<p>My son had an interview a couple days ago. He felt it went horribly. The interviewer is a grad alumnus who doesn't know anything about undergrad info. He said he finished his undergrad in another country and he didn't even know what AP classes were, and not even know what national honor society was. My son had to explain almost everything listing on his resume and felt very bad that he couldn't get any input from this interview. My son said the whole interview was just like filling out another app verbally. I feel very sorry for my son. I hope this interview thing won't have much bad impact on his app.</p>
<p>Interviews supposedly hold the least weight in the whole process, because of how inconsistent the interviews are. It also does not sound as if it went too badly for your son since the interviewer won’t have anything negative to say about your son.
Good luck to him!</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity OP, do you live in NJ? I had an interview last week and the interviewer you described sounds exactly like the one I had.</p>
<p>Interviews doesn’t matter a lot. They’re there so that adcom can get information about the student from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know the student but can give them inputs on how the student matches with the university. </p>
<p>If it helps comfort your son, GodisLove2016, my interview was similar to your son’s. I’m an international student and was interviewed by a an alum who didn’t attend Princeton undergrad. I had to explain most of my profile as if it’s a verbal resume. But it wasn’t a bad interview. And lastly, interviewers aren’t suppose to chance or give inputs. </p>
<p>Best of luck to your son :).</p>
<p>No, but we live in a nearby state. How was your interview?</p>
<p>My son said that the interviewer didn’t say anything negative, but that the conversation was more like him talking to a nosy parent. After hearing about his other friends who have had Princeton interviews, my son had expected the interview to concentrate on who he is outside of the application. But he felt that the interviewer was only taking notes on the activities he had listed in his resume and didn’t care for much else. Overall, he said that he tried to show his upbeat friendly side and he thinks that came across. The problem was that to him the interviewer kept asking so many questions about his resume that he felt that sometimes, his answer and his activities did not meet the interviewer’s expectations.
My son also sent his essay to the alum via email because he asked for it, but the interviewer didn’t even address it during the interview. He feels a little uncomfortable about sending his personal essay to him without the interviewer even commenting on the experience he wrote about.</p>
<p>I really don’t think the interviews are worth much. I know a bunch of people who have had weird interviews…my interviewer talked about the “good old days” when Princeton had more of a “country club feel” (aka all white, Christian males). Which was awkward as I fit none of those categories, but hey, I got in. Try not to sweat it!</p>
<p>My son said his Princeton interview was probably his worst one (she even said to him, “This interview can’t hurt you.” How’s that for encouraging? LOL) but he got admitted SCEA. He and I actually met his interviewer yesterday at a reception for alums and newly admitted students. I can see why it wouldn’t go well. She wasn’t the most, oh, personable person I’ve met. :-)</p>
<p>I don’t think interviews can’t hurt unless there’s some serious breech of conduct; your son will be just fine!</p>
<p>I have a question, though：are Princeton interviews random? Like they are completely determined by the availabilty of alumni in a certain area?</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing everyone. Congrats to tiger14 and sbjdorlo’s son. Let’s see how the decision comes out in April. Princeton is my son’s #1 choice, and hope that the Adcom won’t weight too much on those inconsistant / biased report. From what I read from CC, there seem a lot of interviews that were based on the interviwer’s personal expectation on the applicants and some of them were sterotypical too. Like the one my son had, I don’t think he was representing Princeton well because he did not know anything about undergrad. My son felt so disapprointed after the interview. The interviewer went to grad school in science at Princeton. He didn’t seem impressive about my son’s interest in politics.</p>
<p>I’m an alum interviewer from '09. Interviews at Princeton do not matter, I promise. Unless you flipped a table and said offensive things, it can’t hurt you.</p>
<p>Lots of schools offer limited interviews through Admissions Staff, or at least through trained volunteers. Princeton interviews are done by alumni volunteers with very little guidance. Afterward there’s an online site to answer and few questions and give your impression. But they are pretty random and admissions know that. The interviews are not meant to be a big deal.</p>
<p>Thanks ttbbitfotn!</p>
<p>My interview lasted fifteen minutes–far less than the amount of time it took me to pick out an outfit appropriate for the country club we were meeting in. My interviewer ran out of questions and refused to look at my r</p>
<p>I have an interview this weekend with an alumna volunteer. From this site I know that the interview cant hurt you but can it help? My SAT I scores are below average but I think I’m a strong applicant otherwise. If I have a really good interview, will that help me in the admissions process? In the e-mail the interviewer sent me, she kept mentioning that it was optional and unnecessary, as if she didn’t really want to interview me at all…Also, I obviously need to bring my resume. Should I bring other things, like my writing portfolio perhaps?</p>
<p>Hi NYCDreamer! Like the others have said, I really don’t think the interview makes that much of a difference. I always thought the interview was optional only on the colleges side, in that if an alum made the effort to contact you for an interview, you had better accept. However, if an interviewer is not available, it does not work against you. I could be wrong about that. But I still think an interview is your opportunity to shine and to show the interviewer why you fit Princeton. I would definitely bring a resume. I’m sorry, I can’t answer whether or not to bring a writing portfolio. My guess would be that the interviewer would not have the time to read through your work and so it wouldn’t benefit you to bring it. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Bring resume and writing portfolio just in case. Do the interview; it can’t hurt and may help. It shows that you’re really interested. </p>
<p>Is there a reason for your lower than average SAT? Do you have an interesting story? Are you a URM or athlete? Can you communicate your passions and strengths to the interviewer? Go, by all means!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. Basically, the reason for my SAT scores are bcuz of my reading and math. I’ve gotten all A’s in math because all I’ve had to do is plug in numbers to formulas in my classes. I’'m not good at actually applying that knowledge on the SAT. And for the reading, I have a terrible and very simple vocabulary so I skipped most of those questions. My writing score and SAT II’s, however, were pretty great. And I am a URM, which is my best hook. I’m only an athlete if you consider scholastic bowl to be a sport lol. Mainly, my writing portfolio consists of a few short stories but mainly the articles which I’ve written for my local newspaper. I’m definitely gonna go to the interview bcuz I think I can use all the help I can get to gain acceptance to Princeton. Thanks for the comments. :)</p>