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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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.
[/quote]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?[/quote]

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.[/quote]

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