<p>My D has applied to Cornell and U Penn, and has not yet been contacted for an alumni interview, although I've seen many others on this forum who have been interviewed by alums of these schools recently and she has a friend who has a who heard from a Princeton alum. interviewer. This does not bode well for her chances, does it? Statistic wise, it seems like she has an outside chance at these schools but now, I don't know...</p>
<p>She has been accepted at lower-level schools, with merit $$$, and deferred Early Action from one safety school! I just wish she'd get some good news from her match schools and maybe even a reach or two. Valedictorian of suburban public high school, 2120 SATs, varied EC, works part-time, and a sweet kid. She's worked so hard. Hoping for good news for her.</p>
<p>MomSix, it may just be that their are no alums available in your area or that the alums that are available only have time for some of the interviews but not all. Or, maybe they are just slow about contacting your d. I wouldn’t stress about it, most schools say the interviews are for informational purposes only.</p>
<p>Cornell only interviews for certain programs. See admissions site excerpt below. I have no idea re: Penn, but you should check their site.</p>
<p>Cornell. "A formal interview is required for those applying to the School of Hotel Administration and the architecture program in Architecture, Art, and Planning. Submit an online request to the School of Hotel Administration to schedule a required interview. Students applying to the architecture program are required to participate in an interview as part of the admission process and applicants to the Department of Art are encouraged, although not required, to have an interview. Beginning in August, students may visit aap.cornell.edu/admissions/interview.cfm or call 607.255.4376 to schedule an interview. For all other applicants, there is no interview process and we will not offer interviews for those who request them."</p>
<p>My D did have an alumni interview this year with Cornell, but the interviewer straight out told her that it would have absolutely no effect on her admissions and it was solely to answer any questions my D had about the school. The interviewer lives in our city. I don’t think I would read anything into it at all.</p>
<p>My recollection is that for their non early applications interviews went on into February. They rarely make a big difference so I wouldn’t worry about it.</p>
<p>Different Ivy schools, but - I had an interview for Princeton, but no interview for Columbia. I ended up waitlisted at both. And I am from San Francisco, so there were certainly plenty of alumni around! Others from my school did have Columbia interviews, but were rejected. So, ultimately, I don’t think you can read all that much into it. I have no idea why it worked out like that - the schools try their best, but can’t get to everyone.</p>
<p>Cornell has a system in which as many applicants as possible are offered a one-on-one chance to meet with an alumnus, but the word “interview” is avoided in this context, and if such a meeting cannot be arranged, it does not count against the applicant. The only true interviews are those for the architecture and hotel schools, as described in an earlier post.</p>
<p>My son had an interview with Harvard. It lasted more than three hours – the interviewer met him for dinner. He got waitlisted. She was more annoyed with admissions, I believe, than he was. The two really connected. He also got waitlisted at Cornell, and without an interview. So it matters little when it comes to admission.</p>
<p>DS’s interviewer told him that not getting an interview means nothing because there are so many reasons that it could happened. But he said getting an interview is at least good news because it means that they haven’t already rejected you after their first view of your application. It doesn’t mean you are getting in but it does mean you haven’t already been rejected.</p>
<p>My S’s Cornell interview was just an opportunity for him to ask questions. His Harvard interview was “less than stellar” according to his admissions rep; he was deferred but ultimately accepted.</p>
<p>After the deferral his GC got in touch with the rep to see if there was anything thing he might submit to round out his application or if the rep had any other suggestions.</p>