<p>I applied to CAS regular decision and I just got an email like an hour ago from an alumni interviewer who gave me like 3 specific dates for an interview. I NEVER requested the interview and I have don't really have time to prepare cause I thought they'll only give you an interview if you requested one so I'm really surprised. Can anyone give me advice on whether or not to accept or how to decline?</p>
<p>dont decline…</p>
<p>You shouldn’t decline.</p>
<p>I want one sooo bad right now from Penn. You should feel lucky.</p>
<p>These interviews are not requested. You’ll get one if Penn has enough manpower and time to give you an interview.
Frankly, you shouldn’t really need to prepare. If you did research on the school, which I assuming you did since you applied, you’ll do fine during the interview. I just had my interview over the weekend, and it went really well. This is a great opportunity for you to get to know Penn more, and more importantly, for the school to get to know you more. It’s a nice, relaxed chat, and you really shouldn’t worry. </p>
<p>Accept the offer. all their required stuff is due by Feb. 15.</p>
<p>For those of you that went to a Penn interview:
I have 2 questions, first of all, did the interviewer read any of your application like your scores, activities, and essay? Cause if they did I don’t really want to elaborate on something they already know.
Also approximately how many minutes were spent on you answering the questions and how long on them answering your questions?</p>
<p>nope, usually the interviewers do not know your test scores and other numbers, usually do not read your essays and know little about your activities. The interview is then an appropriate place to elaborate on your activities, usually not your scores. They want to get a feel on what kind of person you are, so numbers don’t mean a whole ton. The admissions office don’t want the interviewers to be biased on students who have better scores.
That’s a really hard answer. Think of it more as a conversation rather than a Q and A session. My interview lasted for about an hour, and it went by really fast. I can say, however, that I spent more time talking, naturally, since they ARE trying to get to know me better.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info ticktock.
I was just wondering, since you already had the interview… I know they would ask you a few standard questions like “Why Penn” and “Describe yourself”, if so, do they ask and sit back for 15 min while you talk or do they kinda drive the conversation with specific question and comments?</p>
<p>In my specific case, my interviewer basically went: “tell me a little bit about yourself” and I just went. They do drive the conversation with things like “can you elaborate…” to “what is that?” lol. She interjected with some of her own personal stories, which then kinda of turned things off course a bit, and I started telling her stories. If the interviewer things are dying a bit, he/she will probably interject with a few prepared questions. I had things like “what inspires you?” to “what will you be remembered by?” etc. But cases differ tremendously. In other schools, I was asked none like that, and 1 other one, I had questions after questions. So, it really depends on the interviewer. Just relax, and speak in coherent sentences, and you’ll be fine!</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>The interview is just a really casual way for penn to get more information about you, so theres no need to worry, but i know thats easier said than done. penn was my first ever college interview so needless to say, i was anxious going into it. however, b/c the interviewer knows little about you [he basically told me that he knows nothing], it makes the conversation really easy. he asked me what im planning to major in, what my career goals are, what activities do i like to do in my free time and all those basic, easier to answer things.</p>
<p>good luck and best wishes! =D</p>
<p>Again thanks for the information.
By the way from what I have heard from some of my friends who applied UPenn ED, they said that the Penn interview is somewhat more formal than other schools and advised me to wear a suit and everything. Also I heard that there are two types of interviews, the evaluative sort and the informational sort, now of course they’re all a combination of both, but would you guys say that the Penn interviews are more formal and more evaluative compared to other similar ranked schools?</p>
<p>I was just wondering how much this would affect me if I declined the interview? Because I’m positive an interview would severely hurt me and I was hoping it was truly optional but an interviewer just emailed me also telling me i requested one.</p>
<p>@ socali: not sure if you had your interview yet, but my penn interview was not that formal, but my interviewer told me that ahead of time so I went in a nice turtleneck, cardigan, skinny jeans, and short heels. so it really depends on your interviewer, but obviously you would want to stay on the safe side if your interviewer doesn’t specify. as for type of interview, all of my interviews have been a bit of both, they usually ask you to tell them about yourself and then when they’re done asking you questions, they ask if you have any questions for them. my penn interview was not much different from the other interviews I’ve had, though it was the longest (1.5 hrs) but yeah, the interview is generally the same format for any school in my experiences. good luck!</p>
<p>@ nhlerrulez: why would an interview severely hurt you? they really don’t count for much, it’s just a chance for you to tell someone about yourself and find out more about the school. it would be pretty bad if you declined because you either do not want to go to that school badly enough to make time for an interview or because you are completely and utterly socially inept, which I doubt. so I think you should seriously reconsider, especially if it’s not optional, and emailing back saying that you didn’t request one and don’t want one would be a bit weird. good luck to you as well!</p>
<p>The deadline for interviews is Feb. 15? I haven’t received an offer yet. :(</p>
<p>i thought only certain people get interviews?</p>
<p>Thanx Looshia, I think I’m gonna go with formal shirt and pants but no tie, lol I don’t even remember how to put one on properly.</p>
<p>As for the question about who gets the interview, I’m pretty sure they give as many as possible but sometimes there is no available alumni interviewer in your area so some people aren’t given the chance. I don’t think it has to do with your qualifications since they haven’t reading your application yet.</p>
<p>I do alumni interviews for Penn, so it might be helpful if I gave you my perspective. </p>
<p>First, the only information we are given about you is your name, e-mail address, the high school you attend, the school you are applying to and what you anticipate your major might be. We don’t know anything about grades, SAT’s, etc. and are told not to really ask about these things.</p>
<p>Second, the type of interview you have will depend in large part on your interviewer and his or her style. I generally try to ask pretty open ended questions and let the applicant do most of the talking. My goal, which I generally tell people up front, is to find out a little bit about you as a person. I am also curious to find out how “real” your extra-curricular activities are. If your president of the chess club, does it have two other members and meet once a year, or have 150 members, meet twice a week, sponsor regional matches, run clinics for inner city kids and have a dozen grand masters as members.</p>
<p>Third, I have been interviewing for three years now,and have NEVER had someone decline an interview. You can draw your own conclusions from this.</p>
<p>Fourth, I will ask you “why Penn”, and you better have a well thought out answer. One of the things the University is trying to figure out is how enthusiastic you are about the school and the likelihood that you will attend if accepted. </p>
<p>Fifth, I want you to do well. My goal is to give you the opportunity to present yourself in the best possible light.</p>
<p>Sixth, this is also an opportunity for you to find out more about the University. Feel free to ask me questions.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>^Does everyone get contacted for interviews?</p>
<p>My understanding is that not everyone will be offered an interview. It’s basically a numbers game. How many applicants in a particular geographic region and how many alumni interviewers. If you come from a region with a lot of applicants and few alumni interviewers your chances for an alumni interview obviously diminish. </p>
<p>I was first contacted by Penn and asked if I would be willing to do interviews because they had a shortage of interviewers in my area. Since I’ve only done a couple of interviews this year (fewer than in past years) I assume the situation has improved in my area.</p>