So I realize these interviews are “optional,” but are they truly “optional” if you want to get in? I got an offer from a Yale alumni to do an interview with her, and she said that it will not be a strike against my app if I don’t do one, but is this really true? I did a Stanford interview a while back, and it did not really go well. I feel like I’m not a very valiant speaker/interviewee, so I feel like an interview would hurt my chances anyway. But what percentage of accepted applicants to places like UPenn, Cornell, Yale, Harvey Mudd, Princeton, Rice, and University of Chicago had alumni interviews? Will these colleges know that I had the opportunity to do an interview, but I refused? Or will they just be under the impression that their regional alumni can only accept so many interviews at one time, and the interview is pretty much a supplemental part of your app?
I can’t answer to those schools specifically, but at Brown for example, yes, they would. We have to check off whether we did an interview or not and if not, we have to choose from several options, one of which is that the applicant refused the interview.
The interviews at those schools probably don’t count for that much. Interviewing is an important skill that you will need. Might as well get better at it now.
I agree. My daughter is shy and was a nervous wreck before she did her first interview. She was dreading it. But every time, it has become easier. She has now done 7. Quite frankly, if they offer them AND they are considered, (you can find out from their common data set), it seems like you might shoot yourself in the foot. And you will have to do interviews in your adult life. Do some prep, practice with an adult, not a parent though, and you will be glad you did all you could to be considered.
I briefly considered not applying to MIT (very briefly, lol) because I was so terrified of the interview. However, when I did do the interview, and it was incredible!
The interviews tend to be more relaxed, and they can’t reeeeaaally hurt your chances unless you say something offensive. Colleges know that not every interviewer is the same/someone might have an off day, so results don’t mean all that much. They’re just trying to see what you’re like outside of an application, not interrogate you.
Honestly, I think what helped me most was knowing what I wanted to talk about for the obvious questions (why blank school, why blank major) and after that answering questions became like talking to a friend at Starbucks (even when questioned on middle eastern politics!).
If you decided not to do the interview, it’s not technically counted against you but you’re putting yourself behind all the people that do do it. Also, those who interview have disproportionately higher admit rates at most schools.
I interview for Yale. In our write ups, we’re asked to rate the student from “unremarkable” to “absolutely superior” There’s one other category: unable to interview. If this is checked, we’re asked the following:
I think you should meet with the Yale alumna.
I also interview for my undergrad school. But it is the student who asks for an alum interview, not the other way around, for my school. If an alum contacted an applicant and the applicant declined, well, it is what it is.
@T26E4 , do you care to share what other qualifiers are on the rating, apart from unremarkable and absolutely superior? If a kid is in the middle but has a great personality, would the great personality make you rate them a notch higher, even if they didn’t seem intellectually above average?
@lindagaf: off the top of my head the titles are: unremarkable, average, strong, outstanding, absolutely superior
We’re asked to narrate our interviews then give a rating at the end – hopefully our narratives support that finding. We’re asked to rate the student in the context of the extremely excellent applicant pool. I’d say the vast vast majority of my ratings fall under “avg” and “strong”.
However, please understand that is the smallest evaluative factor for any given student. 45 minutes impressing me won’t help an otherwise average candidate. It’s definitely an “impression” – an art, not a science. And the colleges know that.
@T26E4 , interesting, thanks. Do your “average” rated kids get in? I would think maybe more “strong” ones do, but as the odds are so low anyway, maybe it’s those few kids who are rated “outstanding” and above who get in? I know the interview is only a small factor, but if it’s considered, it’s still important given such low odds. Do you find out later, and have you had surprises?
Would it be correct that, for a super selective school, a poor interview performance would be a harmful defect, a top-end interview performance might help a bit if one is on the borderline, and all other ratings have very little or no effect? And that not going to an interview would be harmful at a school that looks at “level of applicant’s interest”?
When we visited Brown the admissions officer said ‘not everyone is offered an interview and it does not reflect on your application if you aren’t. But if you are offered an interview you should definitely take it.’ The implication being that they would see declining an interview as a lack of interest.
It’s hard to standardize interviews so that a candidate gets the same rating no matter who they talk to. Consequently alum interviews tend to be a small factor, if they count at all (some schools consider them to be informational for the applicant rather than evaluative). What I think colleges want out of them is to identify outliers, both good and bad. You’d be surprised how many kids will tell an interviewer they’re just applying to see if they could get in or because their parents made them. There have been posts here from alumni who interview a kid who claims involvement in a group the alum happens to belong to and knows they are lying. Turning down an interview creates a suspicion the kid did so for a reason.
Penn will ask the alumni interviewer to note if the applicant refused an interview.
The last two interviews I did were stellar. If you “aren’t good at interviewing,” what is the chance you’ll be good in a fast-paced, communication-intensive environment like an Ivy League university?
^ ??? Those are completely different skills.
If you’re worried about how you’ll do in the interview, just be prepared to ask the interviewer about his or her own college experience. That will substantially reduce the time you have to talk.
bodangles, are you saying that being able to talk to someone you don’t know, and have a conversation is completely different than getting along in a fast-paced, communication-intensive environment?
Then you know better than alumni interviewers and Ivy League schools.
What the heck is the purpose of an Ivy League alumni interview if not to find out something about how the applicant deals with people they don’t know? Or how the applicant shows interest and talks intelligibly about themselves and the college?
I am not saying that not nailing the interview means certain rejection, but I am saying that if someone “can’t interview” they have a problem. We are not talking about a job interview, we are talking about TALKING about something that the applicant should want to talk about - themselves and the college they are interviewing for.
Please correct me if I’m wrong.
@rhandco I would consider these interviews closer to grad school/job interviews than classroom discussion.
I don’t really see how so many applying to colleges with fierce admissions competition can be blithe about an interview. Just as you prep your academics and activities for this leap, you prepare for an interaction with this rep of the college. The interview may not be the most critical element in your review, but the report is read.
An interviewer can’t get you in, if the rest isn’t there. But the report can comment on small but positive details that can’t come through on an app/supp. The guideline I’m familiar with (others might comment) is to try to be positive. So go and try to be your better self.
Blase about this opportunity can come off as blase about the college.
My kids both practiced for their interviews. We asked them all the questions we thought they might be asked. Even my anti-social kid did all right. I’d suggest if the thought of interviews makes you really nervous to try to schedule them for safety schools first.
I’m saying excelling in school isn’t the same thing as excelling in an interview, and it’s silly to disparage anyone’s academic aptitude by saying they’ll do horribly in college because they’re nervous about an interview.