<p>For the record, I don't think that jeans and a fleece is appropriate for an alumni contact session, but I wouldn't hold it against the applicant.</p>
<p>It is very dubious Cornell alums would wear sandals and cut off jeans, especially for an interview with a prospective student. Around northeast, especially NYC or Boston area, it is fairly common(appropriate) for boys to wear button down shirts and nice pants when they are meeting adults for any reason. Even if the interviewer should decide to wear jeans and sandals, you would still be "appropriate." The way you dress shouldn't stand out, it shouldn't be something someone remembers. No, I do not agree with ffhrea at all.</p>
<p>I would also bring a resume. It is a good way for the interviewer to remember you when they are doing their writeup.</p>
<p>The dress code and resume are all recommended by my Ds GC. Their school's main objective is to get as many students into top 20 schools as possible.</p>
<p>Oldfort, please re-read my post - it was the guy "sitting next to you in Starbucks" who was wearing the sandals, not the alumnus.</p>
<p>Personally, I would go with khakis over the jeans. And I'd probably do a solid-colored, pullover-style, long-sleeved shirt over a fleece. But we don't know where the poster is located. If he's in Hawaii, it's not the same as if he's in Boston.</p>
<p>("BUT, the interview is not very important. It is probably one of the less important parts of your app.")</p>
<p>True. On occasion, it can make a big difference. But most of the time, it tells Admissions little or nothing.</p>
<p>ffhrea - sorry, I didn't read it properly.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The way you dress shouldn't stand out, it shouldn't be something someone remembers.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>hm i'm not going to be following this advice if I am contacted for an alumni interview =P
haha i'm a FSAD applicant so I'm guessing it would be a good thing if I stood out for being uniquely and well dressed</p>
<p>("i'm a FSAD applicant so I'm guessing it would be a good thing if I stood out for being uniquely and well dressed")</p>
<p>You could almost go for broke in a situation like that. If you're going to major in Apparel, and if you show up wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, I'd think you didn't belong in that major. Don't dress like a freak or make a public spectacle of yourself, but wear something interesting. Something you can talk about. Like maybe the sweater was hand-woven in Peru or whatever. And maybe you can talk about how you're influenced by native crafts or whatever. Or maybe wear a belt made of alligator skin along with your jeans - that's something to talk about, but isn't too obvious.</p>
<p>When I went for my interview, I just dressed casually. I wore jeans and an American Eagle thin jacket. I just wore rather casually and I didn't see anything wrong with that.</p>
<p>I just got back- it was awesome.</p>
<p>I thought that Cornell's interviews are basically information sessions.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You could almost go for broke in a situation like that. If you're going to major in Apparel, and if you show up wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, I'd think you didn't belong in that major. Don't dress like a freak or make a public spectacle of yourself, but wear something interesting. Something you can talk about. Like maybe the sweater was hand-woven in Peru or whatever. And maybe you can talk about how you're influenced by native crafts or whatever. Or maybe wear a belt made of alligator skin along with your jeans - that's something to talk about, but isn't too obvious.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>thanks, I plan to. I hope I get an interview! Most of what I wear to school would be fine for an interview. For the only other interview I had I wore a high waisted bright blue skirt with a tucked in black top, gray cardigan, and black patent heels. but I was rejected :( haha whatevs cornell is much cooler</p>
<p>@ Cayuga Red</p>
<p>I tried to send you a PM, but it said your quota was over the limit, so here goes!</p>
<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>I've noticed from some of your posts that you are an alumni interviewer for Cornell. I just received an email from an alumni today regarding an "Admissions Meeting" which will take place at a school with 5 applicants to one alumni. He said that it is not an interview, and will not negatively affect my application if I decide not to attend. However, I am not familiar with this type of meeting, and I was wondering if it would help my application in any way if I do attend? I have heard that alumni interviewers usually mark the applicants on a scale during 1 on 1 interviews. Basically I was hoping that you are familiar with this type of meeting, and if you could share any insight?</p>
<p>Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>My D had an interview with an alumni in our local coffee shop. It lasted about 5 mins and seems to go well. The lady explain more about the college than the she was asking questions.
I hope having her an interview is a good sign</p>
<p>
[quote]
He said that it is not an interview, and will not negatively affect my application if I decide not to attend. However, I am not familiar with this type of meeting, and I was wondering if it would help my application in any way if I do attend? I have heard that alumni interviewers usually mark the applicants on a scale during 1 on 1 interviews.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Every alumni region is going to do things a little bit differently due the particular nuances of their area. In far flung regions, you will just receive a phone call. In regions with heavy applicant numbers, you may have this type of set up with multiple applicants meeting with one alum. </p>
<p>The reason why Cornell doesn't call it an "interview", and the reason why it is optional, is because alumni volunteers do it, and not all geographies are covered. So Cornell doesn't want any student overly concerned about not being contacted.</p>
<p>After the alums meet with you, they will generally write up a qualitative report for the admissions committee, usually containing information that they do not think would otherwise be apparent on an application. There is no quantitative scoring system.</p>
<p>Not being asked to an interview can't hurt you. But I do think turning down an interview could, even if it is unconscious in the minds of the admissions committee -- all other things equal, which type of student would you rather admit, the student who went out of her way to meet with an alum of a school she is interested in, or the student who turned down such opportunity?</p>
<p>Thought I'd bump this thread since it was the most helpful to me when I was preparing for my interview. I had it today and it was just....wow.</p>
<p>First, my interviewer didn't have the date right or she hadn't written me down at all but she said since she had time she'd do it anyway. It was held at her office and I wore khakis and a half-sleeve whit button down shirt which was appropriate considering her attire.</p>
<p>It was actually really short. We basically sat down and then she said that it was really more about my questions. Considering most of my questions would have been better answered by a recent grad, it was NOT the best situation. Then she asked how my SAT's were, and then out of the blue, the dreaded question, "Where else are you applying to?" After I stuttered a little through an explanation and I stuck my foot in my mouth about ten times, this happened:</p>
<p>Interviewer:"Have you gotten in to anywhere yet?"
Me: "My safety, I applied with a special app."
Interviewer: "And where is that?"
Me: "Oh, University of Vermont."
Interviewer: "Oh my nephew goes there."
Me: <em>headslap</em></p>
<p>After talking a bit more, she asked me what I wanted to emphasize and I think I did really get across how my interest more than in the rest of the interview. Overall it was about 25 minutes and EXTREMELY awkward.</p>
<p>^Ouch, my Brown interview was like that, but my Cornell went pretty well. We talked for over two hours, my interview laughed a lot and smiled and she said that I was a great fit for my major.</p>
<p>i have mine via phone in about an hour, and i was just wondering if it is inappropriate to ask what the alum didn't like about cornell. i was also planning on asking first what they enjoyed most. thanks!</p>
<p>I think it should be very appropriate to ask an alum what they didn't like. One purpose of these interviews is to get to know the school better and to see if it is a right fit for you, and getting to know some of the negatives of a school is part of that process. My MIT interviewer readily OFFERED to basically denounce his time at MIT even without me asking (although he was a graduate way back in the 70s)</p>
<p>Although, I would phrase it more candidly than "what didn't you like?" if at all possible -- maybe tailor the question to suit your major concerns better like "are the class sizes for freshman year really that big?" or something about how isolated Ithaca is from major cities (one of my big concerns -- my interviewer actually ended up convincing me that smaller is better when I went in with a totally different mindset!).</p>
<p>ahhh, thanks! i just wanted to make sure i didn't offend my interviewer or anything. :D</p>
<p>as an alumni interview...I recognize this is an opportunity for me to help you learn more about Cornell. RD applicants will have a lot of decisions to make come April and us interviewers want to help you with your decisions. An interviewee asked me what I didn't like about Cornell and I wasn't offended at all....I loved my time there, but there were things I didn't like and applicants should be able to know that if they choose.</p>
<p>To people who have yet to be interviewed, don't sweat it. I was very worried about the interview before mine, but the lady interviewing me was very cool about it and very nice. She actually told me right off the bat that she never writes anything negative about anyone that she interviews. Also, I think that bringing a resume is a great idea. It really kept up the conversation and saved me from having a brain fart. </p>
<p>On the topic of apparel, like a couple of people before me have said, it depends on what region of the country you live in, but as a someone living in NJ, I wore khakis and a button up shirt under a nice sweater. I think it was a good decision, because i think she was impressed by how serious i was taking college, but i also think she would have thought nothing of it if i had worn jeans. Its one of those cases where it won't hurt you, but it could definitely help you</p>