@iwannabe_Brown It’s possible I may have misremembered the actual wording of the question, but the “what topic should everyone know about” was definitely the underlying meaning of the question. Both me and my interviewer had actually applied to Columbia (he decided to choose Brown over Columbia since he got into both) so neither of us were that bothered by the idea of curricular requirements, and that’s probably how the “if you had to make one class a core class” question got brought up. Of course, take everything I say with a grain of salt because it was a very long time since my interview, and memories are definitely not perfect!
This is pretty late, but I just wanted to post this in case someone applying next year was nervous about not having an interview. All of my friends were interviewed for Brown and I wasn’t. I got in, they didn’t. Whether or not you get an interview has nothing to do with your chances of getting in, period.
Hey @fireandrain Thank you for posting this awesome thread! I’m wondering why it is the case that Brown doesn’t interview kids who go to “certain prep schools,” can you elaborate a little on that please? Thank you!
Because these prep schools are located in rural areas with few to no alumni in the area, and they have guidance counselors who talk about applicants to the admissions office. I don’t know if this is still the case, since I haven’t had an update in years. I think that if you go to one of these schools, you probably already know this.
This is a really helpful thread. Thanks a lot!
I had a question, if the student you are interviewing does not answer your phone call, what do you do? Do you email or call again? I was wondering because I have applied ED, but haven’t received a phone call for an interview yet. I did receive a missed call from two different numbers, but one of them rung only once and cut, and the other I missed. Should I be worried? Will I be notified by Brown if the interviewer failed to contact me? This has been getting me really anxious
PS: I live in India. I’m wondering if I actually will get an interview.
If it were me, I would email, and call again. Don’t worry if you haven’t gotten contacted yet - it’s dependent on where you’re located and how fast the region tends to assign interviewers. It’s possible that you’ll end up doing a Skype interview since you’re international. Even if you don’t get one, it won’t be detrimental to your application.
If the student has not responded to my outreach – I go above and beyond to find them. If I sent an email, I’ll send a text; if I texted, I’ll email, and I’ll also try calling. I’ve called the guidance department of the student’s high school on several occasions, asking that they try to contact the student for me. I particularly do this for students who might be first-gen, since I recognize that they may not understand the interview process.
Most interviewers don’t do this. Two or three attempts and they’ll check off the box that they could not reach the student.
Hi! I had my interview last night and I would just like to say this thread was EXTREMELY useful to me, so thank you @fireandrain for the thread and @wolfmanjack for the link to the alumni form page- I did some internet lurking and was able to find the list of “Brown Interviewers’ Favorite Questions” ( http://alumni.brown.edu/volunteer/alumni-interviewing/handbook/documents/Interviewers_favorite_questions.pdf ), which I’m posting the link to for anybody reading this thread in the future. Anyways, my interview went really well, and I definitely owe that in part to this thread, but if I have any advice, I’d just say be yourself guys 
Good luck!
@fireandrain hi fire, I just want to first off say thank you for putting so much time writing those interview tips! But, I was wondering if you could answer a question for me? So I got my interview invitation for a Skype interview on Thanksgiving, and it will most likely occur on Dec 2, after the interview reports. If it happens a day after, will the interview report have any impact on my application?
If the alum submits the write-up immediately, yes. Also, if you are deferred to regular decision, it will be looked at again.
I just wanted to say thank you for this thread. I just had my interview about half an hour ago, and in the time leading up it calmed my nerves to read this.
@CathJR How exciting! Best of luck to you! As a parent, I’d add…each interview and a learning experience. Onward and upward!
@profdad2021 I know the chances are incredibly slim so my parents made the same point to me earlier haha. Definitely a good experience to have!
@CathJR Ahh but I didn’t mean it that way!! My son just had a totally different kind of interview - for a summer internship. He though it went well. It seems likely he is going to get the internship. But still we talked about the experience, what he said, and what he might say or do differently next time. That was what I meant!!
And anyways, everybody is facing ridiculously low odds applying to these schools. You show such courage and commitment to put yourself out there and just go for it. It’s impressive.
Hi! First of all, thank you so much for this thread, I have been looking at it obsessively since I got my interview 
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I just finished talking to the Alumna that was assigned to me, she was so nice and encouraging however my phone interview only lasted 20 minutes. Should I be worried? At the end she did say that she considered me a strong candidate (not getting my hopes up though) and that she was rooting for me, but maybe she was only doing that to be nice? Is 20 minutes too short? Thank you!
We answer 4 questions about you. If the interviewer feels they can answer those 4 questions after 20 minutes (and I suspect someone with experience interviewing can) then it’s plenty long enough. I can’t go inside your interviewer’s head, but I know that when I have met applicants that I did not think would or wanted to do well, I just wished them good luck in the admissions process - never commented to them that I thought they were a strong candidate and that I was rooting for them. Pretty sure we’re not supposed to say stuff like that even if it’s true (although we can never really know if you’re a strong candidate since we know nothing beyond what you’ve told us)
I just got back from my interview and feel really stupid. She asked about open curriculum, and I didn’t know what it was. She said it really nicely and said that some people had heard of it and some people hadn’t. I simply said I didn’t believe I had, but I made sure to quickly seem to recognize it after she said a few words on it. Will this completely blow my chances for admission? I should have looked on cc more before my interview! I feel so stupid. Brown isn’t my top school, so I haven’t focused on it that much beyond the simple research about majors. Now I feel like all chances are blown! Help!
My son had his interview this weekend and was also asked about open curriculum so it must be one of the common questions of Brown interviewers. He preferred that question to the question about where else he applied, followed up with where he has already been accepted.
@paveyourpath Interviewers are not supposed to ask where you have applied and where you have been accepted. It is improper and it does not aid his application in any way. You technically can report your interviewer for doing so. Mine asked about one specific school which made me uncomfortable as well, but he was nice and genuine so I figured I wouldn’t. Again though, it isn’t supposed to happen.
Correct. We are not supposed to ask that. Sometimes it slips out in just an attempt to make conversation and I know I often have to consciously refrain from asking.