I’ll start: NY-had it last week. It went well
My son next week Massachusetts
The RD interview period is from January 11th to February 19th, in all interview available regions. However, interview timing is based on the schedules of alumni volunteers, so the timing of interview request emails may vary significantly. For example, my regional coordinator sent me my interview assignments on January 16th. I sent out half of my interview emails on January 17th. I plan to send the other half next week, staggering them out to avoid having a large number interviews within a short period.
@Data10, how many students do you interview? Any tips on what to expect during the interview?
Interviewers have the option to choose how many students they’d like to interview, up to a maximum of 15 for the current RD cycle. I’ve always received exactly the number of interviews I request.
The interview should take place in a public, neutral location, such as a library or coffee shop. Video interviews are also possible in some cases. There is no fixed format or required questions, so there will be a lot of variation between different interviews. Ideally the Stanford alumni interview is intended to be a of a back and forth informal conversation, where the interviewer learns about the student, and the student learns about Stanford. This ideal may or may not be met well. The interviewer will ask some questions to get the conversation started and/or learn about the student. It’s a good idea to think about some questions for the interviewer as well and/or things you’d like to talk about. It is expected to take ~45 minutes, but there will be a lot of variation in length.
Nothing yet for my S18 son in California.
Also nothing yet for my S18 in California
@data10, thanks for the info, though a little bit late. DS had his interview yesterday. It’s pretty much as you described. They met in a coffee shop. The interviewer was very nice and very informal. They talked about school and baseball and life for about an hour. When I came to pick up son, the interviewer was already in his car and almost left the parking lot, but turned around and came to me. He shook my hand and complimented my son. I know interview doesn’t count much for admission, but it mattered a lot for my son. The interviewer represented Stanford so well that son really really yearning to go to Stanford now. Of course I have to rein in his enthusiasm a little bit … the 5% admission rate is brutal.
I’m from Ohio, and I received an interview request a couple of days ago.