Dartmouth 2023 Applicants Discussion

S19’s interview story is a weird one. He didn’t initially get one (we are in the Chicago area so lots of kids get them) but he emailed the local interview coordinator in Feb and was contacted the next day for an interview. His interviewer told him that all reports were due back the day after she was meeting with him. He only knew the name of the coordinator because he had been invited to an Alumni Holiday lunch back in Dec and the person who sent that invite is the same one who coordinates the interviews. So I have no idea what any of that means. Didn’t get one. Asked her for one. Got one. I’m leaning towards thinking it doesn’t mean anything. lol.

@Acortez122 People must have, but they keep on coming by as mails as late as a week before Dec. Day.

Again, most recipients are recruited athletes, and they constitute of a very very small part of the app pool. The non-athletes are waaaayyy lesser.

Most students get to know the usual way (admits ofc). Not getting one doesnt mean anything, nor should one expect an LL poppin’ by the address.

@homerdog

As long as you get an interview, it doesnt matter (if the adcom/intercom ‘lies’ about the interview policy/logistics/role in the admissions process)

If the adcom/intercom is true to their word, then it doesnt mean anything either.

I think in the worst case, getting one matters.

@homerdog

I mean they complied right? So at the best, they are really interested in the app, and just want to do whats wished for. Sometimes there is some error in contact transfer. Sometimes the adcom deems that no interview is needed to make a decision (this happens for the academically non qualified or red flaggish apps, and for the overly brilliant must have ones).

Of course this is regarding most of the app pool, which is US Citz./US Perm. Res.

I think some of this applies to intl’s, but maybe not the offering of interviews part.

Hope this helps?

Just stay confident, dont think of it too much, and in 2-3 more days all you can do is hope. (I mean 2-3 days to tell the adcom of any updates that are noteworthy that arent too late to report and consider; most apps dont have any, which is totally fine)

All the best!

Does anyone know what percentage of apps go to committee?

So does getting an interview actually mean something? @TheGuy1

@dkahfdfhk If you are in US, an interview does not mean much. If you are international and come from those competitive countries, I would say that your chances are not great if you were not contacted for an interview. But again, getting an interview does not guarantee anything

Oh. I’m not getting in anyway lol. Ivies are a long shot

@dkahfdfhk At best, it does mean you’re being taken in/being considered heavily with all the additional info they need
and at worst, its just a coincidence that an Alum’s in your area, and your info was passed down to the appropriate people about now.

This is regardless of the adcom/intercom’s “lies”

I have a weird question but it’s been bugging me for a little bit.
Is there anyway that I just do not look at my admissions decision and wait for some sort of email or mail that signifies acceptance? Or am I required to view the status update?
College admissions is one of the few things that gets me anxious and I don’t like the idea of having anxiety and then getting rejected.

This is for all schools btw, not just Dartmouth.

@dkahfdfhk

I think for most schools you have to open the portal and view the status update.

Some schools send an email saying the status update’s been done.

VEry few schools like Rice, send an email which signifies the status in itself. Idk if any other schools do that, but some more should be ig.

So, for most schools, you’ll have to do what you’re anxious about the most.

@dkahfdfhk I have PM’ed you something, since it contains some article URL’s that apparently arent allowed on the forum chat (my comment got taken down due to that)

Dartmouth and Brown interviewers have both ranted on reddit as to how their interviews don’t mean anything, so I wouldn’t take it too hard @ whoever didn’t receive an interview. (The former of the two specifically stated how the one kid that was admitted out of the bunch he was assigned was the one who refused the interview)

@CoyMint I agree on what you say. Cant stress about that enough.

While interviews for schools like Harvard matter a decent bit for an app, interviews for Dartmouth/Brown are stressed upon as ‘optional’ and ‘stay calm, have fun’; ‘chill’ types.

They matter very slightly, only to augment the portrayed personality, unlike the heavily analyze ones at harvard.

I’d recommend doing the interview regardless. Thats safer.

Just avoid being rude/using profanity/shaming schools and stuff.

Who on Earth would use profanity or shame a school during an interview? I hope the AOs can find the kids who are the real deal (good person as well as strong candidate) and don’t take kids who would be dumb enough to do that.

@homerdog I agree with everything.

But, I’ve had friends who’ve used swear words in nervousness in a way not making sense, or not having a decent argument as to why they used it.

Maybe if the interviewer’s cool enough (or otherwise), an occasional ‘crap’ might be fine, (i think thats fine anyways given the context, since an interviewers job is to portray the app in the best light possible, so that the adcom member(s) gets to do the same in front of the full committee).

But, there are a rare few who’s parents force them to apply, which shows in attitude. Also, very rude attitudes just tend to be this way sometimes.

I said “hell” in my interview, I wouldn’t consider it a curse word, I was using it to describe something that led me to discover Dartmouth

@dkahfdfhk exactly. Its not a curse word, and context matters. As long as its justifiable (within reason, no nonsense excuses), its alright.

But obviously, dropping an F bomb there or something is very very hard to explain.

So I submitted the idoc a couple days ago and on the Dartmouth portal it says received, but on my other portals that require IDOC, it says awaiting with an X. Any idea what’s going on?