I have my Penn interview a few days ago, and I felt it went alright, but I did not feel it was as strong as my interviews for other schools. Part of me was a little nervous and I felt I talked a little bit too fast, as he reminded me to talk a little slower at some parts. When he mentioned football, I accidently said the Pittsburgh Steelers in lieu of the Philadelphia Eagles as activities to do outside of Penn. However when I talked about why I wanted to go to Penn, he was definitely impressed and said my vision was very similar to Penn. Also, when I talked about my research and my publication he seemed very interested and told me he would look it up after. Thus, I don’t think I made a major flaw in my interview? All in all, how much would an interview matter for Penn as he seemed to make it seem like it mattered a whole lot?
Interviews can hurt but very rarely help you. As long as you do not seriously mess it up, it will not make a definitive difference on your final admission decision in most cases.
Don’t worry about it. The questions the interviewer will need to answer have nothing to do with how fast you were talking or any nervousness you might’ve felt. A really damning one might hurt you, but the a typical interview won’t have that big of an effect.
interviews don’t mean anything
Most interviews will not have impact on the decision. Very bad one (interviewer discovered major flaws), or extremely good one ( major virtues were discovered) can sway admission decisions.