<p>Eliza: I would be perfectly fine answering questions like that. But I imagine that some interviewers might think it’s not serious enough, so you might want to see what your interviewer is like. </p>
<p>Collegesgirl: While we try to assign students to interviewers in their neighborhood, that’s not always possible. This year, we have a shortage of interviewers in some areas and the solution is arranging long-distance interviews done by phone.</p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I’m Brown '08, for those who don’t remember me. I’m just here for a moment procrastinating from law school work, since I’m doing an interview later this week.</p>
<p>I had a couple of comments of my own to add to the thread, which I’ve read, but not too carefully.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Just about everything fireandrain said is spot on. You should ignore all advice given by other high school students, and just read this thread.</p></li>
<li><p>My first contact with interviewees is by e-mail. I find the telephone to be a miserable device and will avoid trying to talk to someone for an extended time by phone at all costs. I also think that, at least to a certain contingent of people in my generation, there is nothing particularly impersonal or non-conversational about an e-mail. I also think a lot of high school students are more comfortable being contacted by e-mail.</p></li>
<li><p>I have conducted an interview by e-mail, but not by choice. I had a potential interviewee who clearly wasn’t all that into Brown and basically refused an in-person interview. I suggested an e-mail back-and-forth. From that back-and-forth, I was able to ascertain that the person just wasn’t all that socially capable. So, in that sense, the interview accomplished its purpose. Obviously, e-mail interviews should never be the default, but I really don’t see them as being all that different from phone interviews, which I see as very impersonal. Of course, I’m talking about an actual back-and-forth, not just a list of questions.</p></li>
<li><p>I always go out of my way to make it clear that interviews are optional, but face it: if you refuse an interview, you’re doing yourself a disservice on a number levels.</p></li>
<li><p>I think interviewing is as much for the alumnus (this is the masculine singular form for alumni) as it is for the interviewee. Part of why Brown (and other schools!) puts so much money into BASC is because it helps alumni feel connected to the school, and the alumni then give money.</p></li>
<li><p>Take a moment before your interview and try to put yourself in your interviewer’s shoes. Think about everything you know about them: Who are they? Where are they from? When did they go to Brown? What did they study there? What do they do now? I answer every single one of those questions in my original contact e-mail (one of the reasons I like e-mailing - you can convey more, and it’s in a referenceable form). You can anticipate a lot about what the interview will be like - and what you ar be expecting them to be able to tell you - by doing this thought experiment.</p></li>
<li><p>My own Brown interview was in a bustling restaurant in downtown Brussels, Belgium. It was two hours long, incredibly fun, completely conversational, and I’ve been friends with my interviewer ever since. In my humble opinion, that interview was the ideal, except for maybe the part about it being so loud. For interviews I conduct, I opt for a quieter and less restaurant-ey locale (since everything in Belgium is a bar, the restaurant was actually the less objectionable choice, but in the US we love to not-drink so there are plenty of acceptable places). Anyway, if you’re an applicant, I hope that your interview turns out to be a fun opportunity to get to know someone new, who may become a life-long friend, and to get to learn about Brown. I think we tend to classify social interactions, and to say “oh, this is an interview, so it’s different.” In one sense, it is - you should be trying to be as articulate as possible, you shouldn’t be using obscenities, etc. But in another sense, if you convince yourself that an interview - particularly an alumni interview - just isn’t all that different from the interactions you have in everyday life, you’ll probably be better off.</p></li>
<li><p>Of course, you might end up with an interviewer who doesn’t want the interview to be particularly social, or one who is just generally bad. Rest assured that the admissions office can probably tell from the interview report if the alumnus is weird\bad, and they won’t hold it against you.</p></li>
<li><p>It gives me great pleasure to be on a forum with Modest again, if only for a moment.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>ooo Brown interview in 10 min on Skype!!!</p>
<p>TY fire+rain</p>
<p>Hello all,
I have a very quick question. Does it reflect poorly if you are dropped off at your interview location, rather than driving yourself? I’m afraid it will look like I’m still dependent (when I’m quite the opposite, I’m just not allowed to get my license until I turn 18), or child-like if I get dropped off by my parent. Any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>S1 just had his interview this afternoon at our local Starbucks. It lasted just under an hour and half. S1 said it was one of the best interviews he had. His interviewer told him he is the best candidate she interviewed this year! I wish the interview weighs much more than it is…</p>
<p>Tree-hugger, I don’t think that that reflect spoorly in any mway. though i’m not an interviewer (just an interviewee), they can’t expect us all to drive! I’m 18 and don’t even have my permit yet (simply because my town is so small) and the times I have been dropped off it has not seemed to be an issue to literally any extent. Its normal :)</p>
<p>treehugger, it wouldn’t matter to me. Most adults know that many teens don’t have their license or don’t have access to a car.</p>
<p>Eek, I still haven’t heard from an interviewer. Should I be worrying?</p>
<p>I’m in a part of Texas that I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t have a local interviewer though.</p>
<p>I just had my interview, I have mixed feelings. I didn’t expand very much on my interest in the inellectual passion about brown that I love, I just sort of rambled about the open curriculum and how fitting it would be for what I want to study, then I talked about philosophy and we had a laugh about how we both hate the city we’re in and she told me how brown is just the opposite. She started talking about the liberal majority at brown and how everyone is openminded, which is exactly why I love the school, but I wasn’t the one to introduce it, rather I was just agreeing with her and saying “yeah that’s what I love about the school” or “yeah that definitely appeals to me” and would go off on some tangent. I just don’t feel like I portrayed exactly why I love the school, or that I didn’t seem genuine. Should I be worried? Would sending my interviewer an email be a smart or poor idea? Or does it not matter at this point?</p>
<p>Also she told me about her parenting philosophy and I told her I really respected it and that what she was doing seemed great, but I’m afraid it came off like I was just trying to flatter her or get her approval by agreeing with everything she said. I mean, I truly DID find a lot of what she said fascinating, but I don’t know if it sounded genuine. She told me about the president and how awesome she is and I wanted to tell her that I loved that because the reason I didn’t apply to another college i liked was because of the administration. But we started talking about something else so i never got to it. There was just a lot I wanted to cover but didn’t, so I’m feeling concerned.</p>
<p>Treehugger, I’ve had the same experiences in some of my interviews. It seemed that you and your interviewer hit it off well and what i’ve done on two seperate occasions is that I’ve called and said something along the lines of “thank you for your time, but there was one or two things I didn’t get to mention and If it’d be alright, could I have a few minutes of your time to tell you them?”
Interviwers are meant to highlight your personal qualities that an on-paper application may not have gotten, so anything you missed out on that should be mentioned should be mentioned. Calling or emailing again does not make you seem desperate, but rather conscientious (in my opinion) and I don’t think it’ll reflect poorly on you if you wish to make all your qealities clear :)</p>
<p>I’ve gotten really enjoyable, substantive follow-ups from students I’ve interviewed. It’s nice, and if done right, I don’t think it seems desperate.</p>
<p>Also, don’t worry about it if you felt like there were a lot of things that you didn’t get a chance to say but missed the chance. I personally feel that way almost every time I interview for anything. Keep in mind that you’re interviewer is just another human being, and that they probably love talking about Brown. If they got the sense that you genuinely understood and were engaged by what they were talking about, that alone probably puts you ahead of other students, and will definitely get you points in the part of the interview write-up that is basically “How enjoyable was it to talk to this applicant?”.</p>
<p>I am so grateful for the time you put into explaining NO sharing the process. I was not nervous but I do stutter so I am not sure how I was perceived by my interviewer.
I visited Brown over Springbreak and I loved it. My mom whom graduated from Teachers College took a course at Brown many years ago, and loved it. She began telling me at the age of eight that I was a fit for Brown . So I always wanted Stanford …until I visited last Spring .</p>
<p>SO…when I read someone who take the tme the way you have …I am grateful.
Your message maybe too late for me but not those behind me whom
may not have high 700’s but will find their way to Brown.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>I was a tad upset when some of my peers told me Brown reminded them of a prison. On their visits, they remembered seeing prison-like bars and they recalled that the mood was gloomy. Could someone else tell me their experience on Brown’s campus?</p>
<p>I had my interview today with an alumni that graduated in the 60s. He didn’t really ask me questions but talked a lot about the school. He said he spent most of his time studying and I was like, oh, okay… He was very nice and easy to talk to, though. I get really nervous for interviews and I am kind of confused why he didn’t really ask me questions other than my ECs. Oh well, he was such a nice guy!</p>
<p>re: post #154 </p>
<p>Keep in mind how different a HS schoolers perception of Brown is on a fresh Spring day compared to a rainy, cold or wintery day.</p>
<p>No interview yet!!!</p>
<p>macarenaps – I’m afraid you won’t have an interview; the deadline for submitting them was several weeks ago.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if it is possible that my interviewer recorded the interview we had and sent it to the admissions office, or she just filled a form instead? I ask because I think I gave a really good interview and maybe I could get some points for being eloquent, something that would be hard to show through a piece of paper… :)</p>
<p>By the way, the interview was over the phone, since I’m an international applicant…</p>