Alumnae vs. On-campus interviews

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
1

<p>Although I am posting this in the Smith board, I think this can apply to any of a number of schools.</p>

<p>My daughter had an interview with a Smith alumna. It seems to have gone well. She is applying RD.</p>

<p>My question is, how do people on this board feel about alumnae vs. on-campus interviews? Is either preferable?</p>

<p>She has visited Smith a couple times but decided to do the alumnae interview.</p>

<p>My other question is, how important do you think interviews are in general? I do some interviewing for another college and frankly don't think they have that much impact.</p>

<p>Thanks for any input you might have.</p>

2

<p>There is no difference. When you do the interview, both the on campus and the alum interviewers log into the same system and do a report that then gets sent to the admissions office, where it gets printed out and put in her application folder, not to be seen again until they review her application for admissions. If she were to come to campus she might, might get an interviewer who would be one of the officers who actually would review her application later, but it’s highly unlikely that person will remember her, and she’s just as likely to get a student (they allow certain seniors to conduct interviews) or she could get one of the seasonal hires they bring on to deal with all of the extra overflow (I don’t know that the seasonal people end up evaluating the applications). So really, there’s no preference. </p>

<p>The interviews are optional for undergrads so they’re not extremely important. It would be unfair to make them a huge factor in the admissions process when not every student has an equal chance to do one, and not every student does one because they’re not listed as required. But, I do think they are good to do if you are able. What you want to do is give the office as many data points about you as possible. For example, let’s say you’re a violinist. And you put that on your application, number of hours you do it per week, orchestras you’re in, and that’s great. The admissions office knows you’re a violinist. But if you do an interview, you can also tell them that your grandfather who was a concert violinist taught you how to play the violin, and you love Mozart more than anything, and your dream is to play a concert at Lincoln Center on a Stradivarius. Suddenly you’re not just a violinist, you’re a musician with a proud family heritage, a lifetime of dedication, and big goals that you want to achieve. You’re ambitious and dedicated as well as talented. </p>

<p>That’s an extreme example, but my point is that no matter how mundane or major your accomplishments are, an interview allows you to give more information about them. And the more information the office has about you, the more informed of a decision they can make. Which is in your interest as an applicant. </p>

<p>She should not however sweat the interview that much. They go out of their way to make it a good experience for you, because they want you to walk away with a positive personal Smith experience. So that later you think, “Smith was so great, my interviewer was so nice, she really got me, I want to go there”. It is, and I freely admit this, great marketing. So I wouldn’t read too much into how the interview goes, but I wouldn’t totally skip it either if she has the option.</p>

3

<p>I don’t think interviews generally tip the scale one way or the other unless the student is “on the bubble.” And the only circumstance where the on-campus interview might be an advantage is if the interviewer is on the committee discussing the file when it’s up for consideration. </p>

<p>I’ve heard of a few instances where the interview was a negative in the file, no way of knowing if it was determinative or not. Worst case being an interviewer for Harvard looking for <em>something</em> positive to say and talking to the student for an hour and a half in vain.</p>

<p>But I think the interview process has some subtle benefits to the applicant. It can help clarify priorities. It’s practice in expressing one’s self in a “live ammunition” setting, one of the first of many for adulthood. And for some students it can help them overcome any adolescent diffidence or helicopter parents in taking ownership of the process.</p>

4

<p>When I applied to colleges (was it really only last year? Seriously?), I did a bunch of interviews, including some alumnae as well as some on-campus. I have to say that I much preferred the alumnae ones, mostly because I got to hear the alum’s stories and experiences and that a) gave me a better understanding of the school, most of the time, and b) made it much more fun and relaxing and engaging.
However, it was also the case that most of my on-campus interviews were with students (seniors who worked in admissions) or fairly young/new admissions people, and they just sort of threw questions at me a lot and I didn’t get to talk about myself as a complete person as much as I would have liked. Plus, it was fairly boring just talking about myself for the gazillionth time.</p>

<p>I had an alumnae interviewer for Smith. We met at Starbucks and had tea and talked about the housing system for like an hour. It was the best interview I had. Do I think it got me in? Absolutely not. But it gave me a MUCH better understanding of housing at Smith, which really is unique and an excellent selling point, and when I mentioned that I was interested in women’s studies my interviewer said that her sister, who is now a junior at Smith, is majoring in that and put me in contact with her.</p>

5

<p>Interviews at Smith and other colleges are important as they show your interest in the school. They probably only make a difference if you are a borderline candidate. My older D had an interview with an admissions officer and the younger one had one with a senior interviewer. Overall they tend to very positive experiences if you just relax and be yourself.</p>

6

<p>I do think interviews “count”, insofar as they act as a connection between applicant and admissions officer; however, an interview is not going to a deciding factor, except perhaps if, as akebias says, a student is in the borderline pool or one of several applying from the same high school. I have a gut feeling that my D benefited from the latter, since six applied from her high school and only two got in. Yes, they were individuals, with different strengths and weaknesses, but they all were academically/EC-wise close enough that Bryn Mawr accepted all six. (Smith never takes more than two seniors from my D’s HS.) So I have to wonder what made the difference in my D’s case, and the only thing I can come up with is that on-campus interview, when the regional officer and my daughter emerged from the interview, both laughing. My daughter’s eyes were shining, and the officer said that she could tell that my D loved Smith. I think that the interview helped separate her from the others as someone who really “got” and loved Smith and would be likely to attend if accepted. </p>

<p>The interview allows you to express your personality and interests more fully. If you don’t do well, it doesn’t hurt you, but if you connect, it can only help.</p>