<p>I got a email from Columbia University for an interview, what does this mean? I am supposed to pick a date. What should I do ? Will I have a better chance at admissions if I do the interview?</p>
<p>It means nothing. Getting an interview doesn't mean that they "liked you." It just means there's enough alums in your area. Email/call them back. If you DON'T do the interview, you'll pretty much be rejected. It looks like you don't care about Columbia if you can't be bothered to interview.</p>
<p>k but what does the interviewer know about me ? what will he ask? how long will the interview last?</p>
<p>I'd say pick the best date for you and make sure to leave some time to prepare, at least for the basic questions that you know are going to be asked. I think Columbia2002 had an interview tips thread a while back that helped me with some of the basic stuff.</p>
<p>Once I got the email, I also did a little research on the background of my alum, found out what he did at Columbia, what he's doing now, that sort of thing, so I'd have more specific questions to ask that I knew he could answer. I really got a lot out of the interview because my alum was a bio major and eventually went into medicine and that's the path I'm looking at, so he could really answer a lot of my questions in detail.</p>
<p>The interviewer won't know much about you. He'll ask about your academics, your ECs, and your interest in Columbia. Time is probably 45 mins or so.</p>
<p>Soumanyon's suggestion is a bit dangerous. I would find it odd if it seemed like one of my interviewees had "stalked" me.</p>
<p>my interviewer had seen my application last year, or at least parts of it</p>
<p>make sure you know what the core curriculum is and what the reading materials are in Lit Hum</p>
<p>Your interviewer DOES NOT see your application.</p>
<p>I agree that you should know about the core, but you should know about it in a general sense. Get the big picture and why it is important to Columbia. Don't worry about memorizing hte reading list.</p>
<p>are there still people who have yet to be contacted for an interview?</p>
<p>My interviewer saw Part I of my application, cause he knew about some of the activities that I was involved with.</p>
<p>they do get a copy of your part I, an interviewer I met during a presentation told me that. but they dont get your transcript or anything else.</p>
<p>We don't get a "copy" of Part I. We get most of the data from Part I in our database.</p>
<p>Samtrob--You could get contacted in a couple weeks.</p>
<p>lol, "stalking" sounds a little extreme, I just googled his name. Didn't end up finding much anyway, but I didn't want to ask really detailed questions about say my intended major if I knew he did something completely different.</p>
<p>thanks columbia 2002...i am a little worried...maybe there are lots of applicants or few interviewers in my area (New England)</p>
<p>Soumanyon(and others who google their interviewers)--I wouldn't make such assumptions. People do all sorts of things that have nothing to do with their majors. Doctors major in english, lawyers major in physics, etc.</p>
<p>Samtrob--Are you in the Mass area? If so, there are WAY more applicants than interviewers. There are many interviewers, but there are just so many great schools in Mass that have lots of kids applying to Ivies.</p>
<p>yes i am...eastern mass, which undoubtedly has a ton of applicants. Do they give Early Decision applicants the earlier interviews?</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I don't understand your comment that the interview means nothing. With so many people applying, I would think that it would at least mean your stats make the cut. Even though they have enough alumni in your area, would they waste their time with people that didn't meet some standards.
Mbe</p>
<p>mbe, no
this has been rehashed over and over. once and for all, you get an interview based on when you send your part I and the number of alumni interviewers in your area. Ask people who do the interviews, who often have to interview people with stats so low that there is no chance they would get in. Ask the many people who got an interview BEFORE sending in their part II. It's a fact.</p>
<p>I got an interview scheduled after sending part I, WAY before sending in part II. I'm pretty sure being scheduled for an interview is more about how early you submitted part I rather than your stats, especially since your stats are sent in with part II. My interviewer didn't know much about me (or if she did, she pretended not to) and we talked about Columbia and the experience. Be sure to dress nicely and ask for a business card afterwards so you can send your interviewer a thank-you card.</p>
<p>mbe, you're simply incorrect. With so many people applying, there simply isn't time to make any "cut." The adcoms can't really go through 18,000 applications TWICE -- once to determine who gets an interview and again to make the decisions. It is frustrating to interview kids with triple-digit SATs and I often ask myself why I'm wasting my time.</p>