<p>hey..just got emailed from an alumni in my area for an "informal" session about Cornell. So basically, im just wondering...should i just go and talk from "the heart" per say, or like..review my EC's and have stuff to say about them b/c they are gonna grill me??? I'm not entirely sure what to expect. The email said it was just a session for me to ask questions about the college..but i dont 100% believe that. Heh, o well, ill prlly just end up goin with the flow.</p>
<p>same problem here!! <em>bump</em></p>
<p>The alum who will be interviewing you has not seen your application and does not know your SAT scores and GPA. The interviewer will probably ask you to talk a little bit about yourself and why you have applied to Cornell and to tell them things that may not have come through about you in your application. The alum interviewer should be able to answer some of your questions about Cornell and/or direct you to the places where you can find the information you are looking for. The alum interviewer does in fact submit a report directly to admissions about your meeting, and in that report the alum will typically report on general impressions, as well as anything extraordinary about you that you mentioned or (as I mentioned earlier) that did not adequately come across in your application (as reported by you). Look at the meeting as an opportunity to meet with an alum who knows a lot about Cornell, and who meets with several applicants every year who are going through the same process that you are now going through. Ask all of your best questions. Be enthusiastic. Be yourself.</p>
<p>good answer sallyawp</p>
<p>My daughter had an alumni interview last week. The alum had no information about her except her name, address, and phone number, the school she was applying to at Cornell, and the fact that she was applying early decision.</p>
<p>That sounds about right, Marian. Good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>I applied last sunday. When do we get notified about alumni interviews in the e-mail? Is it varied?</p>
<p>Not e-mail, in my experience. The interviewer called my daughter on the phone.</p>
<p>Hey I have a question. Will the interviewers try ask questions that will reveal your weaknesses? Questions like "what has been going on in the news" or "do you think North Korea's nuclear test is justifiable".</p>
<p>Mak5im -</p>
<p>The alumni contact meetings are not a test. They are to provide you with more information about Cornell. The following quote is from the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network (CAAAN) website.
<a href="http://caaan.admissions.cornell.edu/reptform.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://caaan.admissions.cornell.edu/reptform.cfm</a> </p>
<p>
[quote]
CAAAN Contacts with applicants, whether in person, via telephone, or via e-mail, are intended to be optional, non-evaluative, and comfortable opportunities for applicants to get to know Cornell better through personalized attention from local alumni.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>ok so it's not a test... but will the interviewers send a report of the interview to Cornell? Or would the interviewer send a report if the student totally impressed him/her. Because for other colleges, interview is a crucial part in the application process, so it's different for Cornell?</p>
<p>As I mentioned earlier, the alumni interviewer does indeed send a report to Cornell that will be added to your application file. While I do not believe that the report can make or break an application, it may clarify questions about the candidate that the admissions committee may have and/or it may expand upon or reveal new details about that candidate about which the admissions committee was unaware (e.g. in the past, I have included in my alumni reports information about prospective students relating to responsibility to care for younger siblings every day after school, two-hour commutes each way to get to high school, an art show at a well known gallery in NYC to which the prospective student had been invited to participate just the day before our meeting, the fact that a student was working two after school jobs to help pay the bills at home, recent accomplishments in sports and other extracurricular activities during the fall semester at school). Most of all, the alumni interview is an opportunity for the prospective student to ask questions about Cornell.</p>
<p>wow thanks so much for your reply, all my doubts are cleared</p>
<p>heyy, okay so my "informal session" is at starbucks afterschool, can i just stay in appropriate school clothing [jeans, shirt,sneakers]?? Also, I don't have her contact info OR her name, how will we find each other?!! and How long are typical meetings?</p>
<p>haha umm well you should probably get her information so that you can seek each other out. </p>
<p>CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES...yes this is an "informal session" but i would expect that you would want to impress your alumnus interviewer. look good, because while nowadays people don't dress very nicely, if this person is an old school Cornellian, they will expect appropriate attire. even if they are straight out of school, looking better makes a better impression which results in a better letter from them to the school.</p>
<p>I think that my meeting was like 30-40 minutes? I think this was longer than usual just because i asked a ton of questions and we talked about Cornell a whole lot. Do this, if you can because they want to see interest in the school. Emphasize (as I am assuming you did) that you applied ED and that Cornell is by far your top choice. Have good reasons why. haha and of course all of the stuff that sallyawp said...that was really good.</p>
<p>This seems even more informal than mine, mine was with a lawyer and i went to his office downtown. Hahaha my Penn interview was at a starbucks...........</p>
<p>anyhow, good luck!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>thankss LOL I dont have ANYTHING so i cant get her info =X she called me and i jsut got a location and time. shes class '97. also, this might appear to sound silly but did you pay for your own coffee? buy coffee and waited for them at a table? ahh sorry i'm just overthinking now.. lol</p>
<p>hahahaha yur crazy....which means you actually care...your interview should go well!! i am going to respond to your crazy worries with an equally crazy and specific answer</p>
<p>um i guess just go up to random people who look young and, if i may, intellectual (hahaha) and ask politely, are you _____?</p>
<p>she might be there before you, in which case she would have already purchased her own food and drink and (like my penn one did) a small treat for you (lol)</p>
<p>if you get there at the same time (highly unlikely) and she offers to buy your stuff, LET HER</p>
<p>if you get there before her, wait to buy your things with her, and see previous note. if she offers to buy yur stuff, let her, if she indicates separate, just buy your own. </p>
<p>of course buying stuff of people is nice but in this case, it would be presumptuous of you to purchase her items</p>
<p>oh...and get a large drink, so that you can sip on it throughout the interview, and if you want food (i wouldn't get anything, tho) buy something that isn't messy at all...no one want to see that :p</p>
<p>does this cover everything????</p>
<p>i think i'll just sit there cause i cant go around looking, i dont even have her name !! LOL thankss tho it does cover everything hahaa</p>
<p>just don't sit there for too long before doing something haha good luck</p>
<p>is it bad that i emailed my interviewer back saying that i didn't have any questions and did not feel the need to meet? it said in the email that if i had no questions or concerns just to write an email back to that effect but will this hurt me in regard to admissions decisions?</p>