<p>Had my interview today. Here is how it went:</p>
<p>Interviewer: Do you have any questions?
Me: Sure. Does Harvard have any traditions?
Interviewer: I don't believe in tradition.
Me: Ok, I am interested in the alumni network. Can you tell me about it?
Interviewer: I am not a part of the alumni.
Interviewer: So, I see you are from a state in the South. Do you think that the South is the ruin of our nation? Do you think that Southern Culture will destroy our empire?
Me: We are an empire?
Interviewer: You do think the US is an empire don't you?</p>
<p>And that is about how it went. My question is, if the interviewer is going to display apathy and disinterest, then why do an interview?</p>
<p>Oh well, it just wasn't what I expected I guess. My other interviews have involved an intelligent exchange of information.</p>
<p>If your interview was really as bizarre as that transcript, especially the last two questions you report, you would do well to contact the Harvard admission office and describe the situation in accurate detail.</p>
<p>My interview was in person. It was just really strange. I remember reading from earlier posts that people had other strange interviews with their Harvard interviewer (I'm pretty sure it was on this Harvard thread I read that). </p>
<p>Here is another line:
Interviewer: I see that you are interested in History. Which period would you like to research?
Me: I am interested in the founding of our nation. I would like to research the influences on George Washington, that caused him to limit his term to 2 years instead of turn his presidency into a monarchy, which could have been tempting to do.
Interviewer: Well that is what has happened today. The presidency IS a monarchy. </p>
<p>No bizarre nonverbal behaviour. Just really acted like he didn't care, didn't want to learn about me, or answer my questions about Harvard. He asked me about a community service organization I am involved with, I started to reply, and he cut me off, and went on. My friend interviewed right after me (he interviewed several of us back to back). He talked to her about how love and marriage is bogus, and about the use of mind-altering drugs.</p>
<p>I have probably said too much on a public forum. Just thought I'd share that this whole interview/application process is full of variables, and if this interviewer acts uninterested in his report on me, or even writes negative things about me, well it is strange indeed and does not reflect on me, but rather the subjectiveness of this whole process. </p>
<p>hhaha that is bizarre.
my counselor told me that a couple years ago a duke interviewer was BREASTFEEDING during interviews. two ppl from my school had her.</p>
<p>For what it's worth (as the parent of a Harvard sophomore), I would echo tokenadult's suggestion that you might want to consider contacting the admissions office. Among other things, it would seem that doing so could potentially result in your having another interview with someone else.</p>
<p>Others on this board who do Harvard interviewing themselves can speak more directly to this point, but my sense is that whereas the interview is of little consequence in determining admission at many schools, at Harvard it can sometimes be a critical - even decisive - element in the decision-making process. And if this interview was really as strange and seemingly nonproductive as you describe, it's difficult to see how it could enhance your chances of admission.</p>
<p>to the original poster, don't worry. he might have written nice things about you anyways. it could just be him.</p>
<p>to emilyequalsfun, that is so funny! did the two get in?</p>
<p>interviews are a small part of the process. they are designed to help answer questions and make sure that you are more than a set of numbers, but that's all. unless you gravely offended this guy, original poster, I wouldn't worry.</p>
<p>I feel like if this interviewer is that deranged... it might come through in his write-up. I have a friend who had a similar Dartmouth interview in which the man grilled her on that day's newspaper headlines... She left crying but then she got a likely acceptance letter in March...</p>
<p>im not sure if they got in.
all she said was that one of them took it OK, but the other like freaked out or something..haha idk.
i just cant even imagine someone thinking that it was ok to breastfeed during and interview. im not even sure if they were both girls.</p>
<p>My friend had an "interesting" interviewer for Brown. She came in and lol, the guy just went on how horrible brown was and that it rejected his daughter. After an hour, the guy asks her if she has any questions, she's like how is the financial aid? And the guy was like oh the financial aid sucks, etc....The guy also looked down her (a five feet tall Asian girl, who lacks the athletic build-hardly the abs of steel, etc.) application info and was like "Do you seriously want to be in crew? Cuz you're not going to make it". Well she got in RD and was really surprised, since she thought it was really embarrassing that the guy explained exactly was crew was to her and hard it was. </p>
<p>Lesson of story: It's good to keep your composure. :)</p>
<p>O, do the interviewers get the applicants' info beforehand? (i.e. if the school wants you, the interviewer would advertise on behalf of the school; if the school wants to reject you, the interviewer would tell you to not hold your hopes too high?)</p>
<p>WHOA! That sounds like a terrible interviewer- no interviewer should bring his own beliefs and prejudices into an interview, paticularly not if they overshadow anything useful they could learn about you. (By the same token, the interviewee should try not to inject his own opinions into his answers, it just can put the interviewer in an uncomfortable place.)</p>
<p>Also, elfelf- depends on the school. I know that most of my interviewers didn't have any data on my application, but also that it's a common practice to "sell" schools to some applicants. However, Harvard's policy is usually not to do this, from what I know.</p>
<p>I am simply pointing out that the interviewers, at a minimum, have an obligation to Harvard not to leave a bad impression. They are, in the eyes of the students who meet them, representatives of Harvard. So the Harvard admission office has a legitimate interest in how interviewers behave when talking to prospective students. If there is more than one witness to the bizarre behavior reported here, Harvard's admission officers will have all the more interest in getting to the bottom of the matter.</p>
<p>You should definitely report any bizarre interviews because I'm usre the school would like to know how they're being represented by their interviewers.</p>
<p>
[quote]
my counselor told me that a couple years ago a duke interviewer was BREASTFEEDING during interviews. two ppl from my school had her.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think that it might have been expedient to...well...pump that day, but remember something: babies don't stop being hungry just because of college admissions interviews.</p>
<p>I know a lot of women who practice prolonged breastfeeding (defined as longer than six months after birth) and they have various means, usually consisting of blankets, of maintaining modesty while going out in public with their children. It's supposed to be good for a child's development, so I don't think there is anything at all bizarre about breastfeeding.</p>
<p>OP, I am a Harvard alum interviewer, and I also strongly suggest that you contact admissions and describe in detail your interview, and see if you can get another interviewer. </p>
<p>Admissions will not hold such a call against you nor will they tell your alum interviewer what you said. </p>
<p>As someone here said, interviewers are supposed to leave good impressions, and they also are supposed to act in a way that allows them to gather information that would enable them to write their interview report in a way that accurately and fairly reflects the applicant, and also provides the admissions officers with information to help decide whether to accept the applicant.</p>
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<p>As for the person who described the breastfeeding mother, I don't see the problem unless she popped her whole breast out and started feeding her baby (which may be done in some other countries, but usually isn't done in the U.S. in public).</p>
<p>Discretely breastfeeding would allow a busy, nursing mom to be able to conduct the interview without having to pay for a sitter or worry about a crying baby or toddler. It's not as if the mother was performing a sex act during the interview.</p>