Alumni Interview

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
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<p>^Regarding the above post, </p>

<p>1) Yes, the alumni do not have access to applicant info. I don’t think anyone suggested they do. The admissions officers at Duke (the ones who will ultimately read the interviewer evals and make the decisions), however, DO. I hope this put any misinformation to rest. </p>

<p>When I say don’t bother talking about obvious stuff, I meant that the person who will be interested in reading the eval (Duke admissions officers) will be able to see your applications concurrently and do not want to read the same thing over and over again. </p>

<p>2) I disagree with not bringing a resume. Some interviewers will decline. That’s fine. But in my mind (as an alumni interviewer), it is always better to be overprepared than caught flatfooted. It’s unlikely that the interviewer will think less of you for bringing a resume than the other way around. </p>

<p>Also, because interviewers do not have access to your applications, all they have really is what you tell them during the conversation. Having a resume can (in some cases) help the interviewer make connections and better understand you as a person. An example is if you are really passionate about global health and delved into it during the interview. Then later on, when the interviewer looked at your resume and saw that you volunteered with a GH-oriented foundation and ran a GH-club at your school, it not only jogs their memory but reinforces the impression that you are truly motivated and dedicated to your interests. </p>

<p>But back to the final point above, I agree that the interviewer should be blinded and as objective as possible. Really, the applicant should be given the opportunity steer the conversation in a direction that truly showcases who they are as a person (putting the best foot forward so to speak). To that end, if you do bring a resume, don’t offer it until the very end. That way the interviewer can form an impression face to face without being influenced by what’s on the paper.</p>

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<p>My interviewer was as chill as me for sure. We just sat around, drank some coffee, and talked. He only asked like two questions and they were the proverbial “Why Duke?” and “If you had one day that was absolutely clear of all responsibilities what would you do?”. My answer for “Why Duke” was his answer when I asked him “why duke”. It was chill.</p>

23

<p>My interviewer mentioned something about checking the boards at decision time. Do they have access to who gets accepted from the group that they interviewed? If so, do they find out before us?</p>

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<p>^ Yes interviewers are informed of the decision, though I’m not sure whether or how far in advance. In the years past, I’ve heard of students finding out a day to a few hours before the actual decision was released by Duke though most are probably contacted after the fact. So that probably points to a day or two in advance at most if at all. </p>

<p>In any case, interviewers are supposed to contact the admitted applicants to congratulate them but not those deferred or rejected.</p>