<p>I was contacted by my local alum interviewer committee to set up an interview, but at the end of the email, it said that the interview was optional and that some people that chose not to do it still got in. Would it be a good idea to forgo an interview? Or will Harvard really look down on this since I was given the opportunity but turned it down? Thanks!</p>
<p>do it!!! you really don’t loose much for trying… in fact, I have mine TODAY! :D</p>
<p>For any college, if you’re given an interview, optional or not, you should always take up on it.</p>
<p>^ I agree (10 char)</p>
<p>Do the interview!!! It’s a chance for you to know the school better and the other way around.</p>
<p>It can only improve your chances. (Unless you vomit all over your interviewer or something.)</p>
<p>I realize that having an interview will improve my chances, but if I opt not to, will it actually hurt my chances?</p>
<p>guys i’ve heard that about other schools but is it true for harvard? can an interview only help you? i mean, if you have an interview, and you’re well-dressed and respectful, but maybe your answers are only average or you have to pause to think for some answers, or maybe your eye-contact isn’t great, would that not count against you?</p>
<p>I didn’t realize that H alumni interviews were optional. I’ve never known of a U.S. applicant to not have one.</p>
<p>In my daughter’s case, she had three by the end. The last two were apparently the deciding factor in whether she should be admitted.</p>
<p>No one will force you to have a Harvard interview. Harvard tries to interview all U.S. applicants. if you turn down an offer, they won’t twist your arm to interview, but I’m sure the admissions officers will wonder whether you are trying to hide something like being pathologically shy or totally lacking social skills.</p>
<p>I suspect that refusing an interview reduced the chances of one person who used to post on CC . He was offered an interview, but immediately turned it down because it was an hour to 2-hour drive away, and he was living alone while his parents were out of the country for an extended period. His parents had forbidden him to leave town. He lived in a rural area of the midwest.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that his parents would have been happy to have allowed him to leave town for a Harvard interview, if he had taken the time to explain the situation to them. He could have had a family friend accompany him if his parents were concerned about his having to drive that far.</p>
<p>If he had gone, he also could have told the interviewer how he was living by himself for an extended period, and that probably would have impressed the interviewer. Instead, he probably came across as someone who was passive and timid, not the type of people whom Harvard looks to admit.</p>
<p>The interview can be a tip factor – tip you in or out.</p>
<p>From my experience as an alum interviewer, I would guess that bad interview tipped two of my interviewees out. I caught both in lies during the interview. After I submitted my report, an admissions officer called me or e-mailed me to ask a few more questions about the interview, so my guess is that those two were students whom Harvard was considering accepting.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you’re still debating this, but you should definitely do the interview. I just had mine today and it was awesome. I’m still not sure of my first choice, but I want to go to Harvard so much more after the interview.</p>
<p>^ That was also the turning point for my daughter. She had not wanted to apply but added on at the end as an extra “reach” because the ap was easy. From the interview, she was hooked.</p>
<p>I have mine next week (I live in Italy). I am SO worried, I mean, I do well on interviews in my own language, but in English!! And I know nothing about my interviewer!!</p>
<p>Don’t worry about it, Alma. If your interviewer is anything like mine, he will be very helpful and will make you feel comfortable, even though you’re speaking in your second language.</p>
<p>northstarmom what type of lies???</p>
<p>I submitted my main common app on the 1 December, and I know there are alumni in my area… I still haven’t gotten an interview request!</p>
<p>What can I do to get an interview?</p>
<p>My daughter was not contacted until the holiday break and her interview was in January. Also, they were still being done as late as March (D’s final two were then). You can see that there were members reporting interviews quite late last year. Be patient.</p>
<p>^ DD’s only interview was in March - just a few weeks before she was accepted. As Smoda said, be patient. Last minute interviews are a good thing!</p>
<p>“northstarmom what type of lies???”</p>
<p>Books they had read. The book student alleged was their favorite was an obscure book that actually was one of my faves. I could tell the student hadn’t ever read the book.</p>
<p>Parents’ education: Student claimed that his parents had never gone to college, but then in the interview said he became interested in astronomy after reading his father’s college astronomy textbook.</p>
<p>ECs Student claimed to be an active member of a local organization that my son was president of and that I extensively volunteered with. I’d never seen the student at the club and, when I checked with my son, he had never seen the student there either.</p>
<p>Another student tried to get in despie having an ED admission. Student called me – the regional alum interview coordinator then – in panic to request an interview. Student claimed that they had been called by Harvard, but had lost the interview info. Ended up student hadn’t been called by Harvard, but --surprise, surprise – student called right at the time local flagship public released its ED decisions. Apparently, student was trying to figure out whether to accept flagship ED or whether Harvard, which then offered EA admissions, was going to accept them EA.</p>