<p>I am a current junior, may repeat 11th grade or be a senior at Exeter if accepted. I had my interview this week, and it went great. At the end of the conversation, my interviewer said that I would be a good fit for Exeter. What are the implications of this? Do I have a good chance of being accepted?</p>
<p>Read nothing into this.</p>
<p>Sorry, dasdui, this is just an admissions officer doing his/her job. It is in a school’s best interest to receive as many completed applications as they can get: more applications = more opportunity to find and offer admission to the absolutely “best kids” (and what that means definitely varies from school to school!).</p>
<p>I would be more hopeful…at least the interviewer did not tell you that you would be a “bad fit”. It sounds like the interview went very well, congratulations!</p>
<p>That is a very positive comment. In fact, other than stating “You’re in!”, I cannot think of a more positive remark at the end of an interview. Nevertheless, you need to be prepared for any outcome.</p>
<p>P.S. Consider writing a brief thank you note to the interviewer stating your enthusiasm for Exeter.</p>
<p>I’m with SevenDad. Don’t read anything into it. </p>
<p>And DEFINITELY write a thank-you note.</p>
<p>I’m with SevenDad. Don’t read anything into it. </p>
<p>And DEFINITELY write a thank-you note.</p>
<p>Here’s why I am heaping rain on this particular parade, and I’ll name names: </p>
<p>At our interview at Choate, where my daughter had sat in on a practice with the archery team (having had previous training at a local club), the AO said “I could see her not just joining the archery team here, but being the captain.”</p>
<p>Guess where she was REJECTED? The end.</p>
<p>We’ve all seen this before, too. The job of the AO is not just to admit the selected few, but to cajole applications from as many as possible. Now if a student is clearly an awful fit, I’ve heard stories of AOs gently suggesting some other schools that might be worth looking at as well, but in such cases the parents were horrified to think that little DC was not X School material, and they certainly would <em>not</em> be considering Y School, as the AO had suggested.</p>
<p>Words are cheap.</p>
<p>All too true. Keep calm and carry on, as much as a 13-14 year old can in these situations.</p>
<p>So – are we to suspect ALL admissions people of faking their enthusiasm? What if you feel a real connection with one – with no promises… Can you believe it? I am not naive… Just curious. Seems hard for kids to understand the sales process… Just feeling a bit sad that it is that harsh. Oh dear - I am a sap today! LOL</p>
<p>Well, I think in the case of the schools to which our daughter was admitted (and maybe even at Choate), the enthusiasm and connection with the AOs was genuine. </p>
<p>My point in recounting our specific experience is just to show that what an AO says in October may not be reflected in your admissions decision in March.</p>
<p>I hate that they did that to your daughter – well to any kid. Surely they could be enthusiastic ( and get their applicant numbers) without resorting to lying… </p>
<p>But I am glad to hear that you had genuine experiences as well… One of our meetings was terrific and we really felt connected to the AO. I am going to hope it was genuine! :-)</p>
<p>We see our SAS AO all the time when we’re down for Parents Weekends and such, and always give her a huge hug. She was a great front line for the school and projected the warmth we were looking for in an AO. Whenever we chat with her, she still seems to be up on whatever our daughter is doing at the time, academically, socially, or athletically…a nice benefit of the smaller schools.</p>
<p>That said, I am a superfan of our SPS AO, who is also the Director of FA. A down to earth guy and another great representative of his school. </p>
<p>BTW, non sequitur, but the photo of Sheldon across the pond in the rotating banner on the SPS site is AMAZING.</p>
<p>I don’t even want to read the SPS web site in case I get starry eyed. LOL We are aiming a little lower. Don’ t really feel my child is best suited to a pressure cooker/super high achieving school… Even though I wish I were 13 again so I could go! She is more of an all-rounder type of kid. That is her real strength, so we are trying to find a school based on “fit”…</p>
<p>@SevenDad, we had a similar experience with Choate. And dd received personal holiday cards from almost every school she interviewed at, including one where we’d made it clear she would not be applying. This is all part of the marketing machine… we did know enough, from friends’ experiences, not to read too much into it.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that there is a committee that “reads” applications and makes decisions based on EVERYTHING not just the interview.</p>
<p>I believe everybody is right (except the people who think the AO is lying). The AO can be genuinely enthusiastic bit it’s not just their decsion.</p>
<p>Yes, alooknac, I agree… I don’t think the AOs are lying. They just want to keep as much interest as possible, for as long as possible. And as you say, individual AO’s can certainly be enthusiastic.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. What do you think I should do now? I have already emailed thank you notes to both my interviewer and Exeter AO.</p>
<p>@alooknac: To clarify, the AO does not make the decision solely on his/her own. I’m sure most AOs are on the “app reading” teams and can add color to the discussion if they like a particular candidate.</p>
<p>@dasdui: Nothing but work on making your essays the best they can be, get your apps in on time, and keep your fingers crossed. If you do have any developments (winning of large academic prize or setting some major athletic record), feel free to forward that sort of info to your AO.</p>