<p>so i got a call today from an alumnus that he wants to have an interview with me tomorrow.
he said he will talk about my background and myself in general.
does having an interview mean i have some chance at least?
also, he asked me at the end of the call why i want to go to lafayette.
im very nervous about it... how can i prepare for it well?
what kind of questions should i ask and how important is this interview?</p>
<p>Try the following two links for interview tips. AFAIK alumni interviews are a normal part of the admissions process in many colleges, particularly the more selective ones. I don’t think it is an indication of anything; it is probably routine. My S applied and just received acknowledgment that his app is complete. Maybe he will receive a call from a local alum too. Did you meet with a representative of Lafayette in person – on college campus, or at your high school, or when the rep visited your city? </p>
<p>[College</a> Interview Advice for Quiet Daughter - Ask The Dean](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/college-interview-advice-for-quiet-daughter.htm]College”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/college-interview-advice-for-quiet-daughter.htm)
[What</a> Questions Should I NOT Ask at a College Interview? - Ask The Dean](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/what-questions-should-i-not-ask-at-a-college-interview.htm]What”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/what-questions-should-i-not-ask-at-a-college-interview.htm)</p>
<p>I believe the poster “Lafalum84” used to do interviews for Lafayette. If you PM her, perhaps she can give you some additional insight into what will happen. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>@ jso1226
I am also an Alumni Admission Representative for Lafayette. They have a network of them across the country. I would say that these interviews are more informative (i.e. for the applicant) than evaluative (for the admissions office), compared to the ones with an admissions officer (either on- or off-campus). However, it is one way that you can show interest in attending the College. </p>
<p>Below are excerpts of a typical email I would send as an initial contact to the applicant.</p>
<p><<< My name is __<strong><em>. I graduated from Lafayette College in _</em></strong>. I am a volunteer Alumni Admissions Representative (AAR) for the college. The role of the college’s AARs is to provide a local personal contact for a prospective student who can facilitate the exchange of information between the college and the student. We act as a resource to provide you up to date information on what the college has to offer. The admission staff provided me your contact information for this purpose.</p>
<p>In order to initiate this process, I would like to arrange a personal meeting with you. This meeting is not a requirement of the admissions process, and if you have already had or scheduled a personal interview with a member of the Admissions Office staff, you may decide that this meeting is not necessary. Ideally, this meeting would help you to decide whether Lafayette College is the right higher education choice for you. >>></p>
<p>I used to be an AAR (Alumni Admissions Rep). From what LC82 says above, I’d say they’re still doing things pretty similarly. </p>
<p>One thing I would add, though - I received contact info for students who attended my assigned high schools who had applied to Laf. However, if a student was felt to have little or no chance of admission to the college after a first review of their application, I was told NOT to contact them. So the fact that an AAR contacted you for an interview is a good sign. It’s not a guarantee of admission, but it does mean that Admissions feels you are at least a reasonable candidate. :)</p>
<p>On the other hand, if someone reading thread this has applied to Laf and hasn’t been contacted for an interview, don’t panic. There just might not be an AAR assigned to your school. AAR is a volunteer job, so if there are not enough alumni/alumnae in your area who want to interview, you might not get contacted. Not having an interview in that case would NOT be considered a lack of interest in the college, the college knows if they gave your name to an AAR or not.</p>
<p>My student received the generic letter recommending that they schedule an appt with the admissions office at Lafayette, and that they may hear from an alum does that count?</p>
<p>If it says you “may” hear from an alum, I think it means just that. The admissions office doesn’t want to promise anything about Alumni Admissions Reps, because they are volunteers. I think it’s just a heads up so that if an AAR does call your student, they won’t be confused and wonder, “Who is this person? Are they legit?” </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>(If he/she does get a call, check out this thread for advice and what to expect from an alumni interview:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/lafayette-college/1075901-alumni-interview.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/lafayette-college/1075901-alumni-interview.html</a>)</p>
<p>NancyE, when did your student get that generic letter? I haven’t gotten any letter about an alumni interview and have not been contacted by any alumni.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about not having an interview. My son never had one and in fact didn’t even visit until after he was accepted (we live in California). But he is now very happily attending - although I’m not sure how well he’s handling the weather!</p>
<p>
Lafayette does not have Alumni Admissions Representatives (AARs) that cover high schools in all areas of the country. The closer you are to PA, the more likely there is to be an AAR in your area. If an alumni interview is not offered, it may mean that there is no AAR in that area, and it would not be a ‘negative’ with regard to admission. However, as Lafalum84 has pointed out in the other thread, “turning down an interview if an AAR contacts you may be construed as a disinterest in the college.” The Admissions Office has informed the AARs that the college is “now strongly encouraging admission interviews and thus relying more than ever on our AARs.”</p>
<p>I’m a parent of a junior that is extremely interested in Lafayette. We visited the campus during an Open House and she wants to make an appointment to go back in the Spring for an interview. Am I correct that this is not how it is (sorry, this is all new to us). We must wait to see if we get an interview after her SATs are sent? She took the SAT in January and will again in March (she wanted to concentrate on her essays and applications during the summer…after I heard that I thought she may have been switched at birth) and wanted to go back and speak to Admissions.</p>
<p>She has been set on her major since she was very young and I want to make sure I am doing all that I can do to set her in the right direction for her to make her decisions.</p>
<p>Thank you very much.</p>
<p>jstapleton, check the admissions page of Lafayette’s website, or call and ask the admissions office if they do on-campus interviews with admissions staff around the end of Junior year. I think they do, but I’m not positive. If they do, it will be up to your daughter to call and request an appointment for an interview. They won’t call you to schedule one just because they have received her SAT scores. Even once she has submitted her complete application I don’t believe they will call you to schedule an interview - your daughter would need to request one. (Interviews are recommended but not required at Lafayette).</p>
<p>An interview with an alum would be a separate thing, either in place of or in addition to an interview with an admissions staff member. An alumni interview would only occur after a student has submitted their application to Lafayette, while it is being processed (before a decision is reached). They don’t do alumni interviews before a student has actually applied, and I don’t think Lafayette begin accepting applications before September of senior year. </p>
<p>I hope this is helpful, and good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>Thank you Lafalum84 for the information.</p>
<p>May I ask you this:
Is the same interest shown from a perspective student if they interview with an alum or admissions office or is it “better” (sorry, really not the correct word) to interview with admissions. We are in driving distance (about 1.5 hours away) but interested in the answer.</p>
<p>My daughter’s (and my dh and my) plan was to do the following:
Let her take her SATs when she requested (January and March)
Once March scores are out, send her SATs to the colleges/universities
Once sent, my dd would request interviews (end of June/beginning of summer)</p>
<p>Would it be best to wait until she is ready to send her applications to then send her SAT scores? Would she be moving too fast if she did it the way she thought she could?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all your help. I greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>Your timeline sounds fine to me. You can send SAT scores as early as you want. If anything, it shows that she had an early and enduring interest in Lafayette.</p>
<p>The definite preference is for an on-campus interview with an admissions officer. An alumni interview would be nice if the college has a volunteer in your area to interview her. Again, that would only happen after she submitted her application (probably January - February-ish), and it would show the college that she is really interested. But the on campus interview is “better” (I’d say that’s the correct word). Alumni interviews are great for applicants who live far away and can’t travel to campus to interview, but since that’s not your daughter’s case, definitely try to schedule an on-campus interview, and if they do interviews in the late spring it would not be too early to do it.</p>
<p>Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Thank you VERY much Lafalum84. I greatly appreciate your informing me.
She will make the initial interview for late Spring/early summer after she sends in her SATs for either January or March (or a combination of both).
Next year, if we are contacted about another interview, off campus, she will certainly also do that too. Thank you again very much.</p>
<p>Sorry I missed your post earlier-the letter came with the usual welcome packet that arrives after the app has been received by the college. It arrived about the 3rd week in January. We called immediately and scheduled an appt with admissions, because there was a deadline of January 31. IT WAS AN EXTREMELY POSITIVE experience. My kid has some “holes” in the transcript, and the interview gave opportunity to explain “what’s up with that”. It is probably a little late for this round, but for future applicants, if you love this school, and are a little iffy on paper and have some “splainin” to do, schedule the interview. By the way, as a parent, I LOVED this school. There is a wonderful feeling of support exuded in the literature, on the website, and from the admissions counselor and students on the campus. I have to say that when it’s said that the students are evaluated holistically, in this case, I believe it. Hoping for an acceptance. Would not hesitate to send kid there at all!</p>