This first module showed me why I was feeling some tension during admissions interviews. Our questions are good ones, but not all the applicants are comfortable with them. Those who are comfortable do really well, while others flounder, and I'm now realizing this is not necessarily because they are not a good fit for the program.
It makes perfect sense that we need to find more questions that will help students open up and express themselves. I plan to keep most of the questions we are using, but not to be as strict about using the same ones in the same order every time. I also plan to add a few more open-ended questions I can try if a candidate seems stuck.
Also, although I have been listening quite carefully to what the candidate says, and their body language too, I think I have not been flexible enough to change my questions so as to pick up on their lead, and make them feel more comfortable.
