Did this interview kill my chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I just had an alumni interview for Duke today. I was very nervous, and I just don't interview well. She seemed to be impressed by the content of my answers, but I realize that they were not worded very... smoothly? My hands were shaking, but I kept them under the table, and they were fine when shaking hands, putting on my coat while leaving, etc... I smiled and did remember to make eye contact for the most part, like I have been advised to, but it just felt awkward to me. I also tried to tell her as much I could, but about ten minutes in, it shifted so it was more of her trying to sell the school to me, instead of asking about me. I'm not sure what that means? I did ask a few questions, that I had prepared ahead of time, and a few more that naturally came up in the conversation. We apparently had a lot of things in common, and I felt that she was able to relate to me. And I did send a personalized follow up thank you note in an email a few hours later. It's just that I am not very good at really forming opinions about how well things like this have went, so what do you guys think? Was it really bad, and do you think it might have killed any chance I may have had?</p>

<p>I know that getting into Duke is a longshot anyways, even though I am well qualified, but do you think this had a major negative impact?</p>

2

<p>Oh, and it was only about 35 minutes. Is that a bad sign?</p>

<p>Sorry for all of the questions, but I have been driving myself crazy analyzing it again and again, and I just wanted some more opinions.</p>

3

<p>No, the interviews don’t make or break your chances at Duke. They don’t hold much weight at all.</p>

4

<p>Interviews are just a minor thing, they don’t have major impact period. You would have to do something really outrageous for it to ‘kill your chances’. It is really just as much a chance for you to find out about the interviewers take on the school and yes they are meant to be ambassadors of the school too. It is a way to confirm your interest and possibly leave a positive impression by bringing up an aspect of you that didn’t get into your application. It is too bad you were that nervous. But it sounds like it went fine. Turn your thoughts to something else. Maybe time to get a book about how to control your nerves or join toastmasters or something. It’s a good skill to have.</p>

5

<p>MIT: Best interview - Waitlisted
GTown: Worst interview - Accepted</p>

<p>Almost no impact.</p>

6

<p>Nope! Interviews don’t mean much.</p>

7

<p>I was told that a great interview can help, but a bad one won’t hurt…unless a monumental failure which isn’t the case with yours.</p>

8

<p>Unless you killed her or something, I don’t think it’s going to hurt you. Interviews are just for you to show interest in the school you’re applying to. They don’t really have weight towards the admissions process.</p>