Yes… or no ; ) Sometimes I get them – a majority of the time I don’t. It doesn’t affect the interview writeup, especially since more often than not it’s probably not the result of the kid’s initiative/inclination anyway.
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I thought Brown produced optimists that change the world not cynical adults that assume the worst😀
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Changing the world is for people with nothing better to do! I’m happier with changing lives (small to medium-sized bits of them, anyway).
And hey, I’m not cynical – merely a keen observer of life ; ) One thing I observe is CC being chock full of adults pondering what kids should do, and chock not-full of kids showing showing much interest in same. Not that they need to, as long as they happen to get someone like me as their interviewer. I’m not concerned with at written thank-you’s, dress choices, early/on-time/late, or similar iffy correlates to “the content of their character”. But who knows what sort of interviewer you’ll get, so wear that beach apparel at your peril.
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Cornell, and many other schools, no longer use alumni meetings in any evaluative way. It helps kids who can’t get to campus have at least one touch point with an individual.
FWIW, I really enjoyed meeting with students. The vast majority were amazing people who would have enriched the campus community. I was always sad to get my report after Ivy day and see all the rejections.
It helped me frame the entire process better for my D when the time came for her to apply to colleges. Being rejected from a top school just means you didn’t fit their institutional needs that cycle. (And my D didn’t apply to our alma mater).
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A bit off topic but I often wonder if the initiative, art, and classiness of a “Thank You” note dies when we do (I’m 58). My kids did it after much prompting (all the way back to birthday gifts) and I imagine are less inclined on their own. Pretty sure they have done it professionally, but I honestly don’t know. I’m fairly certain the short, personalized hand written note has gone by the wayside. Don’t know if these kids even use pens / pencils anymore.
I still get a kick out of receiving a personalized note from a colleague or client. I’ve tried to reiterate the importance of those nice touches in business and in friendship but comes off as a chore. Oh well.
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Deleted, off topic
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One specific tip for applicants (and sorry if this was mentioned and I missed it): before registering online for a single thing at a single school, set up a new, dedicated gmail, to use exclusively for the college application process. Give its inbox the highest priority for alerts, etc. and check it at least daily.
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Love the advice! I am also a Duke alum. On here because I now I have 3 in high school.
I did (and will later continue to do but they won’t let us when our kids are in the process) interviews for 20 years and I think I had a perfect or near perfect rate of scoring the highest score and the person being accepted. And I honestly can’t remember anyone I didn’t give a 5 (highest score) to being rejected (I gave maybe 12 fives in my years).
Could be coincidence but 
I applied to Tufts EDI and did an alumni interview. I think the interview went well- but I am a little worried now. I talked about the major I intended to have (developmental psychology), but then spoke about how I also liked more science-y things, and the interviewer said that it sounded like I would like a neuroscience major better. Is this something to be concerned about- would it look like I wasn’t really prepared or didn’t know what I wanted in the future? Otherwise, I think the interview went really well, we connected on a lot of bases and I think the interviewer liked me. We talked about books and I recommended some to her, we talked about how we both sang in high school, etc. I also talked about why I liked Tufts and asked her questions about her experience there, if she thought the student body was more competitive or collaborative (I said my impression was collaborative and she kind of disagreed/qualified my statement??), and her favorite classes she took.
My other worry is that I really expressed why I wanted to go there and also that I really loved the area and that my parents even grew up there. I thought at the time that I talked enough about why I wanted to go there and even mentioned the name of a certain program I really liked, but now I am worrying it might not have been enough.
I might totally be overthinking this, I tend to be an over-thinker and am very anxious about the decision coming out. Does anyone have any thoughts about what the interviewer might have thought about me? Much much much appreciated 
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I wouldn’t worry about this at all! Alumni interviews are optional and not even guaranteed at Tufts. Per the CDC, interviews are just “considered” so don’t carry that much weight.
FWIW, it sounds like you did just fine! Best of luck to you!
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As a high school student you are not expected to have perfect insight in the fields of study - in fact, most are expected to either not know their major or change majors entirely.
No, having a meaningful conversation will not reflect poorly.
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In my original post (#5) on this thread, I provided a bulleted list of some negatives I’ve encountered over many hundreds of interviews with applicants to a school much like Tufts. What you describe is just the opposite of one of those: A somewhere between good and more likely great interview.
I’m rather kid-gloved in my demeanor with students, but even I will toss in a challenge or a mild disagreement here and there. That’s not an indication that things are going badly – if anything, just the opposite in my case. And I always bring up alternate majors or career paths when appropriate. That’s just me trying to be useful, especially with first-gen-collegers and the like.
So enough worrying over your interview. Back to worrying about everything else that seniors worry about (i.e. just about everything : ).
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Thank you for all the insightful comments. In my own experience (20+ years, perhaps 100+ interviews), the best candidates are always prompt, polite and effective in their communications. They ask questions that show they’ve done their homework about the school and program(s). They also follow up with thank-you notes.
The worst ones are “I am not really interested in your school, but my parents asked me to apply,” or those who do not ask any questions at all.
Brown is lucky to have you, as are all of us here on this forum. Please keep up the good work!
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Thanks for your additional perspectives. Along with mine plus the others here, they help applicants to see that interviewers are not monolithic in their thinking or approach… though if there’s one thing we probably all agree on, it’s that an applicant should actually know at least a few things about the college they’ve applied to (like for example, the state in which the college is located). “Not a sociopath” is also much appreciated! : )
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And to add to Brown79’s excellent perspective-- it is always great to meet a HS kid who has done some thinking about what they are and are NOT looking for out of their college experience.
Kid is looking for a rigorous accounting program with a wide network of successful CPA alums who can help in the job search? Reed, Bard, Sarah Lawrence probably not your best choices and it shouldn’t take an hour of an interviewers time to come to that conclusion. The nervous parents used to tell me (back in the day of physical meetings with a parent doing drop off/pick up “She doesn’t know what she wants to study” and I’d reassure them that that’s ok (and it still is). But a kid who DOES know what they want to do ought to do a half an hour of homework for any college where they are interviewing to make sure their interests and the colleges align.
Every college in America does not offer nursing. You can become a nurse after graduating from a college without a nursing program-- but there’s a difference between those educational paths. This is the kind of prep a HS kid should be able to do on their own.
You want to ask questions about how to create an independent major in Food Policy or Sustainability? Ask away. But asking “does your college have good bio classes” (yes, I’ve been asked that question) doesn’t move the ball forward.
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What if a student initially opted in the application to have an interview, but then later, because of social anxiety declined in a follow up email within a weeknof the invitation? How does that affect the chances of being accepted?
Depends on the school, but most have moved away from evaluative interviews. As long as the student didn’t stand up the interviewer, it should be fine.
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What if my DD changed her mind and politely declined an interview within a week of invitation via email? How will that affect her chances?
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By not accepting an invitation to interview when offered, for whatever reason, is akin to holding up a big flag saying, “I have zero interest in your university.” So I disagree with @momofboiler1 response to your earlier question. Calculate chances accordingly.
This does not apply to an inability to find a mutually agreeable time to meet with the Interviewer
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Changed her mind and declined a Zoom or phone interview?
This is a good opportunity to help coach your D through her anxiety. To be successful in college she’ll need to be able to make appointments and keep them with professors, TA’s, ask librarians for help, work with a tech person when a required program doesn’t load to her computer properly, ask for help in the housing office when there’s a broken window in her dorm, ask for a meeting with a food service dietician if she has food allergies or needs a change in diet, etc.
Politely declining is fine; just curious how the back and forth went. Did the interviewer offer to reschedule?
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