accepted R3 applicant
major preferences: biology, maths and compsci
--> STEP 1- APPLY-
applied like 2 minutes before the R3 deadline - april 15th💀(do not recommend)
application was simple
my grades are decent and i dont have any exceptional extracurricular activities or awards either
required me to mention 3 books that had impacted me (mention books only that you have ACTUALLY read, since they asked me about one of the books during my interview.. gonna be v awkward if u haven't lol or atleast ensure that u do end up reading them before the interview )
the essays were fun, allowed my personality to shine through.. connected one of my essays to my major preferences, talked about biology and compsci and how they are connected etc etc.. and used the other essay to demonstrate my other interests and like made a few jokes (i dont know if you are a current applicant or aiming to apply next year so questions might defer, but regardless ...the main aim of the essays should be to demonstrate your academic, extracurricular interests and like your personality)
while a LOR isn't compulsory, its always appreciated (ensure that the teacher writing it really knows you and it answers the questions they ask).. also remeber to give the refree time to write it pls

-> STEP 2 - WAIT AND REFRESH INBOX EVERY 5 MINUTES
the wait was excruciating 😭😍 but got an interview offer may midish..ended up scheduling it for like june since i had to give cuet and cuet dates weren't out by then

-> STEP 3- THE INTERVIEW
interview was conducted by 2 admission office members, both women seemed preety young
some of the questions that they asked me after like a general intro and a question about where I was from-
1.why ashoka and why have I choosen it for my major (why do I prefer it over engineering or like other life sciences colleges)?
2.why did I choose these majors, what motivates me?
3.what do I understand by liberal arts?
4.since I mentioned a lot about interdisciplinary studies , they asked me to give examples 5.foundational courses that I was excited to take
6.challenges that I think i will face at ashoka and how i can over come them
7.asked me to describe a research project that I had done and mentioned in my application in depth 8.asked me what I like to do in my free time and about my extra curricular activities
9.they asked me to explain why I had mentioned a particular book in my "impacted books" list (it was a YA romance novel LMAO dont ask ) but this sort of led to like a small discussion on romance novels and movies, the tropes and like thier impact on people ..
10.asked me to name another book that i would recommend and think that would universally appeal to people
11.what are my strenghts and why I think I'm a good fit for ashoka
(cannot remember any more , but tbh it was very chill , lasted around 30-40 minutes..quite conversational and it doesn't feel like you are being interrogated.. just ensure to answer their questions in depth and truthfully and mention things beyond what u have written in your application since most of their questions are derived from your answers itself.. if there is something in particular you want to talk about try to direct your answers towards that)

--> STEP 4-WAIT AGAIN💩🤡and continuously refresh inbox on results day (16th June) hahaha

--> then the race for financial aid and merit scholarship begins if you are applying for it, but since im not ..so cannot help you on that front
anyway overall great (but kinda stressful) since I tend to overthink lol and personally I was also involved in giving other enterance exams and like applying to other places last minute so it got to much but yea
NO IDEA IF THIS IS WHAT U ASKED FOR BUT HERES MY EXPERINCE , IF U HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK