<p>A friend's son had two interviewers at his interview. Is this unusual, unique, a more hopeful sign? Anyone know?</p>
<p>same here, does he live in eastern PA?</p>
<p>it's definitely not a sign. there are no such things :) .</p>
<p>No, he lives in California.</p>
<p>Could it be one is training to be an interviewer and is shadowing the other?</p>
<p>My daughter had two interviewers, we are in California.</p>
<p>I had two interviewers as well.</p>
<p>I had 3 at my Dartmouth interview- a friend had 4.</p>
<p>The number of interviewers depends on the procedures of your local Harvard club.</p>
<p>I had two...live in norcal</p>
<p>NSM,
Not sure what you mean by that -- "procedures of your local H club." By club you mean, regional organization of alums? And why would procedures differ? I would think that the H undergrad admissions office would want to be calling the shots, or at least recommending uniformity for the sake of some evenness in results.</p>
<p>In any case, it does sound as if the # of H interviewers is not necessarily related to the strength of the candidate, positively or negatively.</p>
<p>Harvard is a place that values the judgement and creativity of its students and alums. Thus, Harvard does not dictate the exact procedures that the alumni in the local Harvard schools committees use to interview applicants.</p>
<p>Harvard expects alum to write a narrative on each student and to rate students on the following factors: academic, extracurricular/athletic, personal qualities and overall.</p>
<p>It's up to the alum schools committee how many alum interview each student. Some, like mine, have only a few alum volunteers, so we have to hustle to get all applicants interviewed by one alum. Others may have many alum volunteers, and may be able to have elaborate interviewing procedures.</p>
<p>With two interviewers... wouldn't it seem like more of an interrogation? lol</p>
<p>Fine for H. I wasn't attacking its procedures, just curious as to why there would be such a range.</p>
<p>FWIW, it would appear that other Ivies also "value the judgment & creativity of students & alums," since my own D's experience with several alum interviewers (diff. Ivies) was hardly rigid, structured, or formulaic. I doubt that H has a patent on creativity, or that its alums have better judgment than alums of Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, etc. </p>
<p>I don't think that 2 H interviewers or 4 Dartmouth interviewers is necessarily a superior approach, or yields a superior result, than the single interviewers my D has had & that thousands of others have had. My D's interviews were done thoroughly, carefully, & creatively. All interviews are subjective & vulnerable to error or misjudgment. Multiple interviewers may provide a "second opinion," but the fact that they are multiples brings on problems in itself. Fine if people choose to do it that way. Neither better nor worse, i.m.o. The skill of the interviewer(s) is the defining aspect, along with how articulate/communicative the candidate is, including the candidate's nonverbal communication.</p>
<p>Epiphany,
There's no reason to explain that other Iviies value the judgement and creativity of students and alum. I was simply explaining how Harvard's procedures work since, after all, we are discussing Harvard on a board concerning Harvard. I wasn't putting down other colleges nor discussing their procedures.</p>
<p>I don't think that anyone has suggested that any particular approach is superior to the other. The bottom line is that some colleges choose to use alumni interviewers who are volunteers, not people like adcoms who are trained for this work. As a result, the procedures will vary as will the quality of the interviewers.</p>
<p>NSM,
I was merely replying to the content & tone of the first sentence in your reply, which i.m.o. does imply a kind of separate or superior category for H which other schools do not enjoy. I still maintain that that sentence did imply that, as I read it. If you had not stated it the way you did, or had made a broader statement to include all Ivies or all selective schools, there would indeed be no "reason to explain" the value that other Ivies similarly see in their own alums. It doesn't matter that this is "Harvard board." To say that H "values its alums" does not explain having 2 interviewers, in my view -- because other Ivies obviously value their alums, too, UNLESS the statement was meant to insinuate that other Ivies do not. The context of your statement makes it appear that H is a contrast with other Ivies in the regard they hold for their graduates. ("H is a place that....")</p>
<p>And it seems to me that if it should be understood that all Ivies value their alums equally, then why say that H "values the judgment & creativity of its alums" as if that is an exceptional statement of fact, explaining differences in interview procedures? </p>
<p>But at least you've clarified what you now say that you meant. Thanks for that.</p>
<p>We live on Harvard's doorstep, and yet my S was interviewed by a single alum. So it can't be the availability of alum interviewers that dictates how many will interview an applicant.</p>
<p>I had an alum interview and a on campus interview</p>
<p>Join the club sempitern555</p>
<p>will do, I was actually a bit intimidated by my alum interviewers credentials(googled his name prior to interview) he a harvard undergrad, rhodes scholar, oxford grand and UC Berkely law school grad, all in all, very impressive. But he was a nice guy and helped allay some of my anxieties</p>