Interview worry

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>to collegeperson, mine was complete conversation after the first five minutes.</p>

<p>"And, yes, IMO, a college interview for a highly competitive college, is very similar to a job interview. There are many more applicants than there are spaces so one has to be very assertive about making one's case for why one should be accepted."</p>

<p>NSM, it's very interesting how your most recent post implies that interviews are not important at all when the entire premise of this thread has been your opinion that someone who doesn't talk about politics to their interviewer doesn't deserve to go to harvard, followed by your long-winded posts about how to impress an interviewer. i'm sure you will find some way to reconcile that contradiction like you always do so i won't bother dwelling.</p>

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<p>"NSM, it's very interesting how your most recent post implies that interviews are not important at al"</p>

<p>That's not what I said. I have repeatedly said that while the inteviewers are not the major factor influencing admissions, interviews can be tip factors. Excellent inteviews or horrible interviews can tip a candidate in our out. I also think that interviews are very important in cases that are borderline. I know that adcoms do read interview reports because I have gotten follow-up questions on mine. I also know that sometimes admissions will have a second alumnus interview a candidate. Adcoms wouldn't bother with this if interviews were not used for admissions.</p>

<p>My post before this one was saying that a candidate can not tell how good their interviews are by whether they had a good conversation and whether the interviewer seemed welcoming.</p>

<p>It is rare for any Harvard applicant to have an absolutely horrible interview. The interviews aren't supposed to be "swim with the sharks" situations. Harvard wants the interview to be reasonably pleasant for the applicants because that's the only face to face contact that many applicants get with Harvard, and because most of the applicants aren't going to be accepted anyway. They might as well leave the interview feeling they had a pleasant experience.</p>

<p>Thus, having an interviewer who is pleasant and even gives the applicant some compliments does not indicate that the applicant has had an extraordinarily good interview or is guaranteed to get into Harvard. </p>

<p>Here on CC, I rather bluntly give my opinion. In an interview situation, when I hear a candidate saying something that I think is the kiss of death for admission, I will draw them out and take notes without commenting negatively on what they are saying. I do the same thing if they are saying something that I think would boost their admission chances. With both types of applicants, I try to close the interview on some kind of positive note that does not at all guarantee admission, but does recognize the applicant for their achievements.</p>

<p>Both types of applicants would probably experience me as being interested in what they said and as viewing them in a positive manner. Their feeling they had a good inteview, however, would not mean that my interview report gave them a good rating.</p>

<p>"when the entire premise of this thread has been your opinion that someone who doesn't talk about politics to their interviewer doesn't deserve to go to harvard"</p>

<p>Not at all what I said. I think that someone who doesn't follow politics at all does not sound like a good candidate for Harvard. Someone who makes that kind of statement in their interview is not likely to impress their interviewer. Politics, however, may or may not come up in the interview. If it does not come up in the interview, that would not count against the candidate. There are many interesting possible topics of discussion for the interview.</p>

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<p>hmm im curious then. if i thought it went very well because we shared many stories and laughs, the whole thing was fluid and i talked in-depth about a number of topics, and toward the end i casually ask if harvard's a better match as opposed to yale or stanford, and he says harvard's a great match and tells me four reasons from what he learned about me for why he thinks so and then says he really enjoyed talking to me, he could still be fibbing and just being nice the whole time? cuz the same thing definitely didn't happen at the yale interview. am i to think that harvard interviewers don't act like other interviewers?</p>

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<p>"r stanford, and he says harvard's a great match and tells me four reasons from what he learned about me for why he thinks so and then says he really enjoyed talking to me, he could still be fibbing and just being nice the whole time"</p>

<p>About 85% of students who apply to Havard are well qualified for admission. Thus, most interviewers could honestly tell applicants that they are good matches for Harvard. It would be very rare not to be able to think of several reasons why a candidate would fit Harvard. The university and its surroundings have lots to offer, no matter what a person's interests are.</p>

<p>"and toward the end i casually ask if harvard's a better match as opposed to yale or stanford"</p>

<p>I doubt that any alumni interviewer is going to push another university on a student who has applied to Harvard. Even if the alumni interviewer thinks the student would be happier at another college, if Harvard ends up admitting the student, the alumni interviewer wouldn't want to have steered the student away from Harvard. An alumni interviewer is not a GC. An alumni interviewer's purpose is to serve the university's interests. A GC's job is to serve the student's interests.</p>

<p>I would have answered the question you asked by saying something like, "Harvard is known for X, Yale is known for X, Stanford is known for X. I like Harvard best for me because of X. I am very happy that I made the decision to go there. You know what's best for you."</p>

<p>I have enjoyed talking with almost all students whom I have interviewed for Harvard. This includes students whom I didn't see as being the type of students who should get admitted. An interviewer's enjoyment doesn't necessarily mean that the interviewer thought a student was suitable for a particular college. </p>

<p>I don't know how Yale interviewers act nor do I know how much weight their interviews hold. I do know, however, that no matter what the university is, each interviewer has their own personal style. Interviewers can accomplish a university's goals by using very different means.</p>

<p>Justice, since I don't know you or your interviewer, I don't know what it meant that you and your interviewer shared stories and laughs. </p>

<p>I do know that I have seen interviewers share stories and laughs with student applicants for internships and in some cases, such behavior has meant that the interviewer did a soft ball interview because early in the interview, the interviewer had determined that the student was not suitable for the job. I also have seen such interviews occur when the interviewer was very impressed with the candidate, and I have seen such interviews occur when the interviewer was too lazy to bother doing a thoughtful interview. </p>

<p>My advice is to put an optimistic spin on things while also working on your other applications. It's better to expect a deferral and then to get a pleasant surprise in December than to get an unpleasant December surprise and have to scramble to do applications under a cloud of depression.</p>

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<p>thanks i appreciate the advice</p>

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<p>Out of curiosity, what on Earth could an applicant say that is the kiss of death for admission? I mean, do you automatically tune out to what the applicant is saying if you don't think that their credentials are impressive enough or that you don't agree with them?</p>

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<p>How can an interviewer determine this after a few minutes of conversation? A bad start on the interview doesn't necessarily mean that the applicant is unqualified. The interview may be the applicant's first interview, or the applicant may just be nervous.</p>

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<p>Do you generally give negative ratings to your interviewees unless they have done something phenomenal? </p>

<p>I don't think that it is fair to judge four years of work on the basis of a 50 minute interview.</p>

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<p>I think we all need to take a step back and stop worrying for a minute or two. I'm sure all of our interviews went well. And if they didn't, well, what will be will be, right? All we can do now is cross our fingers while we fill out our other applications in case Harvard doesn't work out. So...cheers and good luck to all!</p>

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<p>i second what bryllyg has to say...however, each day only means more anxiety!</p>

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<p>Actually, I had my interview at Cafe Express today! My Alumna was somone that graduated in '03~! It made things so much easier. She started out by telling me (demanding me) to ask questions about the school, because she wanted me to be sure to know what "Harvard" was. And we talked for about an hour, and then we got into the nitty gritty about courses, why harvard, yadda. However it was all very smooth and calm, because we had had that hour off talking beforehand. (Plus, she flat out told me that the interviews didn't count for much, just to make sure the person on the other end of the application is a human being.) Then an hour later we had to leave (she had a greek class).</p>

<p>It was such an enjoyable experience. I actually wouldn't mind having an interview with her again. She actually said that other Ivies could be better matches (this was towards the beginning) when she was describing Harvard's course list. Actually, Northstarmom, while you are a font of knowledge, you seem very scary to be in an interview with.</p>

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<p>Out of curiosity, how much time did you talk about YOU specifically, not Harvard?</p>

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<p>Yes, especially when you says stuff like, "when I hear a candidate saying something that I think is the kiss of death for admission..."</p>

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<p>Then the second hour was heavyily aimed at me. So I would say the whole time. I mean, the questions you ask say a lot about you.</p>

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<p>That's true, but my MIT interviewer just kept throwing questions at me about my academics, each of my clubs and my involvement in them, and other things I do. It was like he would never run out! There was no exchange. I did the talking, and he did the asking.</p>

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<p>Maybe, like NSM said, she was just trying to lull you into a false sense of security.</p>

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<p>question for northstarmom: could the interviewer feel that you're not suitable for harvard if you discuss things you found hard to do?...i guess what i'm asking is...does it make the interviewer think that you're not good enough for harvard if you're critical of yourself while narrating an academic experience?</p>

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<p>">Plus, she flat out told me that the interviews didn't count for much, just to make sure the person on the other end of the application is a human being.</p>

<p>Maybe, like NSM said, she was just trying to lull you into a false sense of security."|</p>

<p>My guess is that while she was telling what she thinks is the truth, she's new to interviewing for Harvard and does not yet have a feel for how the adcoms use the interviews. Since interviewers are volunteers who have only a booklet for training, they also vary widely in their skills and experiences with interviewing. Interviewers are, though, expected to use facts and quotes from the students to back up their conclusions in their reports.</p>

<p>": could the interviewer feel that you're not suitable for harvard if you discuss things you found hard to do?..."</p>

<p>Harvard students aren't supposed to be like Superman: finding everything easy. If a student told me that they had never found anything (including academically-related things) challenging, I'd think that either they were lying or were delusional. Even Einstein found some academic things difficult.</p>

<p>">Actually, Northstarmom, while you are a font of knowledge, you seem very scary to be in an interview with."</p>

<p>LOL! I think that the students actually find it enjoyable. As mentioned before, I am blunt on this anonymous board, when I see students saying things that clearly don't leave a good impression. During interviews, I try to give students the impression of unconditional positive regard. This isn't hard to do. Most of the students who apply are nice, interesting people. That is also my opinion of most teens.</p>

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<p>NSM: I think in general the students make an effort to make you feel good about your interview skills. It's probably not that hard to do. Anyway, most of them like adults.</p>

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<p>one word...wow!</p>

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<p>NSM, I realize that different interviewers have different styles, but I was wondering what you thought of this situation (for a different ivy, not harvard):</p>

<p>Although my interviewer had a pad of paper with her, she didn't take any notes. I did get the impression that it was a good interview though (well, you said previously that everyone gets this impression, so I don't know how much it is worth). Anyways, my friend had the same interviewer and he said she wrote a lot of notes.</p>

<p>Is this positive or negative for either one of us? How would you interpret this situation?</p>

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<p>LAgal, Didn't your interview take place yesterday??</p>

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<p>Newt,
As a person who has taught interviewing and has also interviewed a lot of people, my guess is that the interviewer was so interested in what you were saying that she forgot to take notes. I imagine, however, that if she was that interested, she'll remember enough details and quotes to write a helpful report. :)</p>

<p>That doesn't mean that your friend had an awful interview, however. Neither of you should worry. As always, make sure you have back-up schools and are working on your other applications. Best of luck!</p>