Alumni Interviews - Lack of Consistency and Quality

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have done alumni interviewing for HYP. The interviews DO matter, on the margins. We were given detailed written guidance and had to attend an in-person training, and were asked to write detailed reports after each interview. A horrible or amazing interview can hurt or help. ("This kid comes across as a conceited, self-righteous prig" = this kid probably won't be accepted, regardless of application's other strengths. "This kid absolutely shines - utterly delightful... the most thought-provoking conversation I have ever had with a teen..." = a strong tip towards acceptance.)

The interviewer's job is to look for and comment on the things that do not come through in the paper file, not to be an expert on current student life.

How many interviews have you done? What % of the prigs were accepted? What % of the shiny kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the purpose of interviews is more informative than actually part of the admissions process. A lot of highly selective universities do interviews with alumni as a way to keep their alumni connected and to increase the possibility of donations from their graduates.

And to help nudge the ones they do accept toward actually enrolling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have done alumni interviewing for HYP. The interviews DO matter, on the margins. We were given detailed written guidance and had to attend an in-person training, and were asked to write detailed reports after each interview. A horrible or amazing interview can hurt or help. ("This kid comes across as a conceited, self-righteous prig" = this kid probably won't be accepted, regardless of application's other strengths. "This kid absolutely shines - utterly delightful... the most thought-provoking conversation I have ever had with a teen..." = a strong tip towards acceptance.)

The interviewer's job is to look for and comment on the things that do not come through in the paper file, not to be an expert on current student life.

How many interviews have you done? What % of the prigs were accepted? What % of the shiny kids?

My friend's kid had an interview with an arrogant athletic prig. Interviewer had no appreciation for a STEM nerd and talked about sports.. It was a bad interview but the kid still got in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s an alumni engagement activity more than anything. Amazing that some schools still put kids through them and open themselves up to being associated with a lightly trained alumni who might make outdated or inappropriate comments.

Not bad for HS students to be exposed to the real-world out there, outside their little bubbles, still in a safe environment.

[Anonymous]

My dd does young alumni interviews for Princeton. Like others have said, they are used by universities to keep alumni engaged. And, no, they don't generally count. But, students should not blow them off and they should send thank yous. They are good training for job interviews. Tell your kids to treat them as such. Dress up, show attention and appreciation. Don't slump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd does young alumni interviews for Princeton. Like others have said, they are used by universities to keep alumni engaged. And, no, they don't generally count. But, students should not blow them off and they should send thank yous. They are good training for job interviews. Tell your kids to treat them as such. Dress up, show attention and appreciation. Don't slump.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC attends a Big 3. Friends report alumni interviews are frustrating. Many arrive late. Many are too old to know what is happening with curriculum/campus. Many happening on a work day so people are tired and distracted. So do they count or not ?

They don't count. Many alum interviewers will tell you in all the years they've done them not one of their recommendations was picked up. We went through five. All five said they would recommend. Didn't help. DD got deferred or denied at all the Ivies. I think it's frustrating for the interviewers because the system is such a crapshoot now; it's difficult to interview these extremely talented kids and realize that NONE of them are going to get in. I won't do it anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have done alumni interviewing for HYP. The interviews DO matter, on the margins. We were given detailed written guidance and had to attend an in-person training, and were asked to write detailed reports after each interview. A horrible or amazing interview can hurt or help. ("This kid comes across as a conceited, self-righteous prig" = this kid probably won't be accepted, regardless of application's other strengths. "This kid absolutely shines - utterly delightful... the most thought-provoking conversation I have ever had with a teen..." = a strong tip towards acceptance.)

The interviewer's job is to look for and comment on the things that do not come through in the paper file, not to be an expert on current student life.

How many interviews have you done? What % of the prigs were accepted? What % of the shiny kids?

My friend's kid had an interview with an arrogant athletic prig. Interviewer had no appreciation for a STEM nerd and talked about sports.. It was a bad interview but the kid still got in.

That's the point: the interviews matter ON THE MARGINS.

No one with a very weak overall application gets in just because the interviewer says "seems like a nice kid." No one with a stellar overall application gets rejected just because the alumni interviewer says "ho hum."

But sometimes, when the admissions committee is on the fence about whether to admit a kid or not, the interview report can elucidate something about the applicant that is not otherwise obvious. In those cases, on the margins, the interview report can tip the balance.

Takeaway: do not count on a good interview or bad interview to help or hurt an applicant in most cases, but under-prepare for the interview at your peril. Nine times out of ten - maybe even nineteen out of twenty - the interview won't make much difference. But every so often, it will matter.

(And if you don't get into Harvard? Don't blame the interview. 95% of DC area applicants will not get into Harvard. That's the cold, hard, fact.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC attends a Big 3. Friends report alumni interviews are frustrating. Many arrive late. Many are too old to know what is happening with curriculum/campus. Many happening on a work day so people are tired and distracted. So do they count or not ?

They don't count. Many alum interviewers will tell you in all the years they've done them not one of their recommendations was picked up. We went through five. All five said they would recommend. Didn't help. DD got deferred or denied at all the Ivies. I think it's frustrating for the interviewers because the system is such a crapshoot now; it's difficult to interview these extremely talented kids and realize that NONE of them are going to get in. I won't do it anymore.

Common story. The interviews are supposed to help alumni continue to feel engaged with the university and hopefully donate more. but I know several who get frustrated that NONE of the kids they recommend ever get in. Not sure if these interviews actually help that much with development.

[Anonymous]

After several years of doing it I concluded the main putpose is to maintain the reputation of the university

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Some of you are amazing. The universities have a commodity that you want (admission) that is hard to get (around 5% admission rate). Dealing with adults, being expected to function through an interview, and possibly having your snowflakes deal with someone who is not perfectly curated by you (gasp, may not have all the same word choices that you would make) is part of life. At this point, you have to sell the schools on you, not the other way around. You want a campus tour, take a campus tour.

I agree that the interview doesn’t really help you get in, but boy can it keep you out. Most of the kids I interview show up on time and are polite, and some of them haven’t even been programmed to death and can hold a conversation. But the ones who ghost, can’t figure out how to respond to an email, or otherwise behave immaturely have it noted and admissions goes on to the next candidate. And the interviewer is not impressed by your school - we see a ton of kids just like you, and for all you know we went there and sent our kids there.

It’s not about Big 3 or snowflake. It’s about some fairness and consistency to a process. How about the alumni being trained, bring on time, having knowledge about the school. These seem like a fair bar.

You’re an ivory tower d.

“Alumnus” is the singular form.

You’re a typical conservative mediocrity who got ahead in life not on talent, but because you are willing to shill for billionaires.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG. Why won't anyone tell me what Big 3 means? I googled it and a bunch of basketball stuff comes up. ??

It means public ivy.

Big 3 means the top three private schools in DC - Sidwell, Maret, GDS.

Oh, OK. That actually makes more sense in the context.

I thought it was Cathedral/St. Albans

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Some of you are amazing. The universities have a commodity that you want (admission) that is hard to get (around 5% admission rate). Dealing with adults, being expected to function through an interview, and possibly having your snowflakes deal with someone who is not perfectly curated by you (gasp, may not have all the same word choices that you would make) is part of life. At this point, you have to sell the schools on you, not the other way around. You want a campus tour, take a campus tour.

I agree that the interview doesn’t really help you get in, but boy can it keep you out. Most of the kids I interview show up on time and are polite, and some of them haven’t even been programmed to death and can hold a conversation. But the ones who ghost, can’t figure out how to respond to an email, or otherwise behave immaturely have it noted and admissions goes on to the next candidate. And the interviewer is not impressed by your school - we see a ton of kids just like you, and for all you know we went there and sent our kids there.

It’s not about Big 3 or snowflake. It’s about some fairness and consistency to a process. How about the alumni being trained, bring on time, having knowledge about the school. These seem like a fair bar.

You’re an ivory tower d.

“Alumnus” is the singular form.

You’re a typical conservative mediocrity who got ahead in life not on talent, but because you are willing to shill for billionaires.

And you can't respond on the merits.