<p>My Harvard alumni interview is with someone on a governing board at Harvard. Any tips/advice on how this will be different than other alumni interviews? Due to the circumstances I feel more pressure. Thanks.</p>
<p>It’s not actually much different from other ivy alumni interviews.
The only main difference will be that because you are submitting a Pre-Interview form, they will know all about your scores and GPA, while many alumni interviewers for other schools will not be given any part of your application, and will be less inclined to judge you based off of your stats.</p>
<p>But given that your interviewer is on a governing board at Harvard, I think he will be really understanding. Sometimes the hardest interviews come from the freshly graduated students, as they tend to set high expectations during their interviews.</p>
<p>You can do it! Good luck.</p>
<p>He or she* sorry. Didn’t mean to stereotype gender in workplaces. :(</p>
<p>Just a tip – if you know this about the alumnus/a through a google search or the like, don’t advertise it – if (s)he mentions it, fine, but otherwise play dumb. As an interviewer I often find it creepy when the prospective student lets me know (s)he has googled me.</p>
<p>On the other hand, here in the year 2014, some interviewers may think it is merely standard due diligence and would be surprised to learn that someone has not made a public inquiry about someone they are meeting. I think…100% personal opinion here…that opposition to public searches says more about the interviewer, than searching in the first place does about the applicant</p>
<p>Fenwaypark – in a job interview situation I would likely agree with you but in a college interview, the particular interviewer really isn’t particularly important or worthy of research – it should be about the college, not the interviewer.</p>
<p>Practically speaking, I have never been in an interview situation where the applicant says something like “I Googled you and found out blah, blah, blah”. Usually the applicant just asks the interviewer about his/her background and finds out most everything that may have been revealed on a public search.</p>
<p>But if it did come out that I was Googled, I would find this kinda not remarkable, certainly not creepy, and I wouldn’t hold it against the applicant. </p>
<p>In the event I am in the minority, and most interviewers would be made to feel uncomfortable if they knew their public profile was viewed, then your admonition certainly is in order.</p>
<p>You all make good points. Thanks.</p>
<p>Has anyone applied to Harvard and not been contacted for an interview? Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown have contacted me, but I’m starting to get worried. Do they have a first cut where they eliminate students who don’t really have a chance?</p>
<p>I am an international student and I have been contacted just by Princeton regarding an interview. As biomajor101 has asked, are applicants filtered?
Being an international student, I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the campus and hence would love to get an interview at least to talk to the alumnus and find out more about the college. If I send an email to Harvard and the other ivies with this request, would it sound desperate?? :P</p>
<p>^ Yes, the consensus is generally that international applicants to Harvard receive interviews on the basis of merit (and also availability of interviewers, of course). I would wait.</p>
<p>@biomajor: Harvard’s interviews for domestic students is JUST LIKE Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown. There is no pre-sort or “first cut”.</p>
<p>Over on the Yale forum, a nervous poster asked if his quickly scheduled interview was an indication that they wanted to eliminate him early. Too many people worried about lots of nothing and common sense quickly evaporates discussing interviews and their scheduling.</p>
<p>WOW! Getting scared because of an early interview! That’s unique!
Thanks for the advice. I guess I will wait and watch. I guess I am getting tensed about not being contacted because I do know that there is a Harvard alumnus in my city who does interviews 
And yes, in case of any interview, is it advisable to take my resume along?</p>
<p>I always had a resume but was never asked for one. You might want to bring one just in case.</p>