Mine was WL RD at Princeton (had an interview). Accepted to another Ivy RD without an interview. Rejected from 4 Ivies with interviews (interviews he thought went really, really well).

Some schools interview everyone if you are in a metro area with available alum and it doesn't hold much weight.

Anonymous wrote:When are interviews for REA (Stanford) conducted? My DC applied right before the 11/1 deadline and has not been offered one yet.

My DC submitted their Stanford REA application on 10/31 and on Monday 11/11 received an email invite for an alumni interview that said the turnaround time is very tight for the early cycle and was offered zoom days/times through tomorrow. We are in the DMV area

I would wager that 100% of accepted Princeton students had great interview reports, even though far less than 100% of kids with great interview reports get accepted.

I don’t know why folks insist it means “nothing”. If it meant nothing and was just for alumni engagement, then they wouldn’t ask for detailed write ups answering specific questions.

If it meant nothing, they would have only have you answer applicant questions and not ask any and the report would essentially just ask if the applicant showed any signs of being a nut job (and that they showed for the interview).

They don’t mean a lot…but nobody is getting accepted with a bad interview write up (athletic recruits exempted…though those kids won’t go to a random alumni interviewer).

For schools that mean nothing…the schools now explicitly say they mean nothing…and guess what, nearly 50% of accepted students don’t even opt for an alumni interview…because they mean nothing.

Anonymous wrote:Again, the idea that elite colleges would spend vast sums, time, and energy creating very sophisticated, standardized rubrics and other highly correlated scoring systems for evaluating applicants with paid, trained admissions officers and then throw that over to give weight to the arbitrary opinions of thousands of utterly rando, untrained alums, opining on applicants they’ve known for 30 minutes, is absurd on its face.

Yet this is happening at some schools, obviously, so it seems your experience is limited to your school.

I’m curious why people think these interviews don’t matter at all. Princeton’s CDS states the interview is “Considered” which is also the same category as legacy, first-gen, and geography.

From the school’s website:

DO I NEED TO HAVE AN INTERVIEW AS PART OF THE ADMISSION PROCESS?
We try to offer each applicant the opportunity to have a conversation with an alumnus/a volunteer. This is a chance for you to learn more about the Princeton experience and for us to learn more about you. Interviews take place after the Admission Office has received your application. You may choose on the application to opt out of the interview and this choice will not put you at any disadvantage in the admission process. If you do not opt out, you may receive an email inviting you to interview with a member of our Princeton Schools Committee in your area (if available). The alumni interviewer will contact you to arrange a convenient meeting time. Alumni interviews for the 2023-24 application cycle may be in person or virtual depending on the availability of the alumni. The Admission Office has no preference between these two options. 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. Given the timeline, we will not be able to offer an interview to students who are participating in the QuestBridge National College Match as well as the Transfer Admission Program.

Apparently they don’t penalize if someone opts out or no interviewer is available, but for those who interview, it seems to matter (even if only a little).

When are interviews for REA (Stanford) conducted? My DC applied right before the 11/1 deadline and has not been offered one yet.

I know a kid who got into Stanford (currently a freshman) RD and did not receive an interview
Not URM, is from an over represented geographic area and attended a well known STEM magnet.

My DC is a few years older and attended a different HS but did receive an interview and was accepted REA

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale only interviews if in the running.

If you're in the top 2% (athlete or donor etc) , they don't.

If you're in the bottom 80% (not really a possible admit), they don't.

so it's a good sign

This isn’t true. I’m an alumni interviewer for Yale and have interviewed kids with likely letters for sports. It is true that they don’t interview everyone, but I have no reason to think they don’t interview the very excellent students.

I find this hard to believe. I interview for another Ivy and was once assigned a committed athlete. I thought that was strange, and sure enough I received an email from admissions telling me it was a mistake…but if I wanted to talk to the athlete I could answer their questions but shouldn’t ask the athlete any questions because I could ask something violates NCAA guidelines (which they did not expect me to be familiar).

I reached out and asked if the kid if he wanted to talk…as expected he said no thanks.

I don’t know why there are posters that are hell bent on saying alumni interviews are meaningless…they literally are for some Ivy schools now…but for others like Harvard, Yale and Princeton (at least)…they do mean something on the margins.

I would be shocked to see if any kids are accepted with terrible alumni interview reports…which of course doesn’t change that most with tremendous interview reports are also rejected.

I'm not sure what you find hard to believe. Yale is on the record (listen to their admission podcast) saying that they assign interviews to kids who might get in, because they can only interview a certain percentage. I have interviewed 6 kids who got in over my years of interviewing. 1 was an athlete with a likely letter. 1 was among the most connected kids (both politically and to the school specifically) that I have ever encountered personally in my life; he was both a URM and a recruited athlete (who ended up playing 4 years at Yale for a non-niche sport) and was the most impressive kid I have ever interviewed. I am no one. So, in my experience, short of maybe Malia Obama, even connected kids get random interviewers.

Because the NCAA has strict requirements of what you can and cannot ask D1 committed, recruited athletes. I am still surprised they would allow just a random alum to interview a recruited athlete vs. alums who literally have been provided some kind of tutorial of how you need to treat a recruited athlete.

While unlikely, you could unknowingly ask questions that violate NCAA D1 policies, and Yale could be subject to some kind of sanctions/penalties from NCAA in the unlikely instance the athlete complains about what you asked to Yale and the NCAA.

I don't really know the ins-and-outs...just remember getting assigned 1 recruited athlete, followed by a lengthy missive from admissions telling me it was a mistake and a litany of NCAA guidelines that ended with...don't interview the kid, just make yourself available to answer questions if the kid wants to talk to you.

I've interviewed multiple recruited athletes and have never been given any special handling instructions. Maybe it's different for Ivys without money involved? Maybe the things you can't ask them are the same things you're not allowed to ask any candidates as a recruiter (we get a fairly level training every year or so)? Maybe Ivy interviewers don't count as on behalf of the university under NCAA rules, since we don't work for them and can't offer anything officially? No idea. But I 100% have interviewed recruited athletes and I haven't even been warned ahead of time. One is currently the captain of a Yale team, in fact.

If the captain is the same as the uber connected recruited athlete mentioned earlier, then a quick look at the current Yale captains makes it very clear who you're talking about! There is an exceptionally connected kid from DC who is currently the Captain of a non-niche sports team. Glad to hear he was super impressive too! (But, yes, he was obviously always getting into Yale.)

Anonymous wrote:From the Yale website:

The NCAA bans alumni from contacting prospective student-athletes (or their coaches) unless the alumnus is an enrolled member of an ASC, and such contact is made in the course of normal admissions work.

Maybe you are considered an ASC interviewer which I am definitely not.

Oh, yes, I am definitely an ASC interviewer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:any advice on Harvard interviews?

They don't matter so tell your kid to be themself and come with lots of questions should the conversation lag. It's frustrating to do a day of these interviews and pull kids who just sit there and are not engaged.

They may appear like they are not engaged but in reality, they are nervous introverts and you’re the reason I have angst about my kid interviewing. Have some empathy.

Anonymous wrote:any advice on Harvard interviews?

They don't matter so tell your kid to be themself and come with lots of questions should the conversation lag. It's frustrating to do a day of these interviews and pull kids who just sit there and are not engaged.

My student is a recruited athlete with a likely letter, and her assigned interview alum was an athlete. Just chance?

any advice on Harvard interviews?

From the Yale website:

The NCAA bans alumni from contacting prospective student-athletes (or their coaches) unless the alumnus is an enrolled member of an ASC, and such contact is made in the course of normal admissions work.

Maybe you are considered an ASC interviewer which I am definitely not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yale only interviews if in the running.

If you're in the top 2% (athlete or donor etc) , they don't.

If you're in the bottom 80% (not really a possible admit), they don't.

so it's a good sign

This isn’t true. I’m an alumni interviewer for Yale and have interviewed kids with likely letters for sports. It is true that they don’t interview everyone, but I have no reason to think they don’t interview the very excellent students.

I find this hard to believe. I interview for another Ivy and was once assigned a committed athlete. I thought that was strange, and sure enough I received an email from admissions telling me it was a mistake…but if I wanted to talk to the athlete I could answer their questions but shouldn’t ask the athlete any questions because I could ask something violates NCAA guidelines (which they did not expect me to be familiar).

I reached out and asked if the kid if he wanted to talk…as expected he said no thanks.

I don’t know why there are posters that are hell bent on saying alumni interviews are meaningless…they literally are for some Ivy schools now…but for others like Harvard, Yale and Princeton (at least)…they do mean something on the margins.

I would be shocked to see if any kids are accepted with terrible alumni interview reports…which of course doesn’t change that most with tremendous interview reports are also rejected.

I'm not sure what you find hard to believe. Yale is on the record (listen to their admission podcast) saying that they assign interviews to kids who might get in, because they can only interview a certain percentage. I have interviewed 6 kids who got in over my years of interviewing. 1 was an athlete with a likely letter. 1 was among the most connected kids (both politically and to the school specifically) that I have ever encountered personally in my life; he was both a URM and a recruited athlete (who ended up playing 4 years at Yale for a non-niche sport) and was the most impressive kid I have ever interviewed. I am no one. So, in my experience, short of maybe Malia Obama, even connected kids get random interviewers.

Because the NCAA has strict requirements of what you can and cannot ask D1 committed, recruited athletes. I am still surprised they would allow just a random alum to interview a recruited athlete vs. alums who literally have been provided some kind of tutorial of how you need to treat a recruited athlete.

While unlikely, you could unknowingly ask questions that violate NCAA D1 policies, and Yale could be subject to some kind of sanctions/penalties from NCAA in the unlikely instance the athlete complains about what you asked to Yale and the NCAA.

I don't really know the ins-and-outs...just remember getting assigned 1 recruited athlete, followed by a lengthy missive from admissions telling me it was a mistake and a litany of NCAA guidelines that ended with...don't interview the kid, just make yourself available to answer questions if the kid wants to talk to you.

I've interviewed multiple recruited athletes and have never been given any special handling instructions. Maybe it's different for Ivys without money involved? Maybe the things you can't ask them are the same things you're not allowed to ask any candidates as a recruiter (we get a fairly level training every year or so)? Maybe Ivy interviewers don't count as on behalf of the university under NCAA rules, since we don't work for them and can't offer anything officially? No idea. But I 100% have interviewed recruited athletes and I haven't even been warned ahead of time. One is currently the captain of a Yale team, in fact.