Flaky alum interviewers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a long time Ivy alum interviewer. In our school we do have to supply write ups on the interview. I always set aside a time to do the interview - it would never occur to me to sit on the sideline of a game and do it. That’s unprofessional.

I will say this, I think the alum interview can’t get you in, but it can keep you out. Several years ago I had a case where I was assigned an interview. I emailed, texted, and called and no response. The deadline for my submission was clear. The applicant never got back to me. So at about 10 pm the night before the deadline I submitted the “no response from student”, and they ask us to list out the attempts made. Mid morning the next morning I get an email from the student asking if we could meet at 6 pm that night (on a weeknight) and another email from the local admissions director asking what was going on. The student came from a prestigious school and must have freaked out to the counselor who called the local AD with a load of excuses from the applicant (which were also in the email to me). We spoke, and I said what had happened and said if I had an extension I could fit the applicant in in the next couple of days because I had already committed my time that night,because if I could accommodate I would . The AD said “no, you don’t rearrange anything. Clearly this applicant isn’t mature enough to handle Our University”. I didn’t really have any influence, but the way the student flaked and complained sure did because the university checked and pushed that application to,the “nope” bin.

Always being mature and professional helps you out. Remember, the person who wants something is the applicant, not the interviewer. So if your interviewer is harried or odd, still be professional. Ghosting that call was not a good look.

Yet said student is in a higher ranked school. Maturity and professionalism goes both ways. I don't know how to say this any clearer. Interviewer schedules an interview...interviewer decides to conduct the interview during a child's soccer game and is non-responsive when the interviewed is trying to be present. The interviewed respectfully asks to be rescheduled to a time when the disrespectful interviewer has time to sit down and do the job they volunteered to do and be an ambassador for the University. The interviewed is met with screaming at a soccer game with no response so says screw it, this is worthless and not how I grew up where people do what they say they are going to do. Anyone saying my kid is immature and I am a bad parent good on you, just glad I raised my child to have a backbone and stand up for what is right. Being 17 does not mean you have to be weak, this individual was a disrespectful unprofessional representative of the school. Again, get off of your high horse people.

OMG. Did you fall off the turnip truck? You have a rude attitude you have passed down to your son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid had one that was on the sidelines of his kid's soccer game half listening and cheering for his kid. My kid hung up, they called back and my kid let it go to voicemail.

And you're proud of your child for doing this? Sorry, but that was entitled, obnoxious behavior on the part of a 17-year-old.

+1 Sounds like the interviewer made the crucial mistake of thinking he was dealing with a normal person.
There's a lull at his kids' game and he figures, good time to call. (If interviewers don't call the second they are assigned, they're evil, right?) Then suddenly his kid gets the ball and he gets distracted. And your kid reacts like this? Embarrassing.

Do you conduct job interviews from the sidelines of your kid's soccer game? That is f****d up.

Oh puhleeze - these are not job interviews and have no impact on admission decisions.

These kids are so busy and scheduled to the hilt. It is flat rude. What it tells the kids is that the interviewer is disrespectful. Who wants more of that?

NO it doesn't. What it should tell the kid is that an adult who went to the school this scheduled, busy kid would give his left arm to get into to please his tiger mother, is willing to take a little time to chat with him and say hello. The kid is not interviewing for a Nobel Prize. That is all these stupid interviews are, and if you kid behaved that way, it just shows that he is well on the path to becoming an entitled little brat.

PP here. My kid would never behave that rudely. And his mom (me!) is happy to support whatever choice he makes. I am raising my kid to show up for his commitments. I don’t care who you are—if you make an appointment, you show up for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are dealing with volunteers. They have varying levels of investment in the process. Many may also have become disillusioned, because their input has such a minimal impact.

BUT, I do agree that this is not respectful to your child, for whom this feels like a very high stacks moment.

I agree, but I also think the child was far more disrespectful in hanging up on the interviewer. That was an arrogant and immature snub. It does not compensate for the lack of respect shown by the interviewer.

Agree. In life, you have to deal with rude authority figures. Hanging up is not a smart strategy. Teach your kid to manage a situation like that to their advantage. E.g. ask how the game is going, get engaged, or wait it out and then say "hey it seems like a great game, I don't want to distract you, can we try another time?"

I already posted at 12:36 that they respectfully asked to reschedule at a better time, the request was ignored due to the interviewer not listening due to cheering for a rec soccer game. What's the kid supposed to do, sit there with their finger up their nose? Get off your high horse people.

Yes. Yes, that's exactly correct. Your precious little Johnny is in the subservient position here, possibly for the first time in his charmed little life.

It's Jenny and no. No, my little Jenny is never in a subservient position when disrespected in her uncharmed little life. My little Jenny is strong and doesn't accept ignorance and disrespectful interactions with privileged people that can't be bothered to represent their school. You seem like a privileged person that will never understand, good luck on your kids journey, I wish you all the best.

I think we’re all getting a good view of what Jenny’s problem is and it’s spelled m-o-m

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a long time Ivy alum interviewer. In our school we do have to supply write ups on the interview. I always set aside a time to do the interview - it would never occur to me to sit on the sideline of a game and do it. That’s unprofessional.

I will say this, I think the alum interview can’t get you in, but it can keep you out. Several years ago I had a case where I was assigned an interview. I emailed, texted, and called and no response. The deadline for my submission was clear. The applicant never got back to me. So at about 10 pm the night before the deadline I submitted the “no response from student”, and they ask us to list out the attempts made. Mid morning the next morning I get an email from the student asking if we could meet at 6 pm that night (on a weeknight) and another email from the local admissions director asking what was going on. The student came from a prestigious school and must have freaked out to the counselor who called the local AD with a load of excuses from the applicant (which were also in the email to me). We spoke, and I said what had happened and said if I had an extension I could fit the applicant in in the next couple of days because I had already committed my time that night,because if I could accommodate I would . The AD said “no, you don’t rearrange anything. Clearly this applicant isn’t mature enough to handle Our University”. I didn’t really have any influence, but the way the student flaked and complained sure did because the university checked and pushed that application to,the “nope” bin.

Always being mature and professional helps you out. Remember, the person who wants something is the applicant, not the interviewer. So if your interviewer is harried or odd, still be professional. Ghosting that call was not a good look.

Yet said student is in a higher ranked school. Maturity and professionalism goes both ways. I don't know how to say this any clearer. Interviewer schedules an interview...interviewer decides to conduct the interview during a child's soccer game and is non-responsive when the interviewed is trying to be present. The interviewed respectfully asks to be rescheduled to a time when the disrespectful interviewer has time to sit down and do the job they volunteered to do and be an ambassador for the University. The interviewed is met with screaming at a soccer game with no response so says screw it, this is worthless and not how I grew up where people do what they say they are going to do. Anyone saying my kid is immature and I am a bad parent good on you, just glad I raised my child to have a backbone and stand up for what is right. Being 17 does not mean you have to be weak, this individual was a disrespectful unprofessional representative of the school. Again, get off of your high horse people.

OMG. Did you fall off the turnip truck? You have a rude attitude you have passed down to your son.

+1. Where you failed, mom, is in teaching your kid right from wrong in the first place. She showed terrible judgment here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a long time Ivy alum interviewer. In our school we do have to supply write ups on the interview. I always set aside a time to do the interview - it would never occur to me to sit on the sideline of a game and do it. That’s unprofessional.

I will say this, I think the alum interview can’t get you in, but it can keep you out. Several years ago I had a case where I was assigned an interview. I emailed, texted, and called and no response. The deadline for my submission was clear. The applicant never got back to me. So at about 10 pm the night before the deadline I submitted the “no response from student”, and they ask us to list out the attempts made. Mid morning the next morning I get an email from the student asking if we could meet at 6 pm that night (on a weeknight) and another email from the local admissions director asking what was going on. The student came from a prestigious school and must have freaked out to the counselor who called the local AD with a load of excuses from the applicant (which were also in the email to me). We spoke, and I said what had happened and said if I had an extension I could fit the applicant in in the next couple of days because I had already committed my time that night,because if I could accommodate I would . The AD said “no, you don’t rearrange anything. Clearly this applicant isn’t mature enough to handle Our University”. I didn’t really have any influence, but the way the student flaked and complained sure did because the university checked and pushed that application to,the “nope” bin.

Always being mature and professional helps you out. Remember, the person who wants something is the applicant, not the interviewer. So if your interviewer is harried or odd, still be professional. Ghosting that call was not a good look.

Yet said student is in a higher ranked school. Maturity and professionalism goes both ways. I don't know how to say this any clearer. Interviewer schedules an interview...interviewer decides to conduct the interview during a child's soccer game and is non-responsive when the interviewed is trying to be present. The interviewed respectfully asks to be rescheduled to a time when the disrespectful interviewer has time to sit down and do the job they volunteered to do and be an ambassador for the University. The interviewed is met with screaming at a soccer game with no response so says screw it, this is worthless and not how I grew up where people do what they say they are going to do. Anyone saying my kid is immature and I am a bad parent good on you, just glad I raised my child to have a backbone and stand up for what is right. Being 17 does not mean you have to be weak, this individual was a disrespectful unprofessional representative of the school. Again, get off of your high horse people.

Yes, we got it loud and clear that the interviewer was rude. Your kid was rude as well. No one is saying you're a bad parent or you have a bad kid. But, your kid is the supplicant in this scenario, and as pp said, hanging up and ghosting was not a good look. Glad she got into a good school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a long time Ivy alum interviewer. In our school we do have to supply write ups on the interview. I always set aside a time to do the interview - it would never occur to me to sit on the sideline of a game and do it. That’s unprofessional.

I will say this, I think the alum interview can’t get you in, but it can keep you out. Several years ago I had a case where I was assigned an interview. I emailed, texted, and called and no response. The deadline for my submission was clear. The applicant never got back to me. So at about 10 pm the night before the deadline I submitted the “no response from student”, and they ask us to list out the attempts made. Mid morning the next morning I get an email from the student asking if we could meet at 6 pm that night (on a weeknight) and another email from the local admissions director asking what was going on. The student came from a prestigious school and must have freaked out to the counselor who called the local AD with a load of excuses from the applicant (which were also in the email to me). We spoke, and I said what had happened and said if I had an extension I could fit the applicant in in the next couple of days because I had already committed my time that night,because if I could accommodate I would . The AD said “no, you don’t rearrange anything. Clearly this applicant isn’t mature enough to handle Our University”. I didn’t really have any influence, but the way the student flaked and complained sure did because the university checked and pushed that application to,the “nope” bin.

Always being mature and professional helps you out. Remember, the person who wants something is the applicant, not the interviewer. So if your interviewer is harried or odd, still be professional. Ghosting that call was not a good look.

Yet said student is in a higher ranked school. Maturity and professionalism goes both ways. I don't know how to say this any clearer. Interviewer schedules an interview...interviewer decides to conduct the interview during a child's soccer game and is non-responsive when the interviewed is trying to be present. The interviewed respectfully asks to be rescheduled to a time when the disrespectful interviewer has time to sit down and do the job they volunteered to do and be an ambassador for the University. The interviewed is met with screaming at a soccer game with no response so says screw it, this is worthless and not how I grew up where people do what they say they are going to do. Anyone saying my kid is immature and I am a bad parent good on you, just glad I raised my child to have a backbone and stand up for what is right. Being 17 does not mean you have to be weak, this individual was a disrespectful unprofessional representative of the school. Again, get off of your high horse people.

OMG. Did you fall off the turnip truck? You have a rude attitude you have passed down to your son.

FFS...My kid is a she and has been said many times, you people are exhausting. This thread was about flaky interviewers, that was demonstrated, no one needs parental advice from the lot of you, have a great life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are dealing with volunteers. They have varying levels of investment in the process. Many may also have become disillusioned, because their input has such a minimal impact.

BUT, I do agree that this is not respectful to your child, for whom this feels like a very high stacks moment.

I agree, but I also think the child was far more disrespectful in hanging up on the interviewer. That was an arrogant and immature snub. It does not compensate for the lack of respect shown by the interviewer.

Agree. In life, you have to deal with rude authority figures. Hanging up is not a smart strategy. Teach your kid to manage a situation like that to their advantage. E.g. ask how the game is going, get engaged, or wait it out and then say "hey it seems like a great game, I don't want to distract you, can we try another time?"

I already posted at 12:36 that they respectfully asked to reschedule at a better time, the request was ignored due to the interviewer not listening due to cheering for a rec soccer game. What's the kid supposed to do, sit there with their finger up their nose? Get off your high horse people.

Yes. Yes, that's exactly correct. Your precious little Johnny is in the subservient position here, possibly for the first time in his charmed little life.

It's Jenny and no. No, my little Jenny is never in a subservient position when disrespected in her uncharmed little life. My little Jenny is strong and doesn't accept ignorance and disrespectful interactions with privileged people that can't be bothered to represent their school. You seem like a privileged person that will never understand, good luck on your kids journey, I wish you all the best.

I think we’re all getting a good view of what Jenny’s problem is and it’s spelled m-o-m

DINGDINGDING!!! And she just can’t see it…Karen…

[Anonymous]

My kid had one that was on the sidelines of his kid's soccer game half listening and cheering for his kid. My kid hung up, they called back and my kid let it go to voicemail.

L
And you're proud of your child for doing this? Sorry, but that was entitled, obnoxious behavior on the part of a 17-year-old.


No, it was entitled obnoxious behavior by a representative of a respected University. If you are going to schedule an interview than be prepared to conduct it, my kid did the right thing and the fact you see it the other way is pathetic.

Your kid’s behavior is nothing to be proud of, and you defending demonstrates a serious blind spot.

[Anonymous]

the kid got a really bad interviewer. totally. im picturing a relatively arrogant low empathy man who probably makes work calls all the time at his (much younger) kids soccer game. but you cant control that. the hs student acted passive aggressively. maybe somewhat understandably - learn from it and move on. but, in the context of the alumni interview, an interested applicant who best wants to set themselves up for success should try for polite AND assertive. the later skill doesnt come all that naturally to a lot of hs students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid had one that was on the sidelines of his kid's soccer game half listening and cheering for his kid. My kid hung up, they called back and my kid let it go to voicemail.

Ha! I actually love that he did this.

[Anonymous]

For what its worth, my kid has had two alumni interviews this application season. Both interviews were by Zoom, which seemed appropriate to me. The interviewers were polite and engaging and, based on my evesdropping, I think my kid did a good job too. One of the interviewers had to reschedule at the last minute, but did a great job selling the school once they were able to speak. The other wasn't bad, but wasn't as good. Doubt it will have much effect on the outcome of the application, which is necessarily a long-shot. But it was a good experience for my kid.

[Anonymous]

My kid has had several interviews and varied experiences. One interviewer has been scattered and a bit unprofessional (not responding, etc.). I have done these interviews myself so impressed upon my child to show up on time, be responsive and respect the interviewer’s time. My child has done that. They make sure they show up prepared for the interview on-time and ready to go. They wear something appropriate. Scheduling an interview while you are distracted on the sidelines of your kid’s soccer game is rude. If you don’t have the time to interview, don’t do it. These Universities have others who are happy to do it and will treat the students with respect.

As for the student, if she said I can see/hear your busy. Why don’t you enjoy the soccer game and we can reschedule for another time, good for her. The interviewer was behaving like a rude jerk. By the way, their soccer playing child also knows the parent isn’t paying attention to them either.

[Anonymous]

My son got a call from one female interviewer for an Ivy league school. Just before the interview she sent the location. When mapping I realized it is a townhome in Washington DC neighborhood. I was shit scared to send my 18 year old son to someone's house. Later I figured out that the interviewer had a severe disability and he could not move around so had to interview at home ! She could have done phone interview but needed some personal touch I guess This was in early 2019.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid had one that was on the sidelines of his kid's soccer game half listening and cheering for his kid. My kid hung up, they called back and my kid let it go to voicemail.

And you're proud of your child for doing this? Sorry, but that was entitled, obnoxious behavior on the part of a 17-year-old.

+1 Sounds like the interviewer made the crucial mistake of thinking he was dealing with a normal person.
There's a lull at his kids' game and he figures, good time to call. (If interviewers don't call the second they are assigned, they're evil, right?) Then suddenly his kid gets the ball and he gets distracted. And your kid reacts like this? Embarrassing.

Not PP-I think it's shameful that the interviewer had so little respect for the person he was interviewing that they didn't care how rude and inconsiderate their behavior was. If you don't want to do it right, then don't volunteer to interview. Instead of hanging up though, perhaps the student could have suggested that they schedule a different time to finish the interview. DH used to interview for an Ivy, and he either conducted a phone interview during a time he wouldn't be distracted or would meet the student at a coffee shop for an in-person discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are dealing with volunteers. They have varying levels of investment in the process. Many may also have become disillusioned, because their input has such a minimal impact.

BUT, I do agree that this is not respectful to your child, for whom this feels like a very high stacks moment.

I agree, but I also think the child was far more disrespectful in hanging up on the interviewer. That was an arrogant and immature snub. It does not compensate for the lack of respect shown by the interviewer.

I'm PP and it is my kid. No it was not an arrogant and immature snub. The interviewer scheduled an appointment during their kids soccer game, was not engaged at all and my child after asking to reschedule and being ignored decided to end the conversation. Kids work hard and have pride, the interviewer representing the university was the one that acted arrogantly and snubbed an interested hard working perspective student. The fact that you don't get that is pathetic.

I can see why your kid is how he is.

You did not parent him well. Sorry, but that is how it looks.

It's she and she is at a top 10 and enjoying life, she's just fine but thanks for the advice. I self-reflect and hopefully will recognize my failures as a parent and work to do better with my second.

It doesn't matter where she is - she is obviously as obnoxious as her mom.