<p>Okay....so I opened Part I of my app on October 17th...and I still haven't gotten notified for an interview, has anyone else waited that long? How do they notify you about the interview? phone, email? I am thinking I missed their notification somehow...</p>
<p>I received an email from an ARC member. </p>
<p>Don't worry though, not everyone gets an interview, and it won't jeopardize your chances if you don't get one. It depends on the number of Columbia alums in your area, and how free they are. </p>
<p>Did you apply ED? If you don't get notified soon, chances are you won't get one, because I think the deadline is fast approaching. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you though.</p>
<p>Yeah the deadline interviewers have to submit their evaluations is Nov 26, if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>^ how do you know? i'm too waiting for an interview... but if the dateline is Nov 26, there is no much hope anymore!</p>
<p>I too am waiting for an interview....if they don't offer me one, does that mean it's not looking good? The Columbia coach for my sport said the admissions office looked at my data a couple months ago and said I had a really good chance...</p>
<p>my interviewer told me himself.</p>
<p>It doesn't mean anything if you don't get one. Lots of people don't get interviews and still get accepted.</p>
<p>kelsey29, wat sport are u looking at doing for columbia? i've been trying to get a hold of my coach for the looongest? howd u go about doing that if u dont mind me asking</p>
<p>I submitted my part two of my application in September and still haven't had an interview. I live in the middle of nowhere though, so I guess it really depends if any alumni live near you.</p>
<p>I submitted my Part 1 2 months before you submitted yours, and was only contacted for an interview a week or so ago.</p>
<p>ah well...my boarding school is in the middle of nowhere, but lol i have two Columbia alums working at my school....one is a teacher who is also the advisor for a club I started, the other is his intern....LOL oh if they could interview me</p>
<p>I heard interviews can definitely be the thing that pushes u in though</p>
<p>I really dont think the interview has a great deal of weight. It is not required because many are unable to have one. Sometimes there are not enough interviewers. Columbia therefore says on their website it is not required. I do not think an interview can help an applicant. It can only hurt them. What I mean is most interviewers do not have clout in the admissions process. They are just ordinary people who graduated from Columbia and say they are happy to do interviews. They are not admission personnel. Some are good interviewers, some not that great. Some are good at writing up the interview, some not that articulate in their writing. If someone has a great interview and the interviewer said they were great, I really do not believe that pushes that person through. What an alumni says about a candidate and whether they will thrive there does not carry that much weight. They are not looking at the application or the academic record. Columbia is just trying to make the admission process more personal, and the interview helps to do that. Where an interview can hurt however, is where the applicant shows up and clearly has very little knowledge of Columbia, or does not take the interview seriously, or hardly speaks, or seems very sloppy, that could really have a negative affect</p>
<p>hmm...still have not been contacted for an interview but someone from my school got one tho....<em>rolls eyes and shrugs shoulders</em></p>
<p>"I do not think an interview can help an applicant. It can only hurt them."</p>
<p>I interview applicants, and it can go both ways.</p>
<p>But don't worry if you haven't been contacted--it only means that alumni are busy or there aren't any/enough in your area. It's not like the adcom sends out applicant names to alumni in the area to have them interviewed. Applicant names are in a database sorted by area/region of the world and alumni who are part of the ARC can choose to interview them. </p>
<p>So it's not you, it's us :)</p>
<p>Sometime it is even the interviewers fault that someone does not get an interview.
An interviewer is given the name or names of some who are supposed to receive interviews and sometimes the interviewers have to go out of town for business ect, and dont get a chance to arrange it.
The other thing that many dont realize is that the way it works is that there is usually an alumni in each area who is the head of organizing the interviews for that area. That person then has a list of alumni the school gives him who do interviews. The person who organizes the interviews has to divide them up. The person who arranges the interview has no idea who on the list has high SAT scores, who has low ones, who is an extraordinary candidate, who is ordinary. He or she just takes the list and divides it out. If you have four local alumni doing interviews and 20 applicants to interview with each interviewing five years, it may be that the interviewers never got to call some on their list. There just is not enough time, especially with early decision, and for regular decision there are too many applicants.
It is no reflection on the applicant that they dont get an interview. It does not mean that Columbia does not think that the person is worthy of an interview. It means nothing.
Columbia knows that there will be applicants who never get contacted for an interview. Either because there are not enough interviewers or the interviewer never contacts them.
Therefore has no impact on admissions.
Sometimes the interviewer even knows of the person they are interviewing. I have heard this in cities where there is an alumni club and the head of the alumni club is friends with administrators at certain schools, especially private, and many of the kids are interviewed by someone who is known by the school, or even the families. Colleges know that this happens sometimes, and they know that sometimes the interviews can be influenced by a relationship. This is another reason why the interview does not hold much weight.
I think that many people assume the interviewer is someone with a lot of importance in the admissions office. They have nothing to do with admissions. They are regular people who have regular jobs and live in your town or the surrounding towns and either are sent questions in the mail or attend some type of short training on what to ask and they are given an evaluation form to write up the interview. They have no way to know if the perso they are interviewed or not is qualified. They could be interviewing someone who does not have grades that are competitive or test scores, and they may have an amazing interview with that person. It does not mean anything. Years ago colleges had a small number of students applying and one could get an interview with the Dean of Admissions. There are too many applying today and that does not happen. Usually applicants who ask for an on campus interview at schools that grant then, even the ivy league, are given a student interviewer. Because interviews are not given anymore, colleges like Columbia want to make the experience more personal. They dont want the applicant to feel like just a number, so they offer interviews when possible and they say they dont count.
I know of a man who has been interviewing for 15 years in another state, and in all the years he has interviewed, none of those he interviewed have ever been accepted. It means nothing.
It can hurt you though if you dont take it seriously, dont talk or act uninterested in the school.</p>
<p>This collegebound5 poster posts the most detailed posts of anyone who really knows nothing about Columbia. It's quite dangerous.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Columbia knows that there will be applicants who never get contacted for an interview. Either because there are not enough interviewers or the interviewer never contacts them.
Therefore has no impact on admissions.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Talk about a non sequitor. What you say is true regarding why some people do and don't get interviews. But you've made a 99 foot leap from that to saying the interview "has no impact on admissions." And that simply isn't true. The interview counts (albeit in a minor way) IF YOU GET AN INTERVIEW.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sometimes the interviewer even knows of the person they are interviewing. I have heard this in cities where there is an alumni club and the head of the alumni club is friends with administrators at certain schools, especially private, and many of the kids are interviewed by someone who is known by the school, or even the families. Colleges know that this happens sometimes, and they know that sometimes the interviews can be influenced by a relationship. This is another reason why the interview does not hold much weight.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Um, if there's any real conflict of interest, a Columbia alum is likely duty-bound to disclose it (or recuse himself if the conflict is serious enough). This is not close to the real reason why interviews don't carry that much weight.</p>
<p>
[quote]
They have no way to know if the perso they are interviewed or not is qualified. They could be interviewing someone who does not have grades that are competitive or test scores, and they may have an amazing interview with that person. It does not mean anything.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Columbia purposely doesn't give interviewers the applicants stats BECAUSE THEY WANT THE INTERVIEWER TO OBJECTIVELY JUDGE WHAT TYPE OF PERSON YOU ARE. If you have an amazing interview, it may mean that you're really articulate and have strong passions for your ECs and are truly serious about attending Columbia. The adcoms can judge whether you have the paper qualifications, and they don't need interviewers to make those decisions. Moreover, they want interviewers to judge a person's interview without being influenced by his SAT scores and grades.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Years ago colleges had a small number of students applying and one could get an interview with the Dean of Admissions. There are too many applying today and that does not happen.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Um, when was it ever the case that the Ivies had "a small number of students applying" or that the Dean can interview you? I applied in, what, 1998 and I'm sure that 10,000+ applied to CU.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Because interviews are not given anymore, colleges like Columbia want to make the experience more personal. They dont want the applicant to feel like just a number, so they offer interviews when possible and they say they dont count.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Completely wrong. Columbia doesn't need to make "the experience more personal." They don't care; you'll apply anyway.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I know of a man who has been interviewing for 15 years in another state, and in all the years he has interviewed, none of those he interviewed have ever been accepted. It means nothing.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>No, it probably means he's in a state that's not so competitive and/or doesn't interview that many kids. I have a buddy who interviews in a state where probably only a handful of kids are accepted each year; his results are similar to what your guy experiences.</p>
<p>Columbia 2002 - I will defer to you since you seem to know a lot about interviews</p>
<p>But this is a consistent pattern. You post long diatribes about Columbia that have enough correct-sounding info to give them credibility but are filled with errors.</p>
<p>Sorry you feel that way. I did not think they were filled with errors. I have helped applicants across the country get into the ivy league and other top tier schools and am very knowledgeable about the admission process. I have also mentored disadvantaged low income students. I do not charge for my help irregardless of income bracket. It is just something that I enjoy. The only thing you can criticize me for are my posts about the interview. Obviously you are an interviewer and you think differently. I have been an interviewer in the past but not for Columbia. I have shared what I have been told about the importance of the interview. I did not want applicants to feel that not having an interview would affect their chances of admission.
You obviously feel this is your topic/ You dont have to have any concerns. I will refrain from posting on the Columbia forum.</p>
<p>got my interview email yesterday!</p>