I just had my college interview, and my interviewer said I would be “a perfect match for the school”. That’s a good sign right? I know that means the interview went well and not poorly, but do you think that that’s just something that college interviewers say to pretty much anyone that does okay on their interview? I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up because interviews don’t carry much weight, but I just want to know if this means anything
At least it’s better than a “We’ll definitely have your application for consideration” or something of that sort (particularly for job interviews). So I would say it’s good…?
Good or bad, my best advice is to not worry about it since there is pretty much nothing you can do at this point regarding the interview itself. You might want to write a short thank-you note thanking the interviewer for his time and the opportunity, out of etiquette.
It is a nice thing to hear but I would not read too much into it other than that the interview went well. And I agree about getting out a thank you, preferably in the next 24 hours (email is fine).
if you interviewed with an admission officer from that college it is a great sign. If you interviewed with an alum it means nada.
A “great sign” — I’m not sure. Many top schools offer on-campus interviews to anyone who signs up. How is that better than your being contacted by an alumna in Feb of your senior year?
Depending on the school, the actual impact of ANY single interview is likely to mean little. For instance, Harvard accepts ~6%. I think we can safely say that 90% of the students don’t enter into the latter stages of evaluation. Every single one of those interviews will have no effect whatsoever. On the other end, there’s the slam dunk kids – recruits, other super valuable applicants – won’t matter for them either. Interviews can really then only come into play for those on the fence – who knows but one can imagine that’s not a very large percentage.
To the OP: certainly having a positive feel after an interview is great. But don’t overestimate the alum’s ability to predict your eventual outcome. I’ve interviewed 100s. The bulk are average (which is the def’f of average, right?). Among the very good interviewees, I don’t even try to predict. It’s impossible. So I don’t even go there. My opinion on whether or not you’d be a “perfect fit” based on a 45 min convo is overreach, IMHO.
What makes it a great sign is being told by an admission officer that they would be “a perfect match for the school”. While anyone who wants may be offered an on-campus interview, I doubt all who interview are told this.
Although I doubt in most cases the reports I write as an alumni interviewer have much weight, I will tell those viable applicants that had a good interview. that the interview was good to encourage them in case they meet up with an interviewer from a school that values the reports more highly than mine does. But I make sure that they understand that I have no idea how much a good report means to my alma mater. I emphasize not to make too much of my compliment. I do it to allay fears, stress, and insecurities… Sometimes I will even explain why I asked the questions I did to give them a bit of guidance for other interviews.