<p>Well there aren't many people applying to university X <em>I prefer to keep this secret</em> in my region so I'm confident that I will get an interview.</p>
<p>But the thing is that I am not on good terms with the interviewer in my region. I personally know her and she is very cranky, as far as I am concerned. She has her good points too though, although not many that I know of.</p>
<p>What I am trying to say is that she probably holds it against me for a disagreement we have. Will this hurt my chance? I mean, interviewers don't decide who get in the university right? And they are supposed to write a truthful interview report too, correct?</p>
<p>They’re /supposed/ to write a truthful interview report but she might have some kind of bias if the disagreement is /that/ bad. Interviewers are human too, but let’s hope that she’s professional about her job.</p>
<p>Is it possible for you to request another interviewer through your school? You can explain to them how you know this person and how you want someone with no bias at all to meet you?</p>
<p>At most schools, interviews don’t really count for that much. They rarely help much, although they could hurt if you come off as being arrogant or totally uninterested. However, smaller liberal arts schools might put more emphasis on the personal interview. It really depends which school you’re interviewing at as to how important interview actually is. Try to stay clear of any controversial topics if you think that is going to annoy your interviewer.</p>
<p>Is there any chance you could interview at the school itself on a visit, or with their representative at a college fair? My son emailed his regional representative at a
school he was greatly interested in a couple of weeks before a local college fair, and lined up an interview at the adcom’s hotel lobby when she was in town for a couple of days doing the college fair and visiting some local high schools.</p>
<p>@boysx3: I’m an international so that should be impossible.</p>
<p>@Psychodad10: University X says the interview is optional and it doesn’t hurt if I decline the interview. But of course, who would decline right? If the interview is optional then it shouldn’t matter that much, right? Btw university X is a national university,fyi =) What do you think?</p>
<p>@lullabies: does that work? Like writing to the university and ask for another interviewer? Can I explain to them that I know her personally and I want to rule out the possibility of a bias? Will the university write to her asking for confirmation? What if she denies knowing me? </p>
<p>All in all, can the interviewer do anything to hurt me with my application? Like writing to the school telling it not to accept me? I’m really scared that she will write a letter of some sorts to the university, making unsubstantiated claims against me. Although I know that it would be hard to do it because adcoms are not stupid enough to trust anything she says, I am still worried because she is the head interviewer in my region. <em>typical of a student in distress</em></p>
<p>Just remember that there are certain universities that aren’t able to interview every applicant due to the sheer number of applicants and available interviewers. Even the interviewers will tell you that what they write has little impact in what the admissions office thinks. I think you’re probably over analyzing this, unless your school is one where the interview carries a lot of importance.</p>
<p>I am an interviewer for a national university. Rules require us to NOT interview any student with which we already have a relationship. In fact, I am not allowed to interview at all this year because my S and S are seniors and are applying to colleges. All to dispel any whiff of impropriety or unfairness.
My suggestion is that you request an interview. If you are assigned the interviewer that you already know, you can contact the university and explain to them that you know this person and would prefer to not interview with them. At that point in time, they can either find another interviewer or waive the interview. My alma mater will note in the file that an interview was requested by applicant but one was not able to be completed through no fault of the applicant. I am guessing that this is fairly standart procedure.
Hope this helps - Velle</p>
<p>@txvelle: omg thank you so much for your information. The university doesn’t allow interview request. Alumni will reach out to the applicants themselves. So if she is the one who contacts me, I am allowed to write to the university, explaining that I know her right?</p>
<p>I think her brother is also one of the interviewers in my region. If her brother contacts me, am I allowed to change the interviewer?</p>
<p>@PsychoDad10: Thanks for your information. I do think that I am overanalyzing things. It’s just that she’s really scary and seems awfully rude at times. I’m just afraid that she will do something to hurt my application even to other universities as well.</p>
<p>If you can’t get the interviewer changed (I think that Txvelle’s answer is right on), then accept the challenge- at any rate, interviews don’t go on that long, and you will soon realize that not everyone you meet is going to be friendly or social. Face the challenge, and move on, I’m sure you’ll be fine.</p>