@mavian
I’m not sure exactly what you mean, but I’ll try to answer. I most familiar with the domestic interview process. The international process works differently because there are few alumni interviewers in most countries outside the U.S.
Chairs only get an applicant’s name, high school, email, phone number(s), and early action vs. regular action status. Home addresses are no longer provided, presumably to safeguard students. Students are assigned to interview (“schools and scholarships”) committees based on the high school. The names come in quickly, usually one or two days after the application is submitted, although some are delayed for a variety of factors. For example, there might be delays for home schooled students, those who have graduated but are no longer in the same community as their high school, and students who are studying abroad for the semester or year.
AOs can choose to provide interview profile (IVP) ratings, which typically are available about two to three weeks after the regular action application deadline (or one to two weeks after the early action deadline). Most interview committee chairs try to assign interviews within a few days of receiving names, so they can’t wait for the IVPs. Some chairs, usually those who don’t have enough interviewers for all of their applicants, wait for the IVPs so they can choose which students will receive an interview. But this applies primarily to smaller places with few interviewers. Most chairs don’t prioritize interviews based on IVP ratings: They have enough alumni to interview all applicants. But think about this: A chair might need to assign several hundred students and make sure that all of the students are interviewed and that all of the reports are submitted within a few weeks. If a chair waits two weeks for the IVPs, it can be nearly impossible to get everything done in time for the admissions committee deliberations.
The process is more streamlined than before because everything is online. In the not-too-distant past (about 5 years ago, believe it or not) everything was printed out in the admissions office and had to be filed in physical folders. About 15 years ago, interview assignments were sent by snail mail to chairs, who would contact alumni by email, and before that, by snail mail. I can’t imagine how many things got lost or misfiled. Even though it’s more streamlined, the process is dependent on humans, and it’s decentralized. Some chairs take longer than others to make assignments in the portal, which sends automated emails. Some automated emails go into spam folders. Some interviewers don’t check email frequently or they forget about assignments and have to be reminded. Some interviewers are relatively passive about contacting students and following up with those who don’t respond. (After all, it is possible that an email can go into an applicant’s spam folder.)
When I read CC posts stating that someone got an interview invitation a couple of days after applying and someone else has been waiting for weeks, I’m not surprised, but many people on CC wonder what’s going on and assume that Harvard has a perfect fool-proof centralized system managed precisely by the admissions office. (No college has that.) You have to remember that the admissions office doesn’t control the process. It’s decentralized and farmed out to alumni volunteers, most of whom are dedicated, sincere, and hard working (but, unfortunately, some are not).
Some interview committees hold ranking meetings after all interviews reports are done, but these are less common, and the admissions office looks less favorably on them than in the past. Previously, interviewers were encouraged to ask about grades/class rank and scores, then it became optional, and now it’s discouraged. Ranking meetings might have had some value when academic criteria could be taken into account. Now, such meetings add little to the admissions committee’s deliberations.
Harvard is one of the few schools that puts significant weight on the interview, and Harvard puts more weight on it than just about any other school, but the process, just like the admissions process, is not perfect (though it’s good).
