutes, so a mock interview will not take too much time – but will be time well spent.

Try to make your interview more like a discussion than an interrogation, listen to the interviewer and don’t be afraid to ask questions, too.

Relax, take a deep breath, avoid jeans with holes in them, turn off your cell phone and spit out your gum.

Now you’re ready for your college interviews.

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