<p>Hi! I applied to Duke on the 18th so that my application would be considered for the priority deadline because I would really like an interview. I am from LA so I am sure there are plenty alumni interviewers out here. However, I have not received any word about an interview. Does this mean I am not going to get one, or will the information regarding the interview come with more time? Let me know, thank you!</p>
<p>This question has been answered numerous times, this year and in past years. In the future, you might wish to use the search function, before you make an unnecessary inquiry. With this said, however, I’ve copied the following from an earlier, pertinent inquiry: Duke attempts to interview all ED and RD applicants, but the sheer volume is overwhelming in some geographic locations (especially for RD). Therefore, a 20 December “interview priority” deadline has been established, which increases the probability of an interview, but does not guarantee it. Many RD candidates who apply in the last ten days of December will, in fact, be offered an interview. With this said: (a) generally, the interview is of relatively minor acceptance importance and (b) if you are not contacted for an interview, you are permitted to provide an additional letter of recommendation.</p>
<p>I applied before the priority interview deadline as well. Many people may just be on holiday, so you may end up getting one, just be patient. :)</p>
<p>We interviewers have until mid/late-February to submit reports, and December is always a very hectic and family-oriented time. For example, I currently have an RD interview assigned, but I have no need – and no plans – to contact the applicant until mid-January. I understand that for many seniors, Duke’s interview is currently a most crucial matter; however, they need to consider this situation from the interviewers’ viewpoint. It’s the Holiday Season, families are reuniting from around nation and the world, the deadline is nearly two months in the future, and we are very busy with countless real world professional and personal matters. </p>
<p>@TopTier
I apologize for my redundancy. I had looked at recent posts and did not see the question, and googled it as well, but it must have been an oversight on my part. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question anyway. Additionally, I completely understand that interviews are not top priority for interviewers right now. I guess I was expecting some sort of automated e-mail, but now understand that the interviewer will contact me directly if I am fortunate enough to get one, and that may not be for some time. I wish you the happiest holidays with friends and family, and again, thank you for your help. As you stated, I am just a bit excited and hopeful. Happy New Year!</p>
@trose220: You are most welcome . . . and a Happy New Year to you and your family.
@TopTier Hi, just to check up on this… my friend who applied after me (and thus after the priority deadline) was contacted for an interview. We are in the same region and I applied about a week before. I have still heard nothing about an interview. Is there a reason for this/should I not expect one?
Thanks!
@trose220: Yes, simple potential reasons include the alum assigned to your friend’s interview currently has a less constrained schedule, or children who are not ill, or is not required to take an unanticipated overseas business trip, or hasn’t had his most pressing legal case suddenly blow up, or doesn’t have to complete a critical analysis for the boss by 1 February, and so on . . . whereas the your interviewer’s personal and/or professional life has become unexpectedly complicated (due to the hypothetical examples cited above . . . or countless others).
If you had used CC’s archives and read my many posts regarding the interview process, you’d understand that Duke Undergraduate Admissions/Alumni Affairs provides a Zip code delineated list of applicants to a regional coordinator, who further assigns specific candidates to individual alumni interviewers. These are volunteers and, like virtually all Duke alums, they are unusually accomplished and busy people. I fully understand this interview is CRUCIAL to you, but you may not entirely appreciate the FACT that many of our AAAC interviewers simply – and understandably – may currently have higher priorities. We wish that were never the case, but it is a fact of life.
You may very well still be contacted (for example, I scheduled my last interview on Monday night) and interviewed. However, if you are not contacted by 15 February, you may submit a second optional letter of recommendation, which is permitted precisely to ensure that applicants who are not offered an interview may have an “equivalent advocacy” document added to their file.
D had her interview today, said it went very well. She is putting a lot of stock in the way the interviewers act towards her. Several have been almost unfriendly, and in particular one of the ivies didn’t even allow time for her to ask any questions. Fortunately, her Duke interviewer was engaging, friendly and allowed for it to be a two way conversation. She has had five interviews so far, and she said her experience today was one of the top two.
By the way, she submitted her RD app on Nov. 30 and was contacted about two weeks ago to set this up.