<p>My dd has had two interviews at "elite" schools. The one she had yesterday was great -- the interviewer came with all kinds of questions that were relevant to hs'ers. A young interviewer, she had clearly thought about homeschooling.</p>
<p>My dd's other interview was awful. The interviewer was about 50 and had no questions or thoughts about hs'ers. Her only comment about it was that she didn't know what to ask since her normal questions were not relevant. My dd tried to deal with that negativity throughout the interview. She thought she did satisfactorily but we were not thrilled. Looking back, we should have squawked to the school about the interview, but we didn't. Oh well.</p>
<p>Has anybody else had weird experiences at interviews dealing with older alums who don't have a clue about homeschooling?</p>
<p>Admissions officers have more experience with home schoolers than your average alumni interviewer. My daughter's interviewer starting by saying " In 23 years of doing interviews, I have never once met a home schooled applicant."
Needless to say, my daughter felt thrown, too.
I think admissions officers understand that many alumni don't have experience with home schoolers and will not hold that against the applicant. It didn't hurt my daughter's outcome.</p>
<p>My son has had three interviews, all required for homeschoolers. From what he told me, most of the interview focused on his interests and what he wants to study, and very little about homeschooling. </p>
<p>The alumni interviewer from CMU requested my presence, and I was surprised at how much he talked about himself and his own college experience! It seems like alumni interviews can be idosyncratic, depending on the interviewer.</p>
<p>Perhaps this is a good lesson for those home-schoolers who have not yet had interviews. </p>
<p>If the interviewer doesn't know what to ask...then the student could have a prepared response to that - "If you like, I could explain my home-school program and experiences for you." This would show initiative on the part of the student and it would also inform the interviewer of the type and quality of education that the child has had.</p>