In the six weeks prior to OPE weekend, all the candidates (who could make it) and myself got together once a week to go over how the weekend would go down.
- What to say in an interview.
- What kind of questions would be asked.
- What to wear.
- Events outside of the interviews.
- Resume reviews.
- Cover letter tips.
- Thank you card dos and don'ts.
And whatever else we needed to know to be fully prepared.
The week before OPE came, my boyfriend and I broke up due to, I guess the best way to say it is, irreconcilable differences. So that was pretty tough, but I guess it was good to get that out of the way and focus solely on myself and my own personal needs. At that point, I had nothing holding me back from going to any school anywhere. But I still wasn't about to move out west. Hah.
Anyway, the day came where it was time to drive to Oshkosh. I left class I little early that day so that I could make sure I had everything packed and loaded into my car and then my weekend roommate brought her stuff outside and we carpooled on over to OPE.
When we got there, my body was flowing with excitement, energy, and wonder. The conference hall was decorated in all sorts of posters from different schools that all said, 'Interview with us!" It was almost overwhelming. I remember seeing one certain advertisement that used memes to make light of the institution. To some people, they thought it was unprofessional. For me, I saw it as, "Hey, we're a fun laid-back school! Come interview with us." I actually had an interview lined up with them already and I couldn't wait to meet their interview team.
We brought our luggage to our room and then decided to explore the building. In the mail room, there was pizza, soda, people, and of course, mail. In our mailboxes were things called "swag." Notes from schools saying, "We can't wait to meet you," invitations to sign up for more interviews, energy bars, water bottles, snacks, and all kinds of other things. I knew then that I was going to have an Awesome weekend.
I went to every social I was invited to, every informational session, and by the end of the weekend I had attended 4 socials, 1 info session, and had 17 interviews. In two days. When I told my HR professors about it, I saw horror flash in their eyes.
Needless to say, there were two schools I had fallen in love with, one I was curious about, and a few I was on the fence about. And just as my advisors had told me before, the schools I had been excited for before, were schools I cared not about after interviewing with them. One school I loved on paper tended to appreciate football more than anything else, and when they found out I wasn't a fanatic, I knew I was out of the running. Hilarious, no? The school with the awesome advertisement? I was IN LOVE with them and they loved me. At that point, I thought, this is the school for me.
And then came time for On-Campus Interviews...
To Be Continued...
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