Hi all! I’m stuck in a bit of a dilemma and would appreciate any insight. It’s with an interview (from one of HYPSM)
K, so here’s the deal: I’m an Atheist (I was born into a certain Abrahamic religion)
Now, that’s not a big deal, but my interviewer is an ordained minister of some (other) Abrahamic religion (a liberal version of one). This may cause a problem, or at least I think it may. I the way I see it there are 4 options:
Go into the interview, act and talk as normal, see how the interview goes, if I sensed any open hostility, I'll let admissions know about it (although would they give me another interview?).
Go into the interview, act and talk as normal but completely act as if religion does not exist and that the fact that he's an ordained minister doesn't matter.
Ask the University/Alumni right now body to re-assign me with another interviewer on grounds that my interview report might be compromised by bias. (Would they be willing to give me another interview?)
Would the university take this into account when looking over the report?
Now, most people would think that #2 is a no-brainer. But my lack of religion is quite important in my story. My struggle with it defines my character, my struggle with my parents in abandoning my faith also exhibits certain character traits I feel are necessary to share. These aren’t appealing to other atheists alone. All of my closest teachers personally tell me that they find the story quite inspiring and believe it showcases my intellectual curiosity (I should mention that my school is affiliated to yet another Abrahamic religion). The only difference is that they weren’t ordained ministers…
You’re being paranoid IMHO. He’s taking hours and hours to volunteer on behalf of his alma mater and to meet interesting applicants. If his reports drip of bigotry, you can bet he gets dropped ASAP.
In my area we have lots of muslim applicants. Should the coordinator avoid matching them with Jewish interviewers? BTW: I’m an ordained minister too. And I have no problems (nor bias) against anyone whether they choose to discuss religion (or lack thereof). Alumni volunteers are doing this to grind an axe as far as I’ve seen.
Just do the interview and don’t worry further about it. I wouldn’t try to claim bias or ask for a new interview afterwards either, the college would probably view that negatively.
@SpockSonOfSarek - IMO - the interviewer does not know anything about you other than your name, email address, and phone number. So unless you choose to bring anything about you or religion up, he has no way to know.
Agree completely. It will be a non-issue. It is simply the case of an alumni volunteer (who happens to be a minister) interviewing a prospective student. There is no reason to talk religion at a college interview.
The interview is typically a half hour or so and should be more focused on the applicants academic achievements, ECs, reasons he/she likes this particular school, questions about the school etc.
Also keep in mind that alumni interviews typically count for very little in terms of admissions decisions – it is a chance for an applicant to demonstrate interest in the school and perhaps get some questions answered about the school.
Perhaps OP has included his religious belief or disbelief as part of one of the essays, but that should not affect the interview in anyway because the interview does not have access to the application, unless OP himself brings it up.
Glad you saw the light so quickly, OP. But watch the assumptions. They’re there representing what’s right about the college and looking for what’s right about you, for that college. Faith (or lack) isn’t part of it, except for a very few colleges that emphasize religion.
Be likable, bright and informed about the college.
Think of it this way–it might be very lucky that you got paired with an ordained minister. Such people have spent a huge amount of time thinking about faith. They also have spent time thinking about why one wouldn’t have faith, or why one would have another faith. This person probably has thought a lot about suffering, and community, and how to help his fellow man, and this person probably is easy to talk to and also has some counseling skills. Unless it’s some kind of hellfire and brimstone person (which it probably isn’t) or weird cult minister, you can probably have a great conversation with him even as an atheist. Your ordained minister is hardly going to expect that everyone he interviews thinks exactly like he does. Quite the opposite, probably.
