I interviewed with five schools (Stanford didn't offer interviews in my country) and had very different interviewers/experiences for each of them. From what I understand about admissions interviews, they only matter at the extremes. Because interviewers are often not official admissions personnel, their reviews of students can be quite erratic. As a result, they only really make a difference in the admissions process if the interviewer has a negative impression of the applicant. If you come across as a terrible person during face to face conversation, the college will not want you. But an interviewer who seems to love...

Most schools only need two teacher recommendation letters plus a counsellor letter, but I actually asked three different teachers to write me letters and had the third one mailed in. I did this because I thought each recommendation offered a unique perspective on me as a student. One of my recommendations was from a teacher who had taught me in AP classes and also coached me in my main extracurricular. I had also travelled and spent a lot of time with her, so she knew my personality well. I thought that her letter could give the admissions office a good...

Harvard is a truly incredible place to go to school. It's very different than I expected - contrary to popular belief, not everyone here is a workaholic. In fact, the vast majority of people are not workaholics. Yes, they motivate themselves to get work done, but they relax, procrastinate, and have a lot of fun too. Not everyone at Harvard is a genius, but everyone is...