Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 22:54     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:This thread is exhausting. Confirms my suspicion that alumni interviews are a complete waste of time - for our kids!

Seriously, these kids have invested enough in this ridiculous process, including visits for schools that consider DI, multiple supplements per school, etc. Expecting them to then prep and sit for interviews that … don’t have an impact on the outcome?? Unless, of course, they opt out … even though they’re framed as “optional” … but apparently are not? Enough with these BS games already.

Cheers to Cornell and every other school that has put an end to the AI ridiculousness. I wish every other school would follow their lead.


I totally agree that the whole process is now completely off the rails, but especially with all of the "optional" essays, the "optional" glimpse videos (my kid recorded theirs maybe 20 times after writing and memorizing what he was going to say), the "optional" essays, on-campus visits, virtual visits, AO's visiting the school, etc. etc. My kid's entire senior year has been taken over by college admissions.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 22:51     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
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.


Do these people have kids also applying for college ? Seems like a conflict of interest. They could tank someone to get rid of competition for their own kid.


calm down and take a breath, my HYP doesn't let alums interview if our own kids are applying. i'm sure they all have similar rules.


Non-hyp Ivy interviewer and we also cannot interview the year our kid is applying.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 22:49     Subject: Re:Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know the role of interviews at Claremont McKenna?


Only on the margins for borderline candidates or if the interviewee is phenomenally good or bad.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 22:35     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
This thread is exhausting. Confirms my suspicion that alumni interviews are a complete waste of time - for our kids!

Seriously, these kids have invested enough in this ridiculous process, including visits for schools that consider DI, multiple supplements per school, etc. Expecting them to then prep and sit for interviews that … don’t have an impact on the outcome?? Unless, of course, they opt out … even though they’re framed as “optional” … but apparently are not? Enough with these BS games already.

Cheers to Cornell and every other school that has put an end to the AI ridiculousness. I wish every other school would follow their lead.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 22:15     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
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.

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.

In such a brief interaction, how would you know such a thing? And isn't the point of this school — if it's a good one — to enhance students' development beyond that which might be the case at other schools? Why diminish this possibility?
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 22:02     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing worse than an Ivy alumni interviewer. Just let it go man. Your college days are over. No one cares. Move on with your life and stop living in the past.


Nothing worse than someone who is jealous of an Ivy alum interviewer. I'm sorry you got rejected 20 years ago but it's time to let it go.


Lol that’s the last thing I’m jealous of. I just happen to think it’s pathetic.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 22:01     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I interview for a HYP where everyone gets an interview. It would be good to have a legit source say the “interviews don’t count.” In the interview report form, we have to rate the candidate and write up comments. If the rating/comments are negative, I can’t imagine that would be dismissed as easily as some of you seem to think.


You are dreaming.


That’s your opinion. Not a fact. Too bad you can’t tell the difference.


No, it's a fact that you're dreaming. Ivy League schools literally let every single one of their graduates who want to do interviews do them. They don't care whether your qualified. Why don't they care? Because your interviews don't count. They just want to keep you engaged and get your money.

It's hilarious and delusional that you think otherwise.


DP. This is not true at all. I know because I'm an HYP alum who interviewed in one city, then was told they didn't need me when I moved to another.

It's hilarious and delusional that you think you know more than those of us who actually went to these schools!


They told you they didn’t need you because they weren’t enough kids applying from your area, that’s all. The broader point remains that they let any alum do it without any qualifications whatsoever and the reason for that is the interviews don’t matter. You are not important. Nothing you have ever done has had any impact on your Ivy League school’s admissions. That’s the reality.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 21:40     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:Nothing worse than an Ivy alumni interviewer. Just let it go man. Your college days are over. No one cares. Move on with your life and stop living in the past.


Nothing worse than someone who is jealous of an Ivy alum interviewer. I'm sorry you got rejected 20 years ago but it's time to let it go.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 21:38     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I interview for a HYP where everyone gets an interview. It would be good to have a legit source say the “interviews don’t count.” In the interview report form, we have to rate the candidate and write up comments. If the rating/comments are negative, I can’t imagine that would be dismissed as easily as some of you seem to think.


You are dreaming.


That’s your opinion. Not a fact. Too bad you can’t tell the difference.


No, it's a fact that you're dreaming. Ivy League schools literally let every single one of their graduates who want to do interviews do them. They don't care whether your qualified. Why don't they care? Because your interviews don't count. They just want to keep you engaged and get your money.

It's hilarious and delusional that you think otherwise.


DP. This is not true at all. I know because I'm an HYP alum who interviewed in one city, then was told they didn't need me when I moved to another.

It's hilarious and delusional that you think you know more than those of us who actually went to these schools!
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 21:36     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
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.


Do these people have kids also applying for college ? Seems like a conflict of interest. They could tank someone to get rid of competition for their own kid.


calm down and take a breath, my HYP doesn't let alums interview if our own kids are applying. i'm sure they all have similar rules.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 21:34     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:My DC had interviews for MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Duke, Dartmouth and Rice. Was accepted to all. I'd like to think they count for something


That’s not bad, I guess, although my DC had interviews @ HYPSM, along with interviews @ Oxford, Cambridge, and Cal Tech. As a 15 year old HS graduate. Was accepted to all, and was actually invited to interview fellow applicants at 5 of the eight schools. One-and-done 1600 on the SAT achieved in utero, too. McDonald’s All American on the hardwood, too.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 21:31     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I interview for a HYP where everyone gets an interview. It would be good to have a legit source say the “interviews don’t count.” In the interview report form, we have to rate the candidate and write up comments. If the rating/comments are negative, I can’t imagine that would be dismissed as easily as some of you seem to think.

I disagree. I used to interview for an ivy. I once interviewed a candidate. He was the worst applicant I ever interviewed and I gave him a low rating/narrative. I received an email from admissions acknowledging my report, and they didn't disagree, but shared that the candidate had other important attributes... he was a recruited athletes...and he was accepted. Meanwhile, the other extraordinary young men and women were rejected. I quit after several years of seeing this frustrating trend and several friends did the same.

I wonder what he did in the interview?
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 21:27     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:Yale and Duke count.


Nit sure about Yale. Duke alumni interviews do not count
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 21:24     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I interview for a HYP where everyone gets an interview. It would be good to have a legit source say the “interviews don’t count.” In the interview report form, we have to rate the candidate and write up comments. If the rating/comments are negative, I can’t imagine that would be dismissed as easily as some of you seem to think.


You are dreaming.


That’s your opinion. Not a fact. Too bad you can’t tell the difference.


No, it's a fact that you're dreaming. Ivy League schools literally let every single one of their graduates who want to do interviews do them. They don't care whether your qualified. Why don't they care? Because your interviews don't count. They just want to keep you engaged and get your money.

It's hilarious and delusional that you think otherwise.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2026 21:13     Subject: Colleges that Interview - Which Count
Anonymous wrote:I interview for a HYP where everyone gets an interview. It would be good to have a legit source say the “interviews don’t count.” In the interview report form, we have to rate the candidate and write up comments. If the rating/comments are negative, I can’t imagine that would be dismissed as easily as some of you seem to think.

I disagree. I used to interview for an ivy. I once interviewed a candidate. He was the worst applicant I ever interviewed and I gave him a low rating/narrative. I received an email from admissions acknowledging my report, and they didn't disagree, but shared that the candidate had other important attributes... he was a recruited athletes...and he was accepted. Meanwhile, the other extraordinary young men and women were rejected. I quit after several years of seeing this frustrating trend and several friends did the same.