The admission officers/interviewers are looking to learn more about the applicant during the interview. It is important for an applicant to engage in the interview more as he/she would engage in a conversation. Here are a few sample interview questions which an interviewer may ask:

Introductory Questions

• Can you please tell me a bit about yourself?
• How would your friends describe you?
• What would you like the Admissions office to know that might not appear in your application? 
• What is your most vivid memory or experience that you have learned from?

Academic and Extracurricular Interests

• What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
• What kind of activities do you engage in after school?
• What is your favorite part of your school experience?
• What is your most challenging subject in school? And why?
• In what environment do you learn the best?
• Is there anything you would like to change about your high school experience?
• What is your favorite book? Who is your favorite fictional character from a book? Why?

University Specific Questions

(For the ease of understanding, let’s take NYU as an example for the university-specific questions)

• Why NYU? 
• When did you first hear about NYU?
• What draws you to the undergraduate school/program to which you’ve applied?
• What on-campus clubs/opportunities are you most excited about?
• Do you have any questions related to NYU?
• What is interesting to you about NYU? What led you to apply?

Other Questions

• If you could go to dinner with any historical figure, who would that be, and why?
• If you had no internet and no phone for an afternoon, what would you do?
• If you had 4 hours to do anything you wanted and did not have to account for it, what would you do, and why?
• What is your favorite place to go? What has been your favorite place—city, area, landmark, building, or another place of your choice—to visit? Why?
• Who is your biggest inspiration? Why?
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
• Which activity do you enjoy the most? Why?

The purpose of the interview is to understand why you have chosen a particular university. The key is to remain calm and maintain a natural, conversational flow. University-specific mentors at UniRely train lots of students through mock interview rounds and help them ace their interviews to their dream universities in the US. So definitely go to their platform and get your interview skills sorted.