<p>I've heard that interviews don't really matter that much in the admissions process. They are more of a formality. Does anyone know if this is true?</p>
<p>consider this.</p>
<p>for many of the ivy leagues last year, only around half of the applicants were contacted for interviews.</p>
<p>however, among the students accepted, over 98% of them had interviews.</p>
<p>you do the math.</p>
<p>Wow that is really interesting. Where did you find those statistics?</p>
<p>Probably out of his ass. Empirical evidence has shown that the Ivy Leagues make an effort to interview every one of its applicants, if there are alumni interviewers in the area. The "98%" is also undoubtedly made up, but if it's anywhere near true, it's because they interview so many people. You could probably also say that "98%" of everyone who got rejected got an interview. Your stats or situation aren't evaluated when you're chosen for an interview. I have a friend with terrible stats who's already been interviewed by Yale and Cornell. It means nothing.</p>
<p>As for how much the interviews themselves matter; that's dependent on the college and the impression you make. The general consensus is that if it goes swimmingly, then it can be another "plus." If it goes terribly, it might be another "minus." Everything in between matters little.</p>
<p>Well an interview does matter if that certain college doesn't require an interview, but an interview is a way for admission officers to see if you fit in at their college but what would really boost your chances of an interview is if you send them a THANK-YOU LETTER this letter shows you actually care and it makes you stand out because not that many people send thank you letters afterwards think about this. Try this experiment ask a certain amount of people this "Did you send your interviewer a thank- you letter after the interview?" <----- most likely they'll say no because it's not really common but also this month or in Feb. send them an updated resume. This shows that you're interested and makes you stand out from the crowd!! And on more thing the point of an interview is when you they're trying to decided whether they should pick you or not the interviewer will defend you and talk about how they met you!! If you need more tips on an interview ask me well bye</p>
<p>efg88 see what their website says</p>
<p>Some are informative and some evaluative
and I agree with syn, those stats look bogus</p>
<p>I would say interviews matter more for Ivy League schools, but if they're not required they won't hurt you if you don't do one. I think interviews can only help, unless they go really badly.</p>
<p>interviews can go either way
U confident, take one
else skip it</p>
<p>either way, its not a very inp. part of the app</p>
<p>This is what my Yale interviewer told me about interviews.
Beginning of conversation: "I don't have any connections or power with Yale, so this will just be a laid back interview for me to get to know you and for you to get to know me."</p>
<p>End (after a great 2 hours and lots of mutual interest): "Now I'll write the letter for you that I'll give to Mr. Starks (the regional alumni director) and Yale. My letter probably won't matter much, but when Yale comes to Mr. Starks and asks him who he thinks they should have, he gets to say 4 or 5 names, that's where my letter might have weight."</p>
<p>You decide whether an interview is worth it. I bet every regional director makes a suggestion to the admissions communittee, and i would say that they have some say.</p>
<p>my princeton interviewer told me that the last 12 people he interviewed all got rejected. i think that's sorta sad/funny but i wouldn't make any conclusions off of that.</p>
<p>If you admit to some serious felonies or come across as a raving lunatic, thats bad. And you'd be amazed how many students say their reason for applying is because their parents told them to! But real interviewing skills take time to acquire and standardize so that everyone asks the same sorts of information and assesses it the same way. If you interview on-campus, you likely get one of these. But the adcoms know that some alums see themselves as cheerleaders for their college (especially if its not a well-known college) and push to get students in, some see themselves as gatekeepers who want to keep out any that don't meet their high standards, and that many are simply inexperienced in assessing HS students. Truth is adcoms don't weigh alum interviews too highly at most schools. With an alum, by and large its a sales job!</p>
<p>Its a sales job for 2 reasons. Although the competition to get into the "top" 50-100 colleges is keen, there are 3000 or so colleges and most of them few people are aware of. So having an alum in the area contact HS's for info sessions and interviews gets the college name out among students who may never have considered it. Second, most colleges outside of those 100 admit most of their applicants. Reed, to take a respected school for example, admits nearly 50% of those who apply; and of those accepted only about 30% choose to enroll. If you are a competitive applicant at Reed you have dozens of other LACs to choose from who are also likely to accept you. In some sense Reed needs you more than you need them. Outside of the top 50, if the interviewer realizes that you are a competitive applicant be prepared for a pitch explaining why the school is right for you. Of course the situation is quite different if Reed is a reach for you.</p>
<p>I've always heard that a good interview might help, while a bad interview will have no effect. I don't really know for sure. I can think of some ways you could torpedo your chances at a school, but I don't know that anyone would be that stupid. Unless, of course, they aren't interested in the school and only applied due to parental pressure or something ... 'fessing up you really don't want to go to the school could take care of that problem right quick.</p>
<p>But realize that interviews are another way of getting to know about a school. So I think it would be useful even if it doesn't help your chances.</p>
<p>I do wonder about who they choose to interview, however. Last year, my daughter applied to three Ivies and several other very selective schools. Only two of the Ivies contacted her for an interview. The Ivy that didn't was even the place that she applied to ED. We live in the DC area so it isn't as if there aren't alumni around. Even after deferral, no interview was made available (and my daughter did ask).</p>
<p>How about an retired admission officer???</p>