<p>I find it interesting how much high school seniors put stock in the transformative power of interviews. This is what Princeton says about interviews:
"What role do alumni/ae interviewers and the interview itself play in the admission process?
We try to offer all applicants the opportunity to have a conversation with an alumnus or alumna as a way for them to learn more about the overall Princeton experience. Our interviewers, who are volunteer members of Princeton’s Alumni Schools Committees, will contact applicants and arrange a convenient time and place to meet in the student’s local area. Interviewers write down reflections about the conversations, which we then include among the various other components of the application. Interviews are not required as part of the admissions process, but we encourage candidates to accept the invitation. Applicants who live in parts of the United States or around the world where there are no available Alumni Schools Committee members should not be concerned if an interview is not possible. We can give an application full consideration without an interview having taken place." </p>
<p>Notice that they say from their perspective the primary purpose of the interview is to inform the student about Princeton. Princeton never says the interview is given significant weight in their decision making.</p>
<p>As for “training,” Princeton says “Princeton Schools Commitee (PSC) supports and assists alumni interviewers via Alumni Schools Committees (ASCs) throughout the world, helping to assure that they deliver a consistent level of high quality service to applicants and to Princeton. PSC works with the Admission Office to set standards, guidelines and policies for local ASC operations.”</p>
<p>The applicant interview is the most subjective part of the entire admission’s process. This level of “training” is not sufficient for an admission’s officer to have any degree of confidence in inferences to be drawn from what an interviewer reports. </p>
<p>An interview is like deciding a spot in the NFL playoffs through a coin toss. You have to get past a lot of other tie breakers before the coin toss is used.</p>
<p>In addition, I suspect that far more interviewers send in enthusiastic reports about the young people they meet than can be admitted to the school. </p>
<p>Many students have walked out of interviews thinking they have substantially boasted their chances because they hit it off so well with their interviewers, but the reality is that grades; coursework; SATs; teacher and guidance counselor recommendations; EC’s; essays; and preferences for athletes, legacies, and URMs will have already decided whether you get the thick or thin envelope long before how you did on an interview comes into play.</p>