<p>I just got a message from the Admissions Office saying that they "feel that it would be helpful for you to have an interview with one of our alumni" in my metropolitan area in Europe. The thing is, they enclosed three alumni names and emails - and told me to contact one and make arrangements with him/her. From what I have read, this does not appear to be the common arrangement. Then again, I am from "an area where we have a limited number of interviewers compared to the number of requests/applications we receive" (source:">http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/international/interviews.html)):</a> it could be that all invitations to candidates in this category are somewhat non-traditional.</p>
<p>Has anyone received a mail with similar wording? Does that mean anything about my application? And has anyone been given the choice of alumnus/alumna to be interviewed by?</p>
<p>(And if I accidentally slip and reveal that I am an SCEA admit to Yale, will that count against me?)</p>
<p>Mostly likely because there are limited number of alumni in your area, they don’t have an organized alumni interview system (what usually happens is that Harvard hand out list of names to local alumni organization, and they assign students to different interviewers).</p>
<p>Since there’s no such system, they probably just handed you couple names and let you choose yourself. </p>
<p>No, it won’t count against you. If anything, they’ll work harder to try to win you over :)</p>
<p>91shippy, My daughter and son in past years both were given a list of interviewers and told to contact them for interviews. They both researched the people and decided upon the interviewer they felt they had the most in common or geographically closest to. We live in a metropolitan European area and I think this is a very common way to organize them overseas. They contacted the interviewers and set up interviews directly with them. Good luck!</p>
<p>Luceverita, Yes they did, They are a year apart. I have a child who is a senior now in High School who got into Yale SCEA and had her Harvard interview this weekend. She debated on what to tell the interviewer about Yale SCEA but the interviewer never asked. She would have told them if they had asked. Actually this year the Harvard interviewer contacted her directly (via e-mail) which we were surprised about considering in past years they were able to choose, maybe the interviewers in the area were more organized this year?</p>
<p>EAO1227, thank you very much - your experience was really helpful! I’m holding my fingers crossed for your daughter (I have to chuckle, though, at the thought of how heated your family dinners may turn out if she should choose Yale in the end! That seems to be the issue for quite a few SCEA admits who I have been lucky enough to converse with…)</p>
<p>In the end, I googled my interviewers too - and chose the one who I have so much in common with that it strike me as slightly creepy. It’s this weekend; I hope it’ll go well :)</p>
<p>91shippy, It has already started. Son came home with a t-shirt that said FALE (that looked like the YALE shirt) They have lots of t-shirts like that, would love to see Yale’s versions of the same!<br>
It does seem kind of stalkerish to google interviewers but I think it can help to familiarize yourself with the person. I guess just don’t start quoting their life history to them!!! :)) Good luck with your interview, best advice just relax, be conversational and be yourself, my kids have found all their interviews to be quite casual and the interviewers very nice.</p>
(I have to chuckle, though, at the thought of how heated your family dinners may turn out if she should choose Yale in the end! That seems to be the issue for quite a few SCEA admits who I have been lucky enough to converse with…)</p>