Carnegie Mellon: To interview, or not to interview?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
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<p>Hey guys, I just got an email from CMU about admission interviews. I was just wondering if it is worth my time to sign up for an alumni interview in my city, in terms of helping me get admitted. Would it significantly boost my chances?</p>

<p>Here's a brief overview of my stats/scores:
Rank: Top 10%
GPA: UW- 3.60, W- 3.93
SAT: 2040 (retaking in Dec.)
SAT II: Math II- 800, Korean- 800, Physics- 750
ACT: 34
APs: Calculus AB (4), English Language (4)
Senior Schedule: AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Econ, AP Stats, AP Spanish, Physics</p>

<p>I'll be applying to Tepper.</p>

<p>Also, for those of you who have interviewed and are current students at CMU, what should I expect from the interview? What kind of questions do they ask? Do you think it played a big role in your acceptance?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

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<p>wow you have a very similar spec as me and i am korean too. i didn't take the Korean SAT 2 though because it won't help me since I am not a US citizen. anyway...
i did an interview just last week. the good thing about CMU is that you get to choose which person you want to be interviewed by. i wanted somebody young so i choose a class of 04 alumi. It was pretty chill. It's probably because it wasn't an on campus interview. </p>

<p>these are the questions i got
why Carnegie
what school am i applying to
what are my interests (not just what i want to study but generally in my social life)
what extra curriculars am i involved in
what is most significant to me out of those activities
what is my favorite subject what is my least favorite subject
where do you see yourself in two or three years
what do you expect to have in your college
what other schools am i applying to (if CMU is your 1st choice don't talk too much about the other schols lol)</p>

<p>then i got to ask my own questions.</p>

<p>it lasted around one hour. i must tell you. you should do some research about CMU.
so you can actually show that you really have an interest in the school. you can't say you want to go there when you don't even know anything about it.</p>

<p>I want to study materials science so i mentioned how they have a meterials characterization lab which is pretty cutting edge, and how there are people already involved in research which i am also interested in and that i want to join them as well.</p>

<p>CMU recommends that we do have an interview. i think interviews does boost your chances up because it shows them how much you are actually willing to go to CMU that you would spend one hour of your day under high pressure.</p>

<p>don't worry though. it's not highly formal. it's not so tense that you would sweat a lot.</p>

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<p>Awesome! That's exactly what I was looking for in a reply. =) Thanks so much.</p>

<p>If I may ask, what are your stats/scores, and what school will you be applying to?</p>

<p>Also, what kind of attire did you wear to the interview? Should it be formal (suit and tie), semi-formal (nice dress shirt or collared shirt), or casual?</p>

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<p>Rank Top 10% out of 670
GPA UW-3.82 W-3.98 (we only weigh AP classes and get 0.5)
SAT: Took it in Oct. I won't say what i'm expecting to get cuz it doesn't mean anything til i acually get it
SAT2 Math 2c 800 physics 710
APs Calc AB 4, I have shamed my family with my other APs so i won't say them
IBs German SL 6 (out of 7)
although i took many IBs, i don't have IB test scores because IB is a two year program meaning all the tests are taken on the second year (if you do the next level of that course that is).
This year taking
IB Physics HL, IB English HL, World History, AP Calc BC, AP Stat, Mixed chorus, IB Psychology SL</p>

<p>I'm applying to CIT.</p>

<p>For the interview, i wore professional suit with out my jacket. basically black pants, tie, shirt, and black socks and shoes. </p>

<p>I said it wasn't overly formal because the guy that interviewed me didn't come in formal clothes. It was nice since even though it is quite a serious matter, i could relax because it didn't look serious outside.</p>

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<p>Since you are applying to Tepper, be serious and treat it like a job interview, business formal should be okay though. Make sure you sure off your soft core skills as well, as that is a main factor that Tepper is focusing on instead of just the analytical number crunching geniuses with no social lives. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info guys. Looks like I'll be doing the interview after all :)</p>

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<p>I got an interview @ CMU, however I quickly figured out that it was 90% informative, they wanted me to ask the questions. Prepare a lot of questions you can fall back on if you cant think on your feet.</p>

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<p>I had my CMU interview today - I was very surprised that it was only about 25 minutes long.</p>

<p>Here are the questions that my interviewer (CIT class of '79) asked me:</p>

<p>1) Tell me about your school/senior year. What courses are you taking, and how were your grades this past semester? What classes do you like the most?</p>

<p>2) What clubs are you involved in school? Other ECs? </p>

<p>3) What were your SAT/ACT scores? </p>

<p>4) Why Carnegie-Mellon? What school(s) are you applying to?</p>

<p>5) What other universities are you applying to?</p>

<p>After asking me these 5 basic questions (which took about 15 minutes), he then asked me "do you have any questions for me?"</p>

<p>I asked him, "so what was your experience at Carnegie Mellon like?"</p>

<p>He spent the next ten minutes describing his experience at CMU, academics, student life, etc. He also went through my list of colleges and explained why Carnegie-Mellon is better than the others.</p>

<p>For example, when he got to MIT, he was like:</p>

<p>"MIT is very elitist. At CMU, most of the kids are from hard-working middle-class families"</p>

<p>and as for SMU, all he said was "SMU is not for you."</p>

<p>LOL!</p>

<p>All in all, pretty interesting experience. As Whistler09 said, it is pretty informative. In my case, the interviewer did most of the talking.</p>

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<p>Nightcrawler I think we were interviewed by the same person. Pan, right?</p>

<p>Lol he was hilarious when he went through my list, (I'm applying to 12 schools). He was like CMU is best. HAHAHA. He did a good job convincing me though!</p>

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<p>What I have heard from various sources is that the main boost of the interview comes from just having one, to show you are seriously interested in the school. That said, mine went really well, and being a definite borderline candidate, I feel it may have helped push me in, though I really don't have any proof of that. Mine was relatively informal, being with a graduate of the class of '07. I wore business casual, nice black pants and a shirt I liked. It was in a Starbucks, and ended up lasting 2 1/4 hours! I'm pretty sure thats not typical though, from what I have heard from other interviewees and also, when we finished I commented that we were about to get kicked out of starbucks (it was 8:45 and it closed at 9) and he looked at his watch and commented that he had no idea we had been talking for so long. I ended up getting a chance to learn a lot about the school from him, since he had just finished a degree in ECE at CIT, and since I applied to SCS he had taken a lot of classes that I was planning on taking. Having already visited and researched the school helped a lot, as I was able to ask specific questions about classes and Pittsburgh. I think the people above me have pretty much covered the questions he asked me, except that mine also asked me about any awards that I had won that he should know about, and also never asked me about where else I was applying, though he forgot the interview sheet, so that may be a required question he just forgot to ask. Over all, it was a very positive experience for me. I learned a lot about the school, and also enjoyed myself.</p>

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<p>Is there any indication if the interview is a factor in admissions (for CIT or college of science)? Would it only help you if you're on the borderline (I feel that between SAT, GPA, extracurriculars, I am well above average)? Should I sign up for one now? (or is it a little late?)</p>

<p>How badly would it have to go to damage my chance of getting in, because I feel like I don't have much to gain and a lot to lose.</p>

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<p>yeah i feel the same as dean 5150 do…
umm even though its been about two years… now looking back, did you find interviews for Carnegie helpful…? or did you end up not doing it?</p>

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<p>Hey, dEvOtEeE123, you found this old thread, good job! :slight_smile: </p>

<p>FYI, although the interview is described as merely “informative”, if you look at CMU’s Common Data Set where it lists the importance of various admission criteria, the interview is rated as “Important”. </p>

<p>[Common</a> Data Set 2009-10-Institutional Research & Analysis - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/ira/CDS/cds_0910.html]Common”>http://www.cmu.edu/ira/CDS/cds_0910.html)</p>

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<p>How do you sign up for an interview? I couldn’t find out how. Do they email us? Do we email them? Are they available in MA?</p>

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<p>you’ll receive some info upon completion of your app which will give you access to your local alumni.</p>

<p>you contact them.</p>

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<p>Hey, goodcolo
thank you so muchh… you just changed my mind :slight_smile:
ill contact themm:)</p>

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<p>i know its getting close to the deadline, but i was wondering if any CMU alumni do phone interviews or something like that? The closest interviewer to me is 3+ hours away and I was wondering if this would be an option</p>

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<p>Contact the interviewer I’m sure you two can come up with some type of arrangement.</p>

<p>Communication is Key!</p>