The Best Interview Prep for Students

TalkMaze coaches public speaking and debate 1-on-1 online, and for 16- and 17-year-olds, college and scholarship interview prep is one of the most common requests we get. When a student has an interview coming up, the coach builds a block of sessions around the date and rehearses the exact scenario: mock interviews, "tell me about yourself" until it sounds like a conversation, and the follow-up questions that catch students out. For students applying to UK independent schools, that includes 11-plus and independent-school interviews; for New Jersey families, the county-academy interviews.

Our case on this list comes down to the second half of the takeaway above. Many students have a good answer to "Why this school?" and still deliver it in a rush, look at the table, or freeze on the follow-up. Those are speaking problems, and they are what our coaches work on every week: composure, structure, expanding a short answer with a specific example, and handling a question you did not see coming. Full disclosure: we publish this guide, so we have held our entry to the same criteria as the rest.

Where we are the wrong call: TalkMaze is not a private school admissions consultancy. We do not build a school list for independent or boarding school applicants, run SSAT or ISEE test prep, or manage the application. If you want one firm to handle all of that, a full-service consultant like ConnectPrep or Bright Kids is the better fit, and some families pair one with our coaching for the interview itself.

ConnectPrep is a Westport, Connecticut firm whose private and boarding school advising covers school selection, application strategy, essays, SSAT, ISEE and HSPT test prep, and interview coaching. Its interview coaching is described as structured mock interviews with real-time feedback, including multiple full-length mock sessions, coaching on communication, eye contact and presence, and school-specific preparation. Sessions run in person across parts of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, and online.

The tradeoff is the one that comes with any full-service consultancy. Pricing is not published; ConnectPrep says it depends on the program, the instructor and whether sessions are in person or online, and is set after a free consultation. If the interview is the only gap, you may be paying for a process you do not need.

Bright Kids is an NYC admissions consultancy and tutoring firm with an Upper East Side office. Its admissions consulting includes mock interviews for both students and parents and playdate preparation for young children, alongside school lists, essay support and test prep for exams including the ISEE, SSAT and SHSAT. It also serves families in Connecticut, New Jersey, Chicago, D.C., Los Angeles and abroad, with tutoring available virtually.

The specialty is the strength and the limit. For a five-year-old facing a group playdate, or parents facing their own interview, few options here are as focused. For a high school junior preparing for a scholarship panel, a speaking coach or a broader consultancy will fit better. Pricing is not published on its site.

Advantage Testing runs a dedicated interview training program for applicants to middle and high schools, colleges, graduate schools and jobs. It covers interviewing technique, including verbal and nonverbal communication, then mock interviews with a review of organization, focus, responsiveness, tone, pacing and nonverbal communication, followed by personalized recommendations. It runs in person at locations in many US cities, the United Kingdom and France, and online over Zoom.

It is one of the few programs here built specifically around the interview, and the review criteria it publishes are the right ones. Pricing is not listed on its site, and the page does not describe its counselors’ backgrounds, so ask both before you book.

AJ Tutoring, which lists more than a dozen San Francisco Bay Area centers, offers interview coaching for private middle and high school applicants. It says students typically work with a tutor for four sessions, covering the kinds of questions private school interviewers have asked in past years, how to present themselves, and mock interviews with feedback. It pairs naturally with its ISEE, SSAT and HSPT prep and writing-sample coaching.

A defined four-session block is useful when the interview date is close. For a student who freezes or rambles, four sessions may be enough to learn the questions and not enough to change how they come across. Pricing is not listed on its site.

Wyzant is a marketplace of independent tutors who set their own hourly rates. You browse and hire a tutor directly, arrange 1-on-1 lessons online or in person, and pay per lesson plus a 9% student service fee. If the first lesson is not a good fit, Wyzant can refund the first hour under its Good Fit Guarantee.

The flexibility comes with work for the parent. There is no admissions-interview curriculum, so quality and approach depend on the tutor you choose, and tutors are not required to have a background check unless a student or parent purchases one. Fine for a specific, time-bound goal; less natural for a younger student who needs a structured, vetted program.

Admissions Assist, from Test Innovators, is a set of three activity-based online courses with Middle Level (applying to grades 5 to 8) and Upper Level (grades 9 to 12) versions. The Interview Prep course covers what to expect and practice with common questions, and a separate Parent Roadmap course includes common parent interview questions. Each course is $40, or $99 for all three, with a 12-month license.

It is the most transparent price on this list and a sensible first step. What it cannot do is sit across from your student, ask a follow-up and tell them how they came across. Live mock interviews are not mentioned on the course page, so plan on live practice with someone outside the family as well.