A comment about Harvard interviews by an interviewer...

<p>There seems to be a bit of anxiety among applicants regarding interviews, and why this or that school has yet to contact them for an interview. Lots of questions, such as, 'My classmate was contacted for an interview 2 weeks ago, but I've yet to hear anything. What does this mean?' have popped up. These questions seem to come up, year after year. </p>

<p>The answer? Don't worry about it. </p>

<p>I interview for Harvard, but what I'm writing below pertains to any school that conducts interviews through its alumni. </p>

<p>DON'T WORRY if you have not been contacted by an interviewer. I still have 3 on my list I've yet to contact, simply because my schedule hasn't allowed me to do so yet. I probably won't be able to get to them until much later in the month. I'm sure plenty of other alum are facing the same situation. I have a bigger load than I did last year, and I simply don't have time to conduct them in rapid succession (and write honest, substantive reports quickly). </p>

<p>Alum interviewers aren't doing this for a living. We have professional/personal lives outside of doing interviews, and while we understand that it is something that many applicants are anxious about, and care about deeply, please also respect the fact that interviewers are (mostly) not full-time admissions employees. </p>

<p>Please be patient.</p>

<p>One of the nice things about CC is having interviewers/people with admissions experience posting here</p>

<p>Thank you so much! I was slightly worried that I was not qualified enough for an interview and as a result, I hadn’t been contacted. This really makes me feel a lot better and takes of some stress. Thanks! :)</p>

<p>As another alum interviewer, WindCloud is right on (in fact, I just made a similar post in another thread)</p>

<p>Out of curiosity, when is the final date for alumni interviews? I know most schools have a set date as to when the interview reports are due. Does Harvard?</p>

<p>Does Harvard hold a large emphasis on the interview when considering you for admission? My interview was not stellar and I just want to know if it could hurt me. And I’m curious why my interviewers (I had two) asked for sat scores/gpa and other test scores. Thank you in advance.</p>

<p>I think most schools weight it the least of all the components of your application, so I would guess it’s the same or similar for Harvard. My interviewer said that Harvard requires them to ask for scores/gpa, even though he hates doing it. Not sure why Harvard tells them to though.</p>

<p>I just had my Harvard interview and my interviewer said she had to ask for test scores so she could make sure that Harvard has the latest, accurate scores/there aren’t any major mixups or anything like that. She called it “housekeeping” and just brought it up at the very end of the interview. =)</p>

<p>^^I had an interview today. He only asked for my grades, not my scores. </p>

<p>I also wonder what the last date for interviews is. Dartmouth is the only school that hasn’t contacted me for an interview yet… but I’m not too worried because the number of applicants increased by 15.7% this year.</p>

<p>D was completely stoked about her interview several weeks ago. Her interviewer asked her very casually at the end of the interview if she thought she had the stats to be competitive. After she told him, he responded, “Dmmn!”</p>

<p>D works at a retail business and her interviewer came through her line today. He said he called Harvard about her and that their response was extremely positive. She was flattered, but realizes he may have felt it necessary to say something of this nature. I pretty much agree, even though I’d like to believe he really went above and beyond for her.</p>

<p>Interviewers - what do you think? Would it matter if he did?</p>

<p>^ Your username says it all…</p>

<p>I just had my interview and nothing about numbers came up.</p>

<p>getalifemom – Something similar happened to my daughter 6 years ago at a different college not so unlike Harvard to which she was applying early. She had her interview (which was late in the process, to be sure), and the interviewer called me as soon as she left his office to say that she was the best candidate he had interviewed in 15 years of interviewing. He was the president of the regional alumni club (a big region). We didn’t know each other at all, although each of us knew who the other was. He had absolutely no reason to suck up to me; he just said that if someone was as impressed by his kid as he had been by mine, he hoped they would let him know, too.</p>

<p>So what happened? Deferred, then rejected. The interviewer was so upset when she got deferred, he called Admissions about it and was told to mind his own business, not very nicely.</p>

<p>The moral of the story: A great interview can only help, but there’s no guarantee that it will help enough.</p>

<p>JHS - pretty much what we thought. Oh well, at least she’s made a nice friend who brightened her long day at work. Encouragement never hurts and is something to hang on to while we wait. Thanks for your helpful response.</p>

<p>

Wow that sounds harsh… what college is this?</p>

<p>^yeah, that sounds really harsh. What school is that?</p>

<p>Most of my son’s interviewers for Ivy League and similar schools were pretty upfront that they did not have much/any influence on the admissions decision…</p>

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<p>How rude, especially since interviewers are pretty much doing them a favor.</p>

<p>No contact yet as of Feb 2nd.</p>

<p>no contact here either, but i haven’t lost hope! :)</p>