How should I prepare differently for a Duke interview versus a Columbia interview?

Prepare for both as conversational, evaluative alumni interviews, but make your Duke answers campus- and community-centered and your Columbia answers more focused on intellectual exchange, the Core Curriculum, and learning in New York City. For Duke, be ready to connect your interests to a residential campus culture, collaborative student life, research, service, and opportunities such as DukeEngage where relevant. For Columbia, be ready to explain what you would contribute to and gain from the Core, whose shared reading and discussion experience is distinctive to the undergraduate program.

At a Duke interview, avoid treating Duke as only a prestigious version of another university. Identify two or three specific academic or extracurricular directions that fit you, then explain how you would pursue them with other students. A strong answer might connect an intended field to undergraduate research, a student organization, a service project, or the ability to explore across disciplines. Showing that you understand the Durham campus setting and would participate actively in its community is more useful than reciting program names.

At a Columbia interview, prepare to discuss ideas, texts, questions, or academic tensions that genuinely engage you. The interviewer may not expect a polished scholarly answer, but Columbia is especially interested in students who can be curious, reflective, and open to discussion with people who disagree. Explain specifically how the Core would broaden or challenge your thinking, rather than simply saying that you like small classes or New York City.

For either school, have concise stories ready about a meaningful commitment, an intellectual interest, a challenge or change in perspective, and how you relate to a community. Bring a few thoughtful questions that cannot be answered by a quick website search. Do not over-script: alumni interviews tend to go best when your examples are specific and your interest in the institution sounds informed rather than rehearsed.