Colleges that Interview - Which Count

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be careful, OP. There are Ivy grads on here who do the alumni interviews to feed their egos and keep living their glory days who will insist that their interviews "count" when the rest of us know that they're just being indulged and they don't.

I'm of the losers you're talking about and the admissions office showed us data that getting the highest interview score correlates with higher percentage of admission. I admit that's not necessarily causation, but when all of these kids are so impressive, there are cases when the balance can be tipped.

I do not care about this. What I enjoy most post-Covid is just getting to know these kids and telling them that they will do great things because that's who they are, not because the school might be lucky enough to choose them or not.

Having said that, it almost never moves the needle. OP, try your best, take it seriously, look for good advice online.
It has more potential to hurt you. Adcomms can justify a Denial from a negative comment in an interview.

Do you have examples of what applicants did during the interview that made you write negative comments? Thanks.

I think generally they really want kids who are motivated, curious, well spoken, make impact, etc etc

Sometimes you get kids where it's just like you are absolutely pulling teeth. I try my best to write good reviews whenever I can, and understand where they are coming from. But, for example, if they bring up the "activity that was most important to them" or their "favorite class in high school" and I asked some follow up questions, and they really have nothing to say beyond a vague sentence or two, that's not good. I probably wouldn't write anything very negative, but it won't be glowing / highlighting that this kid really has the attributes they're looking for.

And this is a perfect example of something that the adcoms will give zero weight to. Zero. Talk about delusions of grandeur!

They do have zero weight in the case of hooks, fact. With unhooked students, it's a different story. Every piece of the application matters, including alumni interview reports. They can effectively serve as tiebreakers in the case of similar otherwise strong applicants.

This is not accurate. People, look at the CDS for the school in question. There is your answer. Some schools credit interviews, so do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be careful, OP. There are Ivy grads on here who do the alumni interviews to feed their egos and keep living their glory days who will insist that their interviews "count" when the rest of us know that they're just being indulged and they don't.

I'm of the losers you're talking about and the admissions office showed us data that getting the highest interview score correlates with higher percentage of admission. I admit that's not necessarily causation, but when all of these kids are so impressive, there are cases when the balance can be tipped.

I do not care about this. What I enjoy most post-Covid is just getting to know these kids and telling them that they will do great things because that's who they are, not because the school might be lucky enough to choose them or not.

Having said that, it almost never moves the needle. OP, try your best, take it seriously, look for good advice online.
It has more potential to hurt you. Adcomms can justify a Denial from a negative comment in an interview.

Do you have examples of what applicants did during the interview that made you write negative comments? Thanks.

I think generally they really want kids who are motivated, curious, well spoken, make impact, etc etc

Sometimes you get kids where it's just like you are absolutely pulling teeth. I try my best to write good reviews whenever I can, and understand where they are coming from. But, for example, if they bring up the "activity that was most important to them" or their "favorite class in high school" and I asked some follow up questions, and they really have nothing to say beyond a vague sentence or two, that's not good. I probably wouldn't write anything very negative, but it won't be glowing / highlighting that this kid really has the attributes they're looking for.

This absolutely sucks, btw.

I have two sons. The older one turned 18 end of September of Senior year. My current Senior is 17 and he doesn’t turn 18 until August.

The older one grew in confidence so much by the start of Senior year. No longer as shy, etc.

My current Senior is vivacious, hilarious and a captain of a sports team—but still very shy with adults and a bit awkward in conversations with adults he does not know, exactly how his brother was at the same age (but brother was a junior at that age).

I have seen a lot of the same changes beginning I saw with my older kid who now is a leader on his Ivy campus, but I really worried my current senior will blow all of his interviews because he is still shy and a bit unsure. Again—not at all with the many friends and classmates—he’s not anti-social.

I wish people interviewing understood this stuff, but most of the interviewers my other son had were younger without children or their children were very young- infants-elementary school.

Don't give it a second thought. The interview doesn't count.

please stop it with the misinformation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be careful, OP. There are Ivy grads on here who do the alumni interviews to feed their egos and keep living their glory days who will insist that their interviews "count" when the rest of us know that they're just being indulged and they don't.

I'm of the losers you're talking about and the admissions office showed us data that getting the highest interview score correlates with higher percentage of admission. I admit that's not necessarily causation, but when all of these kids are so impressive, there are cases when the balance can be tipped.

I do not care about this. What I enjoy most post-Covid is just getting to know these kids and telling them that they will do great things because that's who they are, not because the school might be lucky enough to choose them or not.

Having said that, it almost never moves the needle. OP, try your best, take it seriously, look for good advice online.
It has more potential to hurt you. Adcomms can justify a Denial from a negative comment in an interview.

Do you have examples of what applicants did during the interview that made you write negative comments? Thanks.

I think generally they really want kids who are motivated, curious, well spoken, make impact, etc etc

Sometimes you get kids where it's just like you are absolutely pulling teeth. I try my best to write good reviews whenever I can, and understand where they are coming from. But, for example, if they bring up the "activity that was most important to them" or their "favorite class in high school" and I asked some follow up questions, and they really have nothing to say beyond a vague sentence or two, that's not good. I probably wouldn't write anything very negative, but it won't be glowing / highlighting that this kid really has the attributes they're looking for.

This absolutely sucks, btw.

I have two sons. The older one turned 18 end of September of Senior year. My current Senior is 17 and he doesn’t turn 18 until August.

The older one grew in confidence so much by the start of Senior year. No longer as shy, etc.

My current Senior is vivacious, hilarious and a captain of a sports team—but still very shy with adults and a bit awkward in conversations with adults he does not know, exactly how his brother was at the same age (but brother was a junior at that age).

I have seen a lot of the same changes beginning I saw with my older kid who now is a leader on his Ivy campus, but I really worried my current senior will blow all of his interviews because he is still shy and a bit unsure. Again—not at all with the many friends and classmates—he’s not anti-social.

I wish people interviewing understood this stuff, but most of the interviewers my other son had were younger without children or their children were very young- infants-elementary school.

PP interviewer here. We do know that kids are in different places. They are nice kids, great kids. We see shy kids get in. You don’t have to be glib or extroverted. But quiet people are able to speak when it counts and have intelligent and interesting things to say. But you also have a duty to look at your kid and help them to find the best place for them. I have a break in interviewing this year because my kid is a senior and applying to schools. I love my Alma mater, but it was also very clear to me that even if he could get in, it’s not right for him. He would not fit in with the vibe of the place and also wouldn’t self-advocate to the level that he would need to succeed there. There are so many schools out there and if you stop looking at rankings on a list and look for the level of support, size of classes, etc where your kid will thrive, look at those. Most kids end up where they need to be.

LOL now the Yalie is using the Royal We, as if she speaks for all random Yale interviewers. Classic.

As a Yale School of Management professor has concluded, most interview reports and summaries reveal more about the predilections of the interviewer and little about the interviewee. Adcoms know this.

It's not like you have better insight. Why demean an actual interviewer who's taking the time to provide insights? Listen and you might actually learn something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be careful, OP. There are Ivy grads on here who do the alumni interviews to feed their egos and keep living their glory days who will insist that their interviews "count" when the rest of us know that they're just being indulged and they don't.

I'm of the losers you're talking about and the admissions office showed us data that getting the highest interview score correlates with higher percentage of admission. I admit that's not necessarily causation, but when all of these kids are so impressive, there are cases when the balance can be tipped.

I do not care about this. What I enjoy most post-Covid is just getting to know these kids and telling them that they will do great things because that's who they are, not because the school might be lucky enough to choose them or not.

Having said that, it almost never moves the needle. OP, try your best, take it seriously, look for good advice online.
It has more potential to hurt you. Adcomms can justify a Denial from a negative comment in an interview.

Do you have examples of what applicants did during the interview that made you write negative comments? Thanks.

I think generally they really want kids who are motivated, curious, well spoken, make impact, etc etc

Sometimes you get kids where it's just like you are absolutely pulling teeth. I try my best to write good reviews whenever I can, and understand where they are coming from. But, for example, if they bring up the "activity that was most important to them" or their "favorite class in high school" and I asked some follow up questions, and they really have nothing to say beyond a vague sentence or two, that's not good. I probably wouldn't write anything very negative, but it won't be glowing / highlighting that this kid really has the attributes they're looking for.

This absolutely sucks, btw.

I have two sons. The older one turned 18 end of September of Senior year. My current Senior is 17 and he doesn’t turn 18 until August.

The older one grew in confidence so much by the start of Senior year. No longer as shy, etc.

My current Senior is vivacious, hilarious and a captain of a sports team—but still very shy with adults and a bit awkward in conversations with adults he does not know, exactly how his brother was at the same age (but brother was a junior at that age).

I have seen a lot of the same changes beginning I saw with my older kid who now is a leader on his Ivy campus, but I really worried my current senior will blow all of his interviews because he is still shy and a bit unsure. Again—not at all with the many friends and classmates—he’s not anti-social.

I wish people interviewing understood this stuff, but most of the interviewers my other son had were younger without children or their children were very young- infants-elementary school.

I have a kid like this (he actually has a diagnosed communication disorder) and this was my concern for interviews as well. He tends to answer in one words or short sentences. It could easily come off as lack of interest when it's not that at all. So, we practiced for interviews A LOT.

He did a lot of interviews. Of course, I don't know how they went. I would quiz him after and glean what I could. Despite all the prep, he answered "I don't know" when he got an unexpected question for his top choice. I pointed out, "you could have answered x," and she said, "I know but I thought that was too cliche." Ugh. Luckily, that school didn't count that interview and he did get in.

I feel your pain.

I mean, this interview issue aside, you don't think it's reasonable that students admitted into the top schools should be passionate about what they study and do, and able to articulate that? I am sure your kid is fabulous, but yes I do think someone heading for the ivy league should know to give a cliche answer over no answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be careful, OP. There are Ivy grads on here who do the alumni interviews to feed their egos and keep living their glory days who will insist that their interviews "count" when the rest of us know that they're just being indulged and they don't.

I'm of the losers you're talking about and the admissions office showed us data that getting the highest interview score correlates with higher percentage of admission. I admit that's not necessarily causation, but when all of these kids are so impressive, there are cases when the balance can be tipped.

I do not care about this. What I enjoy most post-Covid is just getting to know these kids and telling them that they will do great things because that's who they are, not because the school might be lucky enough to choose them or not.

Having said that, it almost never moves the needle. OP, try your best, take it seriously, look for good advice online.
It has more potential to hurt you. Adcomms can justify a Denial from a negative comment in an interview.

Do you have examples of what applicants did during the interview that made you write negative comments? Thanks.

I think generally they really want kids who are motivated, curious, well spoken, make impact, etc etc

Sometimes you get kids where it's just like you are absolutely pulling teeth. I try my best to write good reviews whenever I can, and understand where they are coming from. But, for example, if they bring up the "activity that was most important to them" or their "favorite class in high school" and I asked some follow up questions, and they really have nothing to say beyond a vague sentence or two, that's not good. I probably wouldn't write anything very negative, but it won't be glowing / highlighting that this kid really has the attributes they're looking for.

This absolutely sucks, btw.

I have two sons. The older one turned 18 end of September of Senior year. My current Senior is 17 and he doesn’t turn 18 until August.

The older one grew in confidence so much by the start of Senior year. No longer as shy, etc.

My current Senior is vivacious, hilarious and a captain of a sports team—but still very shy with adults and a bit awkward in conversations with adults he does not know, exactly how his brother was at the same age (but brother was a junior at that age).

I have seen a lot of the same changes beginning I saw with my older kid who now is a leader on his Ivy campus, but I really worried my current senior will blow all of his interviews because he is still shy and a bit unsure. Again—not at all with the many friends and classmates—he’s not anti-social.

I wish people interviewing understood this stuff, but most of the interviewers my other son had were younger without children or their children were very young- infants-elementary school.

PP interviewer here. We do know that kids are in different places. They are nice kids, great kids. We see shy kids get in. You don’t have to be glib or extroverted. But quiet people are able to speak when it counts and have intelligent and interesting things to say. But you also have a duty to look at your kid and help them to find the best place for them. I have a break in interviewing this year because my kid is a senior and applying to schools. I love my Alma mater, but it was also very clear to me that even if he could get in, it’s not right for him. He would not fit in with the vibe of the place and also wouldn’t self-advocate to the level that he would need to succeed there. There are so many schools out there and if you stop looking at rankings on a list and look for the level of support, size of classes, etc where your kid will thrive, look at those. Most kids end up where they need to be.

LOL now the Yalie is using the Royal We, as if she speaks for all random Yale interviewers. Classic.

As a Yale School of Management professor has concluded, most interview reports and summaries reveal more about the predilections of the interviewer and little about the interviewee. Adcoms know this.

It's not like you have better insight. Why demean an actual interviewer who's taking the time to provide insights? Listen and you might actually learn something.

Their kid sh-t the bed during the interview so now this is what they have to believe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale and Duke count.

Son got into Duke RD and did not have an interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale and Duke count.

Son got into Duke RD and did not have an interview.

🤦‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Too many posts to read. MIT does not count. Harvard and Yale do. Cornell does not.

[Anonymous]

Why don't people just google the common data set for each school and see how interview plays in the admission process? It's written right there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stopwatch to time your response.

Ok that is gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be careful, OP. There are Ivy grads on here who do the alumni interviews to feed their egos and keep living their glory days who will insist that their interviews "count" when the rest of us know that they're just being indulged and they don't.

I'm of the losers you're talking about and the admissions office showed us data that getting the highest interview score correlates with higher percentage of admission. I admit that's not necessarily causation, but when all of these kids are so impressive, there are cases when the balance can be tipped.

I do not care about this. What I enjoy most post-Covid is just getting to know these kids and telling them that they will do great things because that's who they are, not because the school might be lucky enough to choose them or not.

Having said that, it almost never moves the needle. OP, try your best, take it seriously, look for good advice online.
It has more potential to hurt you. Adcomms can justify a Denial from a negative comment in an interview.

Do you have examples of what applicants did during the interview that made you write negative comments? Thanks.

I think generally they really want kids who are motivated, curious, well spoken, make impact, etc etc

Sometimes you get kids where it's just like you are absolutely pulling teeth. I try my best to write good reviews whenever I can, and understand where they are coming from. But, for example, if they bring up the "activity that was most important to them" or their "favorite class in high school" and I asked some follow up questions, and they really have nothing to say beyond a vague sentence or two, that's not good. I probably wouldn't write anything very negative, but it won't be glowing / highlighting that this kid really has the attributes they're looking for.

And this is a perfect example of something that the adcoms will give zero weight to. Zero. Talk about delusions of grandeur!

They do have zero weight in the case of hooks, fact. With unhooked students, it's a different story. Every piece of the application matters, including alumni interview reports. They can effectively serve as tiebreakers in the case of similar otherwise strong applicants.

This is not accurate. People, look at the CDS for the school in question. There is your answer. Some schools credit interviews, so do not.

Nah. The CDS categories are super fuzzy and don't really tell you much. The one exception might be the "considered" check mark on "demonstrated interest."

[Anonymous]

Just want to confirm that Princeton interviews don't count, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just want to confirm that Princeton interviews don't count, right?

Unless the school publishes something that tells you they don’t count, you don’t know. Following the list of a bunch of random teenagers on this forum doesn’t seem like the safest course of action.

[Anonymous]

Website says that not having an interview won't hurt your application but that student are encouraged to accept if they receive an invitation (I guess it is too difficult to ensure all students can get interviews). Website mentions that interview comments are included in the application review. So, I guess you are strongly encouraged to accept interview, which will be included in application. If you can't/won't do interview, it doesn't hurt you. Trying to figure out the upside of the interview? Seems like an interview offers no benefit but potential negative if student doesn't do well. Just want to make sure I am understanding the process.

Here is language from website:

We include the interviewer’s comments in our review of your application. Interviews aren't required as part of the admission process, but we encourage candidates to accept the invitation. Do not be concerned if interviews are not available; we will give your application full consideration without an interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Website says that not having an interview won't hurt your application but that student are encouraged to accept if they receive an invitation (I guess it is too difficult to ensure all students can get interviews). Website mentions that interview comments are included in the application review. So, I guess you are strongly encouraged to accept interview, which will be included in application. If you can't/won't do interview, it doesn't hurt you. Trying to figure out the upside of the interview? Seems like an interview offers no benefit but potential negative if student doesn't do well. Just want to make sure I am understanding the process.

Here is language from website:

We include the interviewer’s comments in our review of your application. Interviews aren't required as part of the admission process, but we encourage candidates to accept the invitation. Do not be concerned if interviews are not available; we will give your application full consideration without an interview.

Which school?