This may sound idiotic, but I was very sick over the last couple days, so I slept through double digit hours without realizing. Unfortunately, I missed my Penn interview. Although I feel horrible for treating my interviewer this rudely, I am also horrified by my chances to be accepted now. Although I sent a very enthused apology letter (this was a reply to the original interviewer asking if I wanted to reschedule), I just got a new request from another interviewer. Will this previous blunder be a strike against me in my application?
So I go to Penn and I’m pretty sure it won’t affect you at all. Most kids don’t even get interviews so since you’re going to do one thats pretty good to begin with. Also, I’m pretty sure they dont care at all about the alumni interview lol
You’re being paranoid. You had an honest reason and you apologized. The 1st alum has better things to do than to be petty towards someone he/she doesn’t even know and has nothing invested in. Frankly, you’re not that important to him/her. Good luck w/your actual interview.
Don’t worry so much. The fact that you were reassigned to another interviewer means that your original interviewer likely does not have the time to do a re-interview but didn’t want to just close out your file. Your blunder will not be a strike against you. Good luck with your interview!
If I was the interviewer and I wasted a half hour or hour of my time waiting for a no show I would not be happy. It’s your responsibility to either be there on time or let the interviewer know that you’re ill and won’t be able to make it to the interview. I slept through my alarm doesn’t cut it for me and I don’t think it reflects well on you at all. I guess I am not as understanding as the two posters above me. Probably a good thing I stopped doing interviews for my alma mater a long time ago. Good luck with your second chance, make the most of it!
OP, if your phone rings during the interview, don’t answer it.
@hannahhhh I’m a bit confused because on Penn admissions’ website, it says that 91% of applicants were offered an interview for the class of 2019 and that this year, most applicants will also receive an interview.
Yes, but it also says not doing an interview will not hurt you. The 9% who didn’t do the interview (declined, no alumni in their area) are not at a disadvantage. @vibrantviolet
^^ If there’s no alumni in your area they can still try to do a telephone or Skype interview. However, if you’re not offered an interview, that’s not the same as if you decline an interview. Turning down an interview can send up a red flag that either you’re not very interested in Penn, you feel too socially awkward, or that you have something to hide.
Actually, declining an interview is exactly the same as not being offered one. Penn tries to offer all students an interview - either face to face or virtual. Some areas are flush with alum, some are not. Some areas have many applicants, others have less. It’s a numbers game - and a logistics game. Each interviewer will also commit to doing only so many interviews as well so that figures into the equation. The bottom line is that a student will likely get some sort of interview opportunity, but they might not. Penn is interested in giving you the opportunity but you’re not obligated to take it.
Each cycle a cry goes out for interviewers to take on one or two more (usually virtual) in order to try to offer more students (usually in remoter areas) the OPTION to talk to an alum. I think (and it’s what I THINK not what is necessarily gospel) what looks bad is when an interview request is ignored. We will report on why an interview was declined - and there’s a place to say a student chose not to be interviewed and another that says the student never responded to phone calls/emails/etc.
I think declining an interview is a bad course of action. It looks like you are not too interested in Penn. Not at all the same as someone who was never offered one.
Penn alumni interviewer here, and here’s my take:
There should be no material difference between not being offered an interview and declining an interview offered. The alumni interview is a two-way street, giving the alumnus/alumna an opportunity to see the personal side of an applicant and getting information not otherwise presented in an application, but also giving the applicant a flavor for one of the personalities to come out of Penn. It is entirely possible that an applicant could realize during the interview process that Penn isn’t the right fit, which is as helpful for the applicant as anything else.
The alumni interview process isn’t too complicated: an alum selects a number of interviews (s)he is willing to do for each cycle and is paired with applicants of roughly that number, typically those applicants who live near the interviewer. After contacting the applicant, both applicant and interviewer agree on a location (or electronic communication medium) to meet for the interview. The interview is conducted, and the interviewer then puts together some notes based on the interview. These notes get entered into an online form that culminates with a recommendation to admit or decline the applicant.
We are told during training that an applicant should never feel pressure to go on an interview (for example, let’s say the applicant is heavily involved in extracurricular activities, has a difficult course load, and has a part-time job… it could be particularly onerous for this applicant to take the time to prepare for and attend an interview that meets both the applicant’s and the interviewer’s schedules), which indicates that declining an interview should have no adverse effect on an applicant’s whole picture. In all of my initial notes, I am certain to indicate that the interview is entirely optional; it would be disingenuous to tell someone that something is optional if declining has an adverse effect.
We are also told that the alumni interview has little bearing on the application as a whole - if an application is truly on the fence, the alumni interview may be the deciding factor, but with so much else that goes into an application, the odds of the interview being the deciding factor are extremely slim. Furthermore, alumni interviewers do not go through any formal training - we read some materials (sometimes… some people don’t bother with that) and then start doing interviews, so it’s tough to put so much weight on the interview anyway.
Now, to the OP’s particular situation (yes it happened a few weeks ago and I’m pretty sure the window for interviews is closing this week, give or take a week) - don’t worry about it. Since you were courteous and informed the alum that you were ill, the alum just shrugged and decided not to interview you (perhaps he or she was annoyed and didn’t feel like you would get a fair assessment the second time, or maybe there was just no time left in his/her schedule to fit you in). The interviewer had the option to select the “student declined interview” button, which would close the interview process for you, but instead the interviewer selected the “I decline interview” button, which assigns you to another interviewer, who accepted. There is no history associated with the process, so the fact that you slept through your first interview is meaningless - nobody knows why you two didn’t meet up, just that somebody else is working with you.
And that should shed light on the whole interview process. 
I am also an alumni interviewer, and everything written above is technically correct. However, I would never advise somebody I knew to decline the interview. I think it would raise questions as to “why?” when the admission officer is reviewing the file. Plus, by not accepting the interview, the student misses the opportunity to highlight something that might not have been presented in their application (or to expand on something that they didn’t have the chance to completely explain in their application), and they also lose the chance to learn more about Penn. Yes, Penn says it’s “optional” and okay to decline, but I personally would recommend that an applicant accepts the interview. And if it were my own child, NO WAY would they skip the interview!
"Yes, but it also says not doing an interview will not hurt you. The 9% who didn’t do the interview (declined, no alumni in their area) are not at a disadvantage. "
The wording may be more ambiguous than it appears. “It won’t hurt you” may mean that it is a positive scoring system, and there are not deductions.
However, if students who participated in interviews improved their demonstrated interest, then it is possible that declining an interview could put you in a slightly weaker position, even if you aren’t directly penalized.
To me it only makes sense that they would track the yield for admitted students who reject an interview. I think it is likely that the yield is lower. If so, then they are likely to select more students who accepted interviews when it is close.