I know their website says the interviews are assigned randomly (but does that mean anything…) I live in a very metro area with many alums and some other kids from my school have been offered an interview while I haven’t… is this normal? Is there any chance I missed some kind of communication (I do frequently check my email)?
Checked spam folder and voice mail? Is your voice mail functioning? ETA: I don’t ask because I assume you’ve been contacted, but because I know that teens tend to assume that mail will arrive where they expect it, and teens also often don’t set up their voice mail because, …, well just because.
Fwiw, T26E4, a prolific poster, said
I am not an interviewer or alum, but I have seen nothing over the years that makes me doubt what Yale says about interviews being true.
I did interviews for the first time last year, and based on my small sampling of applicants, your qualifications have nothing to do with getting an interview. The ones I saw ranged from “amazing” to “amazed that you applied.”
In our community there are not enough alumni available for interviewing all the applicants so a few years ago the admission office decided to rate the applicants (either 1, 2 or 3). 1’s were all scheduled for interviews, 2’s were interviewed if there were spaces available and 3’s were not interviewed. In my community I have yet to meet a 3 who was accepted.
“3’s were not interviewed. In my community I have yet to meet a 3 who was accepted.”
@itsv so I should stop hoping? Or is this unique to your community … I’m slightly confused, as this is against anything I’ve heard about the interviews being random …
@itsv, that goes so contrary to everything I’ve read about the interview process and what information passes to the alumni that I’m inclined to doubt the veracity of what you’ve been told. @Mytosies, I would trust those who have previously responded about this.
I can confirm what @itsv says or a lighter version of it, can be true in some areas for the RD round as some ASC areas are that undermanned – . I highly doubt that this would occur in EA however as the timelines are so compressed.
@IxnayBob My source is someone who is an officer in our local Yale alumni club. I asked when a student of mine was not offered an interview when other local high school students were interviewed. Since my student was not offered admission or deferment, I assumed she was a “3”. It is well known that our local alumni club does not have enough members to interview all applicants which number over 400 in our region.
I know applying to college can be stressful and I hope for the OP’s sake that they are offered an interview.
Maybe it’s different for RD with the longer cycle time, but I just can’t see the placing into piles in time to affect interviews for SCEA. I can imagine AO saying that they really want an interview for certain candidates, by name, because there’s some kind of uncertainty.
I had always been told that ASC get name, address, contact info, etc., but nothing about their relative strength as candidates.
At this time last year, I was reading all these posts trying not to worry because my son didn’t get an interview. Everyone was reassuring, saying it was random. My son went to campus in October for an on campus interview with a student and I thought maybe that’s why he didn’t get an alumni interview. Then someone said their child had had both. He had interviews for every other top 10-20 school he applied to. I don’t know if other kids from his school were interviewed. Fast forward, he is a very happy Yale freshman. He was accepted in March after being deferred in December. So, this may not be totally comforting, but I can say that lack of an alumni interview doesn’t mean you won’t be accepted. Try not to worry! Once you submit, it’s really out of your hands.
@Musicmom2015 Last year and this year, with the adoption of the new assignment web portal, the only way a student could have both an on campus and an alumni interview is if the admissions office specifically directed the local group to conduct one – to get additional information. And this would have to be an extraordinary case.
Now, all students who interview on campus have their alumni interview assignment capacity disabled – thus preventing the local director from mistakenly assigning them a 2nd interview.
@T26E4 That’s really helpful! I was hoping that was the case, but was a worrying mom. So, not relevant to me, but do you think there is any advantage to an on-campus interview vs and alumni interview? Since it’s sort of one or the other, I wonder if it is worth going to campus if possible. Thanks.
I think a visit has many benefits. If one is travelling there and can schedule an interview, I’d say do so since one isn’t guaranteed one at home. But to travel there solely for an interview? No, not at all.