<p>I just got an email about doing an alumni interview next week. I'm just wondering what this means ( did they like my app/ does it help with admissions)? I'm also worried because I read that they ask about world news and your opinions on them(and sadly, I'm a fail, and I don't read the news as often as I should due to sports, etc.). For anyone who has done it how is it? Also what news do you think I should read up on and what questions are they likely to ask?</p>
<p>Bump 10char</p>
<p>I applied Early Action for Princeton, and so I had an interview with a Princeton alumna. It means that the college just wants to get a feel for how someone attended the school thinks you would fit in. Getting one doesn’t really help (as if there is a dartmouth alumnus in your area, you will receive an interview), but doing well in the sense that the person could see you fitting into the whole vibe/atmosphere of the school could potentially help. I could say that my interviewer didn’t talk about world news (I don’t know where you heard that from); questions that she asked me were extremely open ended and broad: what drives your passion for learning? what do you like to do outside of school? are your friends similar to you/dissimilar to you? just be yourself- don’t look up things (that’s just weird) and just go in there open minded (cracking a couple jokes to cut the tension helped me). if the interviewer ends the interview with a smile, it’s probably a good sign…that’s about all the advice I have loll have only been on one so far…have ~10 to go…</p>
<p>I did one last month and it was fairly low-key - both interviewers were really nice and asked me about my interested, how they liked the school, what they did, etc. We didn’t talk much about news and such (though I was worried they would); we talked more about my interests and their experiences, like ZaZa94 said.</p>
<p>Hopelessstandford- Good luck with your interview! Just be yourself and I’m sure you will do fine. Your interviewer shouldn’t be looking for you to recite obscure facts, just to have an educated opinion.</p>
<p>For everyone who did interviews - did you have to contact anyone or did they just contact you? Also, when did you submit your app and when did you interview?</p>
<p>They contact you for an interview. A lot depends on if there are enough alumni interviewers where you live and their availability.</p>
<p>Interviews matter very little to the overall process. Don’t worry about it at all.</p>
<p>I am an alumni interviewer for Dartmouth. I can tell you the interview doesn’t impact your applications significantly. It’s more about gathering a little more information for you file, but also allowing you, the applicant to ask questions about Dartmouth to a former student. </p>
<p>Granted how formal the interview is depends on who your interviewer is, but don’t stress out about it. All you need to be able to do is talk about yourself, what you have accomplished both in and out of school, and show interest in actually going to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Hello, I hope this helps for people who will interview in the future.</p>
<p>I don’t know if your experiences will be similar to mine but I will try to give an honest account of my interview. Part of the reason why I am posting this is to soothe your nerves (interviewees) and also show gratitude to the tons to people at CC who have helped me in this journey of applications.</p>
<p>Anyway, I had my Dartmouth interview today. It was my first college interview ever and honestly, was very intimidated about it. But the interviewer made it feel so comfortable. I have a good relationship with the interviewer. He used to teach at our school and we share a passion for history. So in that sense, I was extremely luck that I knew him. Not only that but as an international student, I think the odds that an alumni interviewer is in your region is less that one at the states. I live in Bolivia and I was lucky to be a few minutes away from my interviewer.</p>
<p>So we arranged a “date” at 10:00 AM and I arrived like two minutes early. Just in time. My attire: Light green polo and khaki pants (hope he noticed the subtle, may not that subtle detail in color choice hehe). He did not make it seem like an interview. It was more of like a conversation. He started off asking me questions like “what do you think are the pros and cons of your school?” and I gave him my honest answer. No one likes to condemn his/her own school but I just told him some of the aspects that I obviously appreciated but also ones I thought were lacking. I’ve read elsewhere that you should never criticize your institution because the interviewers might see happen to their alma maters but I being honest, in my opinion, is what matters.</p>
<p>We kept talking and talking ranging from topics like favorite recent book to most involved e.c. activity. As I have mentioned, he knew me pretty well, but I think it was part of the process. He would often glance at a sheet of paper which I assume is provided by Dartmouth or made by himself. </p>
<p>Then, something I didn’t expect to happen at an interview occured! The interviewer’s wife just arrived from doing groceries and she needed to put away the good. Unfortunately, I parked my car in the garage of the back door and she could not go that way. I felt very bad and while the interviewer suggested that he would pick up the groceries after the interview, I offered help because my car was on the way. Haha just wanted to share this account with you guys to show how casual and fun the interview was.</p>
<p>Some thing I kind of regret is that I only asked two questions. I still had some more questions on my mind but I think he thought it was enough and “gave me the sign” that the interview was over.</p>
<p>So I hope your Dartmouth interviews are as pleasant as mine was. Don’t be intimidated, just prepare. There are tons of information on the web. As an international student, I’ve never been to Dartmouth, but with the help of fellow CC’ers and the collection of information on the web, I am confident that you can have a great interview. Of course, people say that interviews do not count as much as other things do in the decision. Even myself, I don’t think that I’ll get accepted. My credentials are reasonable and scores are low but nowadays, getting into Dartmouth is very hard.</p>
<p>I hope that your interviewers is as humble as mine was. That is pretty much why I applied to Dartmouth. and Jim Yong Kim. and Outing Club. and D- Plan. Although my view is blatantly biased because he is the only Dartmouth alumni I know in person, I have a feeling that Dartmouth alumni are very very humble and nice. He even won an award most people don’t (Pulitzer). Yeah, I think I applied because I thought that someday, I would like to become like him. While successful, be very down to earth and help others achieve success.</p>
<p>This is it guys. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate.</p>
<p>@hopelessstanford Hi I’m really sorry to be bothering in the middle of another thread, but I recently saw your posts about your success to UC Berkeley and i was wondering if i could get some advice for writing my appeal. I was rejected yesterday and really think that i should be a competitive applicant (and i have some pertinent new info). Is there any way that I can see a copy or or get some advice? Any help would be absolutely fantastic.Thank you so much for your time!</p>