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

Interviews can't hurt, and they can help.

I was the one who asked about coaching. DC is really introverted, so I am concerned he will not present himself in the best light. Doing an evaluative interview with a senior at a top choice school this summer. I am not going to get coaching but did find some sample questions on the web that I suggested DC think about. Some kids are more comfortable talking about themselves than others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd go with whatever your interview coaching team recommends after the fix six weeks of prep.

Is this some sort of generic response? No one here has said anything about coaching. Please don't take this thread in a direction it was NEVER intended to go.

Actually, there was a thread a week or two ago with an OP who was wondering if she should get her kid coaching. A few grinches (I assume this PP included) pounced on it to say that it was giving kids "unfair advantages" and the kid would get into the "wrong" college as a result.

So yeah, ignore this nonsense. Kudos to the rest of you for ignoring this troll today!!!!

Anonymous wrote:I'd go with whatever your interview coaching team recommends after the fix six weeks of prep.

Is this some sort of generic response? No one here has said anything about coaching. Please don't take this thread in a direction it was NEVER intended to go.

I'd go with whatever your interview coaching team recommends after the fix six weeks of prep.

Anonymous wrote:Very few selective colleges offer on campus interviews. Some don't even offer alum interviews. My DC did all the optional interviews offered. I don't think they made a difference one way or the other, but it was a good experience for DC to do the interviews. Quality definitely varied depending on the alum doing the interviewing.

+1. DC interviewed with an alumn but did not have the opportunity to interview on campus. DC got into this Ivy.

From reading College Confidential, you get the idea that many top univiersities use the alum interviews to make the alums feel useful, and to weed out the extreme cases, the kids who are totally inappropriate. For example, the kids who drop racist or bigotted remarks during the interview.

Anonymous wrote:Schools like to see an interest so I think it is beneficial to participate in everything they offer. Even if you've visited the school itself, if a rep comes to your school for an information session you should attend. I feel the same way about the interviews. Do it to show interest, if nothing else.

+1. Schools are concerned about yield these days. If you're offered an interview with an alumnus here in town and you don't take the two hours to do it, they may wonder if you're really serious about them. So in one sense it's another box to check off. In another way, though, this is a good opportunity to ask questions about housing, internships, and more.

Schools like to see an interest so I think it is beneficial to participate in everything they offer. Even if you've visited the school itself, if a rep comes to your school for an information session you should attend. I feel the same way about the interviews. Do it to show interest, if nothing else.

Anonymous wrote:DD recently did a few interviews at a few of the more competitive colleges. As PP suggested, its really preferable to interview with someone from the admissions team as opposed to alumni (sorry PP alumni). Interestingly, following a thank you note back to the interviewer (SOP), DD received back a note from the interviewer advising her to "keep in touch over the summer, keep us posted on your activities" etc. May not be very much but one thing we learned is that if you are on the radar screen it can't hurt.

(Separately, we have been told from admissions committee members that in a tie, someone who took the time to do the interview on campus will get the admissions nod)

An on campus interview with an admissions committee member is preferable but I wouldn't discount interviewing with alumni. There was a little bit of hesitation when I read the above alumni interviewer's comment about seeing if you would be a good fit at HER/HIS alma mater. I just wonder how this is gauged (by academics, of course...by social, whether you're shy or not, no sports in a school that prides itself on team endeavors, etc).

Every alumni interviewer is an individual of course but that comment stood out. Maybe I'm over analyzing!

Very few selective colleges offer on campus interviews. Some don't even offer alum interviews. My DC did all the optional interviews offered. I don't think they made a difference one way or the other, but it was a good experience for DC to do the interviews. Quality definitely varied depending on the alum doing the interviewing.

DD recently did a few interviews at a few of the more competitive colleges. As PP suggested, its really preferable to interview with someone from the admissions team as opposed to alumni (sorry PP alumni). Interestingly, following a thank you note back to the interviewer (SOP), DD received back a note from the interviewer advising her to "keep in touch over the summer, keep us posted on your activities" etc. May not be very much but one thing we learned is that if you are on the radar screen it can't hurt.

(Separately, we have been told from admissions committee members that in a tie, someone who took the time to do the interview on campus will get the admissions nod)

Anonymous wrote:If it's your first choice and you think you are good at interviewing I would take the opportunity. You might get a blowhard or you might get me. I don't know that what I write helps, but it can't hurt unless I see that you're not going to be successful at my alma mater (the bar is low on this). My goal when I conduct interviews is to try to highlight accomplishments that aren't in the application and generally help the applicant plead his/her case for admission. So if you've accomplished new things between essay deadlines and interviews or have a weak area you want to address in more depth, I'd highlight those in my write up. If you can get to campus and interview with an admissions officer, that's preferable, but you could still do both. It will typically only help your case and it always conveys your strong interest.

+1

Anonymous wrote:If it's your first choice and you think you are good at interviewing I would take the opportunity. You might get a blowhard or you might get me. I don't know that what I write helps, but it can't hurt unless I see that you're not going to be successful at my alma mater (the bar is low on this). My goal when I conduct interviews is to try to highlight accomplishments that aren't in the application and generally help the applicant plead his/her case for admission. So if you've accomplished new things between essay deadlines and interviews or have a weak area you want to address in more depth, I'd highlight those in my write up. If you can get to campus and interview with an admissions officer, that's preferable, but you could still do both. It will typically only help your case and it always conveys your strong interest.

Interesting. Is there something in particular that defines success at your alma mater? Are you privy to test scores, recommendations, transcripts...basically the entire applicant package?

If it's your first choice and you think you are good at interviewing I would take the opportunity. You might get a blowhard or you might get me. I don't know that what I write helps, but it can't hurt unless I see that you're not going to be successful at my alma mater (the bar is low on this). My goal when I conduct interviews is to try to highlight accomplishments that aren't in the application and generally help the applicant plead his/her case for admission. So if you've accomplished new things between essay deadlines and interviews or have a weak area you want to address in more depth, I'd highlight those in my write up. If you can get to campus and interview with an admissions officer, that's preferable, but you could still do both. It will typically only help your case and it always conveys your strong interest.

What is the prevailing wisdom on interviewing with alumnus or senior undergraduate? Does it really make that much of a difference as far as admissions versus informational?

Unless you interview with a decision maker, could you just forego an interview with alum and students and rely on transcripts, recommendations, etc?

I am not disparaging alums or senior undergrad interviewers but if it's information I want, there are informational sessions, boatloads of student college sites that give the good, bad, ugly and many reputable review sites. My next door neighbor who interviewed with a 'successful' Harvard alum says the interview focused around the comparison of his prestigious private high school with the interviewer's private high.

So, how necessary is an alum or senior student 'interview' and can you just forego it without penalty?