<p>Does anyone know if Columbia interviews have any real benefit? I know that if you don't get one you aren't penalized... but does that mean that if you do get one it won't really help in the admission process?</p>
<p>When I had my Stanford interview the interviewer made it clear that there wasn't really any benefit to the interview except to give admissions officers any new information that might come to light during the interview. Does Columbia's interview hold the same weight (or lack of)?
Thanks</p>
<p>hi whoaness, this question has been asked a lot. </p>
<p>as i wrote before - it varies. it depends on what information comes out in the interview, how you perform, what the interviewer writes in their report. you could say something that really impresses and that is translated to the interview report that seals the deal on your admission. or you might do the opposite, come across as unprepared, and you could have been in the hunt for an admission, but the interview report now brings doubt on the appropriateness of your fit. in some cases you could have an incredible interview, but the rest of your application is not strong enough that it would not matter. but supposing you are a competitive applicant, the interview certainly could be the tipping point that leads to any number of decisions.</p>
<p>so how much it will help (or hurt) certainly depends on how the actual interview goes. you cannot assume a priori that they do not matter, rather, that its meaning varies from candidate to candidate. and as you cannot really assume anything about it - go in with positive thoughts, have a good conversation, and put your faith that the adcom will take the information and will do their thing.</p>
<p>one thing to know about stanford, they just started doing interviews about 2 years ago (they never did alumni interviews before) so i wouldn’t use them as a barometer for columbia that has been doing alumni interviews for nearly 30 years now.</p>