I got contacted last Sunday (Dec 3) for an interview but I was unavailable all last week .We were finally able to schedule the interview for Tuesday (Dec 12), but then the guy emailed me saying he forgot he had a commitment that day and we’ll have to do the interview on Wednesday now. But SCEA decisions are released on Thursday, so does this mean I’m getting deferred or something? And are they going to think I’m not serious about this since I wasn’t available to do the interview last week? (Normally I would’ve completely dropped any previous commitments in order to do this interview, but I was out of state for a science competition so it just wasn’t happening)
I don’t think they will consider your interview…since they should be finalizing their decisions on that day…
But they mentioned on the website:
“Interviews are not required for our Admissions Committee to evaluate your application, and we do not disadvantage students who are not able to have an interview.”
In your situation, this may not be your fault so that they will focus on the other parts of your application.
It doesn’t mean you are getting deferred although that is the most likely outcome of the SCEA/REA round for all HYPS schools besides S. Obviously the interview will not be used for the SCEA round but could be helpful if you are deferred. So long as you made a reasonable effort to be interviewed should you be asked, Yale will not hold a lack of interview against you. Having you interviewer reschedule you would not count against you.
Someone else said that the interviews are a recruiting tool - they make you feel more connected to the school and make you more likely to hang on through the deferral process and/or say yes the minute they send their acceptance. So it’s a good sign, I think.
^^^It is not a “sign” of anything. Yale is very clear that they try to offer interviews to everyone, but interviews depend on the availability of alumni volunteers to do them. Unless you are a complete boor to your interviewer, or there is not enough information from other parts of your application (e.g. in rare cases the recommendations may not be informative), the interview does not change admissions decisions. Its purpose is mainly PR for applicants and a way to make alums feel more cnnected to the school.
Was your interviewer an alum or a current senior who works at the admissions office? Does it make a difference? I had a last minute interview with a current senior.
Keep us posted on your results. This is quite an unusual situation.
@go_packers26913 he was an alum. Not sure if it makes a difference. He told me he got contacted to conduct the interview super late. I read some things where people were saying that they get backed up with the interviews, so maybe you interviewed with a current senior because there was just too much for the alumni?
@sbjdorlo quite unusual indeed! My results: I got accepted! The interview most definitely did not get considered but I still wanted to do it so it’d be in my file in case I got deferred. I will say that I’m surprised I got accepted because I was so sure that the fact I had my interview this late meant something.
It’s possible that this is the result of one hypothesis: that they tried to get you an interview in an effort to sort of recruit you/ make you more interested in going to Yale? I had an interview just a few days before as well, and also got in. Congrats!!! Hope to see you soon!