<p>I just remembered all of the sudden about my interview from February, and out of all the interviews I had Harvard was the only one that asked me for my stats during the interview. Does anyone know what the reason is for asking?</p>
<p>Thanks for any responses.</p>
<p>From the way my interviewer approached it, it seemed that test scores should be mentioned somewhere in the interview. My interviewer/s were very cool though; they didn't ask me for my scores until the very end. :)</p>
<p>The form that the interviewer has to fill out for Harvard has a place for the interviewer to list stats. I think there are 2 reasons for this:
1. Since the interviewer has to also rank the student on characteristics that include academic achievement, clearly, the interviewer can't do this without knowing the student's stats. (I can't remember what the other things are that interviewers rank students on, but others and I have posted this info on CC before).</p>
<ol>
<li>The stat info would also allow Harvard to make sure that it has received the most up to date info. For instance, the student may have new and higher SAT II scores than are in the file that Harvard maintains. (Harvard keeps track of students top 3 SAT II scores and the best SAT I scores, which could be from more than one sitting).</li>
</ol>
<p>Harvard also suggests to interviewers that they ask about stats toward the end of the interview so as not to have students get worried that stats are the focus of the interview.</p>
<p>I got ya, hmmmm, though he did ask me at the beginning which started all the awkwardness, but it's all good, thanks</p>
<p>why do you mention it now, tony? wasn't the interview about half a year ago?</p>
<p>Don't know, it just came to mind, I was looking at a thread on interviews and for some reason it just clicked</p>
<p>My interviewer just basically used the "numbers" as a way to lead into a less formal discussion on general interests.</p>
<p>My Harvard interviewer asked that I bring something "special" to the interview. I made the mistake of thinking he meant just some extraordinary factoid about or characteristic of myself. It turned out he meant a physical object that would impress him. </p>
<p>I would also suggest one have something to say about why one wants to attend Harvard beyond prestige, name recognition, "it's the greatest university in the world," "it has tremendous resources," and so on. Something VERY unique to the school, specific, and concrete. I could articulate nothing so discrete when put on the spot.</p>
<p>My interview was a disaster largely due to those reasons above. I wound up finding out where my interviewer lived, sneaking up to his house and depositing a folder filled with "impressive" things concerning myself into his mailbox, then leaving a voicemail on his machine thanking him profusely for his time, while mentioning the package. I never heard back from him. In the end, I was deferred EA but was into Columbia ED anyway. I always wonder if I would have actually been admitted after that escapade...</p>
<p>Ah, I'm assuming that was when Harvard was just EA.</p>
<p>Well, I prepared a short resume especially for my interviews. It basically summarized most of my activities, etc. Then, I added my transcript, SAT scores, SAT II scores, ACT scores, AP scores. I put it all into a nice presentation folder, ya know those thin clear ones, and when I got to my interviews, I just handed that to the interviewers. That way, I didn't really have to talk about scores. </p>
<p>My Harvard interview took place at Starbucks and it was scheduled as a thirty minute interview, but we ended up talking for four hours. I think having my resume really helped him figure out my interests, and he tailored a lot of his questions to my EC's. I know they're supposed to get some academic information from you, but this way, he didn't have to ask all those specific questions - which can end up being kinda awkward.</p>
<p><em>shrugs</em> Maybe some interviewers would find it to be a little annoying, but if they weren't interested in looking at it, they could just put it down and ask me questions instead. At no point did I tell them "well, it's on my resume" or anything rude like that.</p>
<p>"I wound up finding out where my interviewer lived, sneaking up to his house and depositing a folder filled with "impressive" things concerning myself into his mailbox, then leaving a voicemail on his machine thanking him profusely for his time, while mentioning the package. I never heard back from him."</p>
<p>Yes, you never heard back from him because you probably creeped him out. I used to do interviews at my home until an over-eager applicant left a thank you gift on my doorstep after being EA deferred. I began to wonder exactly what the student might leave if he ended up being rejected.</p>
<p>I also talked to another alum interviewer in my city who said that she was once surprised at her door by a rejected applicant and his aggressive mom, who pushed her way into the interviewer's house and insisted on showing a scrapbook of her son's achievements and then demanding to know why he was rejected.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Please, please, please do NOT surprise your interviewer by dropping off gifts, documentation about yourself, etc. You don't want to be mistaken for a potential stalker or for a person who'll go postal if not admitted.</p>
<p>I did it at the urging of my overeager parents (who had also encouraged me to apply to Harvard, which didn't especially turn me on for any particular reason save the fact I could claim I was admitted there). Believe me, I was not really receptive to the idea of sneaking up on a stranger's house late at night, especially when the chances were that the guy would just be annoyed to find that stuff there. Note to parents who think anything can be achieved in life by being aggressive: there is a line to cross. </p>
<p>By contrast to that experience, my Columbia interview went swimmingly. I was compared favorably to other applicants, and promoted my high school so well that an admissions officer told me I had convinced them to admit a HS friend of mine who had also applied.</p>
<p>Columbia,
I'm curious: Why did they insist that you sneak to drop the stuff off? It wouldn't have been creepy if you'd have called the interviewer, told him you had some things that might be helpful to the person's report, and then asked if the interviewer would like you to send them or drop them by.</p>
<p>Sneaking over to drop something at the interviewer's in the middle of the night, frankly, is reason enough for a college to decide to reject you. They'd fear what such a student might decide to do to their professors or administrators.</p>
<p>That's a good question. I think they panicked and decided it was the only way he would listen when he didn't call back. They were very new to the college admissions process, having both been easily accepted to the local state school when they were my age, and essentially assumed an exertion like that would demonstrate enough "effort" and "surprise" to impress the interviewer.</p>
<p>I wonder ,is it harmful if I bring my two -page resume with me? (ECs.school ranks.)</p>
<p>Northstarmom, if my on-campus interviewer didnt respond to my thank-you note,does that mean it is not good. And is it harmful that i gave her my resume at the end of interview?? btw, do on-campus interviewers trained to keep such a sunny smile during the whole interview???<) thanks!!</p>
<p>There's no reason to reply to a thank-you note.
Fine to give a resume.
I doubt that Harvard trains people to smile.</p>
<p>thank you, Northstarmom;)</p>