How much weight does alumni interview holds? The person who scheduled interview with my kid did not sound very happy on the phone and was trying to come up with excuses that she was trying to contact my kid for a month now. I check her official email regularly and I know for a fact that she did not get any emails from this interviewer in the past.I understand that alumni volunteer their time and am very grateful, but afraid that this might not benefit her application.
For the vast vast majority of applicants, the interview matters not a whit.
Why? Because the vast vast majority of applicants aren’t going to get past the first read and no interview report will alter that, however good. Also, there’s a smallish group of shoo-ins that will be admitted barring some spectacular melt down. For them, even a mediocre interview report won’t doom them – Harvard simply wants them too much.
Now for that very narrow band that’s left over – these are the ones actually under consideration. For them, an interview report might fill in some gaps with good points or point out some weaknesses or red flags – or the report may not add/detract a thing.
Plus, Harvard KNOWS that an untrained interviewer, sitting for 45 minutes with a student, can only yield them info of limited utility. They know that their interviewers range in temperament and ability. That’s why it’s the least considered item of any applicant’s file (as it should be) nor are they mandatory.