I just recently was asked to set up an interview with an alumni for an Ivy, but as opposed to my last college interview (which was at Starbucks), the man asked me to come to his home. Setting up the interview was especially bizarre, because he did not give me his address. Instead, he gave me 10 minutes of directions to write down, and then told me to go into the big red barn on his farm, walk all the way to the back and shout to let “them” know I had arrived (I could have sworn alumni interviews were one on one). Most of the people I have discussed this issue with see no problem with this, but it makes me feel uncomfortable. I have the ability to request another interviewer, but I don’t want to seem immature. Help!!
It sounds like this interviewer lives in a rural area, where walking around a barn and giving a shout to let whoever is there know that you have arrived is normal behavior. I’m sure that the interview itself will be one-on-one. However at the time of day you are arriving, there may be several people around doing whatever it is that needs to be done, and whoever hears you first will put you in touch with the interviewer.
Take your mom or dad or another pal along for the drive, and let whoever it is who accompanies you check out the farm with whoever “them” turns out to be.
“Them” probably means his wife and him and possibly children. You are going to his house after all (a farm) so it’s not like you can reasonably expect he lives by himself. The directions aspect is probably a privacy issue; maybe he doesn’t want people knowing his address. I understand feeling uncomfortable but as long as you tell someone where you are, it shouldn’t make you feel afraid.
This may not be your “typical” interview, but I see no red flags. (He didn’t tell you to bring $30 and some beer) If you’re on the East coast though, bring a warm jacket and pray the barn is heated!
As a girl, I wouldn’t feel comfortable coming to a male interviewer’s home alone, especially without having met before. I would have insisted on meeting in public, myself, or forgo the interview.
@irlandaise - Thankfully, my interview was in my alumni’s office, but I know my mother wouldn’t be comfortable with me going to a man’s house either. Everyone has their own things, but it’s no reason to request another interviewer unless the man gets rude or hostile about it. I read another thread about this type of situation and several people had stated they would be slightly offended if someone asked to change.
Extremely sketchy, approach with caution.
@TheDidactic - Right, I didn’t say I would have requested another interviewer. If the one I had wasn’t willing to meet anywhere else other than his home though, yeah I probably would have. Sorry if that might be offending to an interviewer, but I’m wouldn’t put myself in an uncomfortable situation just because that might offend someone.
The university for which I interview annually provides written guidelines for alumni volunteers. One of the most sensible – and, I believe, one that should NEVER be violated – is all interviews should be conducted in a public venue: school guidance office, local library, coffee house, etc. Both the interviewer and the student incur risks if they opt for a private location; moreover, it’s plainly as foolish as it is unprofessional. I strongly suspect the university would be appalled by this; whether factual or not, no university wants potential national headlines reading: “Applicant Accosted at X University Admissions Interview.” I do NOT suggest this is likely, nor am not impugning the interviewer’s motives (or morals), however FAR stranger things happen every day and the smart/safe approach is a public meeting place.
I’d call the university, request a different interviewer, and explain why.
There have been several threads on this topic. It sounds a little unusual, but if he lives on a farm and for whatever reason wants you to come to him, bring a family member and have them stay int he car. If you are uncomfortable, contact the school and ask for another interviewer, if one is available. Did you ever get an address, or can you google it?
There is a powerful statistical tool called Bayesian Statistics that applies here. Forget about the complicated math, at the heart of it is the concept that our expectations should be based not just on our initial beliefs but on subsequent evidence.
So to start, is going to random a stranger’s house in the country a bad idea? Probably. But then you add in subsequent knowledge. If its an anonymous stranger from the internet, probably really bad. Don’t accept invites to visit the farm from CollegeConfidential posters! But if its from a person who obtained your name from your application to an Ivy-league school they graduated from, who is not anonymous but in fact known by name, what are the chances they are going to all that trouble just to waylay innocent college applicants and that the Ivy is happily complicit in this?
I think it boils down to a matter of framing. That you are nervous about it indicates that you are not regularly visiting people on farms in the country, otherwise this would be routine and not cause you any worry. So you could view this as a serious risk, preferring to meet college interviewers in well-lit public places. Or you could think of this as perhaps the only opportunity you’ll ever have to visit a farm and look forward to it.
@mikemac (re post #9): You emphasize “subsequent evidence.” Fine, what incontrovertible evidence exists that the purported interviewer is, in fact, an authorized Ivy university alumni volunteer? Yes, that’s highly likely; however, many home internet/e-mail accounts are compromised (in various ways) daily . . . and the school doubtless assigns – and provides applicant contact information to – alums via the net. Therefore, it’s not guaranteed fact that this call actually came from the university’s representative.
Add to this the totality of “unusual” circumstances, and I’d be somewhat suspicious. Furthermore, I would abundantly wager that the university would (as I indicated in post #7) be horrified by this (for the reasons I delineated).
MORE INFO:
I found the home on google maps by searching the final road he gave me in the directions, and there is a big red barn right on the property. My friend’s mother works with the admissions at the school and ran a check and the guy is legitimate, however, legitimacy doesn’t change the fact that I’m meeting him in a barn as opposed to his home. Additionally, he called me from a phone number from a different state and left a voice mail, and then asked me to call him back on a separate number. Maybe I’m just reading into things but this is just too weird to me.
Its ok to call admissions and express your discomfort and see if there is another option, especially if its raising the creepy concern and you are at all concerned you will be uncomfortable with the interview…
I definitely agree that alumni interviews should be held in a public place (Starbucks seems to be a popular choice). I think most colleges also stress that the interview must take place in the public area too. If you feel really uncomfortable, you can either ask to change the location or request a different interviewer then.
fwiw: it is somewhat common (although maybe not in a barn, that’s just too rural for me) to have them in house - I think certain schools do it more than others though (I’ve seen a lot of Harvard interviewers, including my own, do it)
Personally, I actually did find it odd - but mainly because the interviewer’s wife was spinning around in the adjacent room, with the lights off and occasional long stares at me (I suppose she assumed I couldn’t see her in the backlight of her huge iMac?).
@kercollege28 (re post #11): I truly sympathize with your dilemma. However, a home interview really isn’t acceptable either (nor is an office meeting, especially during non-working hours). Some obvious concerns include:
a) Actual inappropriate conduct by the alum (very unlikely to be sure, but certainly not impossible).
b) False allegations of inappropriate interviewer conduct, possibly to quasi-blackmail the university (again, most unlikely, but not impossible . . . and certainly a very few individuals ardently desire elite schools admission to an “unhealthy” degree).
The only way to preclude these highly improbably – but potentially horrific – scenarios is to conduct interviews only in a public venue, which is precisely why some universities have guidelines that mandate this policy. Please also see posts #7 and #10.
Out of state phone number: Could be a cell phone. Could be he was out of town and was just trying to get in touch with you as quickly as possible (checked email while visiting aged mother, used her home phone because his cell had died, gave you his cell/home number to call back).
No address for the barn: Doesn’t have an official street number, or the new one recently assigned for the purposes of #911 phone calls for emergency services is something he can’t remember, or no one can find his place by that street number anyway so it is just easier to give directions.
But truly, this seems to have creeped you out. So ask for a different location or a different interviewer. Or let someone else drive you there so you don’t have to go alone.
Contact your admissions counselor immediately and tell them what has happened. Ask if there is anyone else you can talk to because this makes you feel very uncomfortable.
Also, read this book. “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin DeBecker.
Your gut is telling you something is off. Listen to it. Don’t let others or yourself talk yourself into something you know is off.