Is it normal to get questions like “SAT score?” and “GPA” during the interview? It feels a tiny bit impersonal.
You already sent it in your application. Why would they ask again?
It is normal, though, to get questions on course content or what you stated as your interests in your essay.
So… if you did cell organella in bio class, they will brainstorm with you or quarrel with you… about organella.
Some ask; some don’t. AFAIK, Harvard, unlike some colleges, does not explicitly tell interviewers not to ask.
Interviewers don’t have a copy of your application. Some may ask for a CV in advance or at the interview; others don’t. I certainly would not read anything into the question (or lack thereof). It’s not secret info that has never been revealed, so as the interviewee, I would not try to hide anything.
My interviewer did ask me. It didn’t feel impersonal to me, just like she was curious and wanted to see how strong my application was in the academic/test score area after hearing about the more personal side of my life.
My interviewer did ask as well. She said there was a section on the interview form that required her to evaluate the academic strength of the candidate, so she asked my GPA, ACT, rank & AP scores.
Some don’t ask. Apparently some do.
I see where you all are coming from. I don’t want to hide anything (I promise I didn’t), but I guess I am a little averse to those questions. @RebeccaJay @skieurope @nerdbelle @writergirl0316 @compmom Thank you all for the info!
If these questions are asked, they will not be an an important part of the interview. Admissions has that info already and the point of an interview is to find out more about the applicant than paper stats can convey.
@compmom Got it!
It’s normal. I was asked about my SAT scores, GPA & current courses. As someone else stated above, the interviewer is required to fill out a form in relation to an applicant’s academic strength.
I was told by my interviewer that they don’t ask those questions. He specifically said that if my stats are good then he thought I would be a great fit. Definitely didn’t have any knowledge nor did he want it.
Sorry to add onto this thread, but is it normal to have a 26 minute interview exactly? Ik my interviewer said it would be short, but could this impact my app negatively? I’m in freak out mode since decisions are 25 days away.
An interview of approx 30 minutes is the norm, and 26 minutes (who times it that closely, LOL) is basically a half hour. However, read nothing into a longer or shorter interview.
@skieurope What about people getting 2 interviews? I heard someone was able to snag two.
It’s certainly not a bad sign. Generally they want another opinion. Whether it translates to something positive is a big unknown.
That said, one should not be concerned if one does not get asked for a 2nd interview.
Alrighty, Thank you so much for the info, @skieurope !
Btw my interviewer wrote down everything I said and it felt kinda creepy almost…he asked me my SAT/ACT/subject scores and all my grades to date and wrote them down. Even asked (and wrote down) what was my percentile on the standardized tests lol.
Some alumni interviewers are bad, indifferent or simply incompetent. Worse, some are motivated by a power trip.
while what you say could be true, consider the following:
Until last year, interview evaluation form had grids for SAT I, II scores, AP tests, class rank etc. Filling out the grids were optional, however.
Interviewers are asked to evaluate academic potential on a scale of 1-5. For example, 1 would be equivalent to summa potential or potential to be Harvard professor in the future. It is a daunting task to give a summary academic number without asking student for their test scores.
@bigwhopper That makes sense. I guess in the end it didn’t matter. I was rejected 