<p>Hi sorry if these questions have been asked before but I really wanted to know:
How bad would it look if I opted not to request an alumni interview? I live in a place where there's not likely to be avaliable interviewers, but I'm terrified of phone interviews! </p>
<p>Also, how distant a relative would still be considered an alumni relation? My uncle graduated from Tufts but on the supplement it doesn't seem as if that counts.</p>
<p>it wont look terrible if you opt not to request an interview.</p>
<p>i know a couple of people who did not respond to interviews and got into their schools (cornell, upenn, and washu)</p>
<p>they are optional after all and they usually don’t mean anything. it’s just a chance for you to get to know more about Tufts.</p>
<p>having said all that, it does show that you are interested if you request an interview. no matter how badly you do anyway, unless you say something extremely stupid, the interviewer most likely will not say anything bad about you but will rather highlight your good points.</p>
<p>Interviews really are optional. They rarely have any impact on whether or not an applicant is admitted, and even when they do, the impact is probably de minimis. So if you think your application, including in particular your essays and recs, does a good job of conveying who you are and why you want to go to Tufts, there is no need to do an interview.
As for your other question, the only “alumni relation” that might matter at all is if you are a “legacy,” which means your sibling or parents are Jumbos. Having an uncle who went there is irrelevant in that context.</p>
<p>Optional, optional, optional, optional.</p>
<p>We are given specific instructions by the dean not to penalize applicants for waiving their OPTIONAL interview. Though, you can always request one, and if you get offered a phone interview, you can just say - honestly - that you’re uncomfortable doing one over the phone and decline then. This will not hurt your application.</p>