I just got assigned a Dartmouth interview, and I was wondering if it is a random process or if everyone gets one?
Just curious.
Thanks!
It depends on the alumni in your area and times available. It’s not random but not everyone gets one. But those who aren’t able to interview due to lack of alumni/timeslots aren’t penalized for it.
Thank you so much for all of your helpful responses!!
No problem!
My son is still waiting to hear about an interview. Will they let them know if they are unable to assign him an interview? There is a high probability that he won’t get one due to where we live, but it would be nice to know for sure.
@coco3611 It differs by school. I’m not quite sure about Dartmouth, but there’s nothing to indicate that they will let you know if you don’t get one. Most schools don’t do that anyway. Don’t worry though, they make it very clear that they don’t hold it against the applicant.
https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/glossary-term/alumni-interview
3 people from my school have already been invited to and completed interviews. I am of similar academic background or better than these other applicants so I am confused as to why I have not been assigned one. My theory is that it is because I live an hour away from my high school. However, one of the girls from my school who got one lives 30 minutes away and had her interview in the town my high school is in. So my question is are assignment based on location of high school or residence?
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@clarinetguy my son has still not received a request for an interview. I’m assuming he will not at this point. Hard to figure out how they pick the people they do for interviews. I feel like his application was pretty strong and he did visit campus last spring during which he met with an engineering professor during the tour he attended, so I was thinking that could be the reason he hasn’t been offered one.
I have an upcoming interview with an alumnus. How important is the interview towards the admission decision?
BTW, how important is the peer recommendation? Also, is it better from a friend or from a sibling?
I had my Dartmouth interview last weekend. I was under the impression they’re not that important for Dartmouth, a kind of “if alumni are available” thing. However, my interviewer was going to prepare a report to send back to Dartmouth, so they must mean something.
In the section of Dartmouth’s Common Data Set document that states the importance of the various components of one’s application, academic rigor, GPA, test scores, recommendations and essays are all listed as being “very important,” and talent/ability is listed as “important.” Interviews are in the “considered” category, so for most students the interview is not going to be a major factor for whether they are admitted.
@TigerInWinter A problem with common data sets is that sometimes they are inaccurate. For instance, the Notre Dame CDS says interest is considered; the Notre Dame website says it definitely is not.
Yes, the occasional error pops up in CDS documents, but IIRC none of the other Ivies puts interviews in the “important” category, so I think it’s safe to assume that the same is true for Dartmouth.
Incidentally, don’t read too much into the phrase “prepare a report.” I do alumni interviews for one of Dartmouth’s peer schools, and the “report” is basically a large blank box in an online form where interviewers convey their impressions of the applicant; the form doesn’t ask whether the interviewer recommends that the applicant be admitted (or declined or deferred), and the instructions ask interviewers to think of their role as that of a reporter rather than a judge.
I have conducted Dartmouth candidate interviews for over twenty years. In my experience Dartmouth tries to conduct an interview with every candidate. Again only in my experience, the interviews are assigned to alumni volunteers, and the varied schedules of those interviewers can affect the scheduling of an interview. I have never heard of the granting or not granting of an interview to be in any way connected with the merit of an applicant. Caveat–I don’t speak for the College.
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