College Interviewing

[Anonymous]

Schools know that excellent students come in all forms. A stellar introvert has his/her own charms. I think being genuine is key.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard and Yale offer alum interviews. Which select schools do not?

Interviews can't hurt, and they can help.

UVA is one. Colgate and Boston College are reasonably selective and don't do interviews. I think all the ivies do them but I really don't think they have any impact (I went to one).

[Anonymous]

It seems the general consensus is that interviews, regardless who does them, are a good thing. As long as you don't come across as the applicant from Hades replete with horns, it can't hurt.

I think the alumni interview (no offense) just won't carry as much weight as the other required credentials. Again, it can't hurt to sit and talk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems the general consensus is that interviews, regardless who does them, are a good thing. As long as you don't come across as the applicant from Hades replete with horns, it can't hurt.

I think the alumni interview (no offense) just won't carry as much weight as the other required credentials. Again, it can't hurt to sit and talk.

And it can hurt to turn it down, because the college may read it as a signal that you're just not into them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems the general consensus is that interviews, regardless who does them, are a good thing. As long as you don't come across as the applicant from Hades replete with horns, it can't hurt.

I think the alumni interview (no offense) just won't carry as much weight as the other required credentials. Again, it can't hurt to sit and talk.

And it can hurt to turn it down, because the college may read it as a signal that you're just not into them.

Though if traveling would cause a hardship and no interviewers are in your area, it wouldn't be held against you.

[Anonymous]

Interviews show interest, like campus visits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems the general consensus is that interviews, regardless who does them, are a good thing. As long as you don't come across as the applicant from Hades replete with horns, it can't hurt.

I think the alumni interview (no offense) just won't carry as much weight as the other required credentials. Again, it can't hurt to sit and talk.

And it can hurt to turn it down, because the college may read it as a signal that you're just not into them.

Though if traveling would cause a hardship and no interviewers are in your area, it wouldn't be held against you.

14:09 here -- agreed

[Anonymous]

No but this is the DC area, alum interviews abound.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No but this is the DC area, alum interviews abound.

We are talking in general regarding the travel interview policy.

[Anonymous]

I've been an Ivy alumni interviewer in this area for 12+ years.

1) Applicants to my alma mater must interview with an alum if they live within 100 miles of one and are not actually in an iron lung. This is true even if they interview on campus, because the admissions staff don't feel they have enough time to do justice to the task.
2) The admissions officers state clearly that in 90% of cases, the interview just confirms the other parts of the application, so the interview doesn't have much impact.
3) But they want to keep the interview, because every admissions officer has a handful of stories about instances in which the interview weeded out someone with a significant mental illness or personality disorder. The admissions office feels that secondary schools are too afraid of lawsuits to be candid about that.
4) Horrible parents are also spotted by interviewers. I've only seen a few cases where parents really scotched their kids' chances of admission, but with 15 applicants per spot, the university won't admit a kid if they think the parents will call the Nobel Laureate (hired away from Stanford at great expense) to harass him about Mimsy's grade in O-Chem.
5) The university also sees the interview as a form of community ambassadorship. The interview may be the only contact this person has with the university, and they want it to leave a positive impression.

Students do better on the interview if they are comfortable speaking with adults, and have good critical thinking skills. One of the best ways to have kids prepare is to get them comfortable talking to their parents' friends in social settings.

[Anonymous]

Cornell actually doesn't do interviews with the land grant schools, for the poster that was wondering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been an Ivy alumni interviewer in this area for 12+ years.

1) Applicants to my alma mater must interview with an alum if they live within 100 miles of one and are not actually in an iron lung. This is true even if they interview on campus, because the admissions staff don't feel they have enough time to do justice to the task.
2) The admissions officers state clearly that in 90% of cases, the interview just confirms the other parts of the application, so the interview doesn't have much impact.
3) But they want to keep the interview, because every admissions officer has a handful of stories about instances in which the interview weeded out someone with a significant mental illness or personality disorder. The admissions office feels that secondary schools are too afraid of lawsuits to be candid about that.
4) Horrible parents are also spotted by interviewers. I've only seen a few cases where parents really scotched their kids' chances of admission, but with 15 applicants per spot, the university won't admit a kid if they think the parents will call the Nobel Laureate (hired away from Stanford at great expense) to harass him about Mimsy's grade in O-Chem.
5) The university also sees the interview as a form of community ambassadorship. The interview may be the only contact this person has with the university, and they want it to leave a positive impression.

Students do better on the interview if they are comfortable speaking with adults, and have good critical thinking skills. One of the best ways to have kids prepare is to get them comfortable talking to their parents' friends in social settings.

Just curious where you hold your interviews. My niece's interview (who was accepted) was held in the interviewer's palatial office in his large firm. My niece thought it was overkill but handled herself well. She also say behind her smile were a couple of eyerolls.

Wouldn't it be better to hold interviews where candidates might not feel overwhelmed?

[Anonymous]

PP,
Your niece had a weird attitude. That's this man's office. It's the most convenient place for him. Also, no privacy at Starbucks. Plus, who pays?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been an Ivy alumni interviewer in this area for 12+ years.

1) Applicants to my alma mater must interview with an alum if they live within 100 miles of one and are not actually in an iron lung. This is true even if they interview on campus, because the admissions staff don't feel they have enough time to do justice to the task.
2) The admissions officers state clearly that in 90% of cases, the interview just confirms the other parts of the application, so the interview doesn't have much impact.
3) But they want to keep the interview, because every admissions officer has a handful of stories about instances in which the interview weeded out someone with a significant mental illness or personality disorder. The admissions office feels that secondary schools are too afraid of lawsuits to be candid about that.
4) Horrible parents are also spotted by interviewers. I've only seen a few cases where parents really scotched their kids' chances of admission, but with 15 applicants per spot, the university won't admit a kid if they think the parents will call the Nobel Laureate (hired away from Stanford at great expense) to harass him about Mimsy's grade in O-Chem.
5) The university also sees the interview as a form of community ambassadorship. The interview may be the only contact this person has with the university, and they want it to leave a positive impression.

Students do better on the interview if they are comfortable speaking with adults, and have good critical thinking skills. One of the best ways to have kids prepare is to get them comfortable talking to their parents' friends in social settings.

Just curious where you hold your interviews. My niece's interview (who was accepted) was held in the interviewer's palatial office in his large firm. My niece thought it was overkill but handled herself well. She also say behind her smile were a couple of eyerolls.

Wouldn't it be better to hold interviews where candidates might not feel overwhelmed?

They generally ask interviewers to hold the interview in a place where other adults are at least in the background, so coffee shops, offices, or the student's school are suggested locations.

[Anonymous]

DC did an interview at a Starbucks. It was fine. This is an interview, so you'll be talking about generic things and not about your deepest fears or your first boyfriend/girlfriend. Privacy is not essential for this sort of conversation.

Re paying for the coffee, we sent DC with plenty of money and the instructions, "offer to pay, and then if the interviewer insists on paying, let them." This isn't a date, it's more a tyro-tutor situation, so let the adult pay. The interviewer insisted and DC let her pay.

DC got in. I know it had nothing to do with who paid for the coffee. The point is that this interview apparently met all of the interviewers' expectations...whatever those were.