<p>Just to make sure, Cornell only offers interview for the hotel school, right? So that means if I am applying for engineering, then I need not and cannot get an interview?</p>
<p>Well, I'm applying to HumEc, which technically doesn't offer interviews, but I got a call from a Cornell alum for a "one-on-one informational meeting" which is basically like an interview, I believe.</p>
<p>if yes it will only be alumni interview .... that's what i heard from my friends</p>
<p>so is there anywhere to "sign up" for one such alumni interview? or you just have to wait until someone contacts you?</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure you just wait until someone contacts you. I received a call from my interviewer before I even turned in my supplement; at the time, I had only turned in my Common App. He called my friend that same day, and she was in the same situation I was. Also, she's applying to CAS, which doesn't require an interview either.</p>
<p>you will get a call from an alumni to set up a meeting. if you dont get called it isn't a good sign.</p>
<p>To the OP relax. The above poster (JasonSK) has posted incorrect information. The College of Engineering does not require or conduct interviews. Cornell does have a group of dedicated and loyal volunteers that belong to a network called Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network (CAAAN), who meet with prospects but it is solely an informational session. There are to act as ambassadors for the university. They do not conduct evaluative interviews. </p>
<p>The interviewers are assigned through their individual CAAAN chapter offices (demographically). The office of admissions does not conduct or assign these alumni meetings. </p>
<p>CAAAN chapters are not available in all areas. Sometimes, even if there is a CAAAN chapter in your area, there arent enough volunteers available - so please dont worry if you havent been contacted. If you do not have the chance to participate in a CAAAN meeting, you are absolutely not at a disadvantage. </p>
<p>Evaluative interviews ARE required for Hotel, Art and Architecture. These are usually done on campus. Landscape Architecture only requires a portfolio. If you have any questions about the interview requirements for specific programs, refer to this form - <a href="http://admissions.cornell.edu/apply/firstyear/Freshmen_Reqs_Timetable.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://admissions.cornell.edu/apply/firstyear/Freshmen_Reqs_Timetable.pdf</a>
If you have any further questions about alumni meetings, you might want to contact the Caaan Program Coordinator at <a href="mailto:caaan-mailbox@cornell.edu">caaan-mailbox@cornell.edu</a></p>
<p>To JasonSK: I looked up some of your past posts and where you live there are many wonderful CAAAN ambassadors, so probably everyone you know had a meeting with one of them. Hope you are enjoying your time at Cornell!</p>
<p>Happy New Year to all... and let's hope the New Year is filled with good news to Prometheus and all of the College Confidential community!</p>
<p>If there are a lot of alumni in your area, you will probably be invited to an alumni interview. If there aren't, you won't.</p>
<p>My daughter's alumni interviewer was very nice and was particularly interested in finding out anything of interest about her that might not have shown up on the application. Apparently, the alumni interviewers submit a little report on each meeting; if the report contains interesting new information, it might be of some value to the admissions people. But I doubt it matters much. My daughter couldn't think of anything interesting to tell the interviewer, and she got in ED anyway.</p>
<p>That isn't exactly true tahoe, the interviewers do write evaluations of the prospective students they interview.</p>
<p>Hi Jason,</p>
<p>I know alum ambassadors write reports after their contacts with students…but it still is not considered an “evaluative” interview. It’s very confusing to the students, but this is the case with most of the larger universities. Perhaps the following information will be helpful.</p>
<p>Here’s a quote from the CAAAN Contact Tip and Advice Sheet.
[quote]
Clearly characterize the Contact Meeting to the applicant as an informational meeting, not an interview, nor an official part of their application process.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The following is an explanation from Cornell’s main admission’s page. I hope I will be allowed to put the entire text on this post. I’ve included the link, just in case it gets truncated. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Q: Are interviews required?
A: All students (both freshman and transfers) who apply to the architecture department in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning or to the School of Hotel Administration are required to have a personal interview. Transfer applicants to the School of Industrial & Labor Relations must also complete a personal interview. Interviews are also recommended, though not required, for students applying to major in fine arts. In architecture or fine arts, you should be prepared to present your artistic ability through the required portfolio as well; and the hotel school is particularly interested in your knowledge of and commitment to the field of hotel administration. In all other programs, interviews are neither required nor offered. Campus visits are always encouraged, and most students who apply for freshman admission will be contacted by a member of a local Cornell alumni committee in the fall or winter. These informal conversations with alumni are not required and are meant only to allow an additional opportunity for the student to learn more about Cornell---and for Cornell to learn more about the student. (Please note that alumni contacts do not take the place of the required interview for architecture or hotel.)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>
<p>I agree about how the alumi interviews are probably informational altough I do not have solid evidence besides personal experience. Duriny my interview, I proably spent 85% of the time asking my interviewer how much she enjoyed Cornell, the weather there, the food etc. And when she asked me why I wanted to attend Cornell, I provided a very generic answer about wanting good education (which probably all colleges offer to some extend). If the interview was evaluative, then my interviewer learned basically nothing about me. </p>
<p>Also, she did tell me she'll be writing a report for me afterward to send to Cornell.</p>
<p>
[quote]
you will get a call from an alumni to set up a meeting. if you dont get called it isn't a good sign.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Wrong. I didn't called or do an interview but i got in, and so did alot of other people.</p>
<p>Thank you. My reason for posting was not to be argumentative, but to ease Prometheus' mind in case he/she does not get an interview. The college application process is stressful enough without adding a defeatist attitude to an applicant's mind.</p>
<p>i applied ED CAS and got an interview, but it is anything from formal and my interviewer even told me "obviously im not trying to hinder your way into cornell, in fact i'll be trying my best to get you in, so tell me anything ... blah blah"</p>
<p>i applied to cornell this year as a history major… can i get an interview?</p>
<p>no. 10char.</p>
<p>i just had my cornell interview and my interviewer had a piece of paper with her to refer to. she said that there were a few things that the college had asked her to say/ask such as interesting facts. the interview is known as an “informational meeting” and is suppose to be 15-20 minutes. mine ended about 1 hour later</p>
<p>^lol mine lasted around 40-45 min. imo, it was not an info meeting. but then again i asked alot of questions too.</p>
<p>A direct quote:</p>
<p>"Thank you for your interest in an alumni contact meeting through the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network (CAAAN.) Our alumni ambassadors offer informal contact meetings with as many applicants as possible, but due to applicant volume and geographic limitations, only about 64% of applicants meet with an ambassador during the admission process. Because not all students are contacted, the meeting is not an evaluative part of admissions consideration.
The contact process is completely automated; applicants cannot request or otherwise initiate an alumni contact. Each applicant is assigned to a local committee after Cornell receives the Common Application and fee. If the applicant’s local committee has active members, the chairperson of that committee attempts to match the applicant with an available volunteer. If a match occurs, the volunteer then contacts the applicant to arrange a meeting.
We hope that our ambassadors in your area are able to connect with you.</p>
<p>Best wishes,
Admissions Staff"</p>
<p>Stop the crap, about how it’s evaluation. The fact that Cornell is an ivy-league school, I doubt it would want to give off the reputation as a school that lies in the information they give you, treat their applicants with RNG (randomness-referring to the fact that only 64% of applicants get interviews due to number of volunteers and number of applicant disparities) or does not consider an application holistically(if you give the argument that they only give interviews to students who are “qualified”… not to mention some people get interviews within a week after submitting their apps, I doubt any machine or such is fast enough to “quick scan” for the first sign of eligibility) -especially considering it’s not even a HYPS school, I doubt Cornell would play the elite card. For everyone that’s spreading rumors of how it’s evaluational… it’s not. My friend asked the interviewer straight off the bat, “is this an evaluational interview and assuming I do terrible would this hurt my chances at all,” he said no. Maybe they’re taking down notes to submit a report for Cornell’s database and such. I think they’re trying to test the waters of maybe making alumni interviews part of the admissions process but optional in the future(IE: Carnegie Mellon). </p>
<p>Conclusion: Stop worrying, and if you get an interview then great you get a free one on one Q&A. If not, then search the internet and/or email them for answers to your questions.</p>