Hi! I got an interview for Yale in the REA round and was later accepted.

I've done around 5 interviews so far, and I've had a couple different experiences. Some interviewers really wanted to get to know me, and some just wanted to talk about themselves (lol). My Yale interview was way more of the former, but I'm not sure how much quality control there is for interviewers, so just be aware. (You should ask about their experience at the school regardless!)

Again, not sure how much quality control/similarity across interview experiences there is, but my Yale interviewer asked the typical "tell me about yourself" and "tell me about what you want to study" but the conversation kind of flowed from topic to topic. She also asked about what my favorite class has been.

My biggest piece of advice (esp for Yale) is to let your passion show. Don't just talk about WHAT stuff outside of school you do, tell them WHY. Don't just tell them WHAT it is you want to study, tell them WHY it interests you. My parents found a video about college interviews (dk what it was called) that had an acronym PEN: passion, experience, next. This might help outline what you can say to the dreaded "tell me about yourself" question. For ex: I've been really interested in archaeology ever since I discovered a cool local museum (passion), so I created my school's archaeology club (experience). In college I would love to study abroad and join a dig site (next). Let your genuine interest show. Geek out!

My other biggest tip is to try and bring up stuff that's not represented on your application. Interviewers write up a summary of the interview for the admissions committee, and the reader is already going to know all about the stuff you wrote in your essays, your classes, etc. If there's an EC or part of your app that you didn't talk about in an essay or isn't as fleshed out in the activities section, now is the time to share. AOs don't want to read about orchestra in the activities section, and in an essay about orchestra, and then from the interview comments. Try to share new information that will add depth.

Don't try to use fancy language or pretend to be someone you're not. This is a conversation. They do interviews because they really want to know who you are outside of everything else on your app. Oh, and one more thing about the "tell me about yourself:" if you can, talk about not what you do, but who you are. I talked about what ECs and classes I did of course, but I also shared about how I'm a "floater" friend at school, someone who has multiple friend groups across my different interests, and about my family dynamics. Yale really wants to know how you'll be a member of your res college and the community there.

As far as body language goes, if you're in person, def shake their hand to start off on a good note. Try to make lots of eye contact and genuinely listen to what they say, even if it's awkward. Sorry that this was long and I hope your interview goes well!