<p>And after 8PM? Son has had many interviews and has met either at their offices or at Starbucks but this is a first for us! This is for a school that DS is really interested in so a pass doesn't seem to really be an option. Initially, I thought that it would be okay thinking we could send the sibling and bad, barking dog out on a walk but when he added the stipulation of being after 8pm on a weeknight, that threw me for a loop. </p>
<p>DS starts class at 6:30 am and he is usually in bed at 8 or 9 at the latest and dd goes to bed by 8:30! I think the interviewer is 68 years old so I would guess "old school" but I've never heard of this. Any thoughts on this or tips? Have you had interviewers come to your home? Did you hide in another room or did you meet them and then excuse yourself? I guess refreshments and a good house cleaning are in order....</p>
<p>“Thanks so much for contacting me. I’m really looking forward to our interview. My little sister goes to bed very early. Would it be okay if we met at Starbucks instead?”</p>
<p>This seems unusually intrusive and as SteveMA pointed out just plain weird. Especially at 8 p.m! I’d contact the school and confirm that this guy is for real and if this is standard procedure.</p>
<p>I agree. This adds too many other factors to the interview. Now, we know why there are so many Starbucks. They are there to come to the rescue in situations like this and put the focus back on the student.</p>
<p>I would think nothing of it, maybe they do not want to go to starbucks 2 or 3 times a day. they probably want a quiet location to meet and do not want tons of strangers in their home! ( they are most likely a volunteer)
steve MA I would not contact the add. office that would make for an akward situation and put you on someones radar screen (not in a good way)</p>
<p>Back in the 70s an admissions rep DID come to our home, met my parents and took me to a local restaurant for “our conversation.” I didn’t give it a second thought. My parents still talk about how personal and caring that was and i did end up attending this college, BUT if that makes the student (or the parents) uncomfortable I vote for the “invite” to the local Starbucks or whatnot. I see no reason whatsoever to contact the admissions office when there is a graceful way to defer the situation.</p>
<p>Last year my daughter had an ivy interviewer that met her at Starbucks on valentines day (which was a weeknight) after 9 pm (he called a couple of times because he was running late - it was originally supposed to be at 8:30). I thought this was very odd, turns out the place was deserted (I guess Starbucks is not a romantic date night kind of place). Instead of just dropping her off, I hung out in the car and waited to make sure she was safe.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t give the sister excuse (they might just want to come to your house earlier then). I personally would be uncomfortable about this – would have to clean (and get that cabinet repair guy in for that broken drawer this week!) and tidy, and also get the barking dog taken care of… Not a huge deal, but not convenient.</p>
<p>If I were your son I would just email that he is excited to interview, but that it probably would not work out well to do it at his house. Maybe suggest a couple of other nearby locations – if not a coffee shop, is there a casual restaurant or a library or something (check the hours)? If he were feeling nervy (which I am sure he is not), he could say, “Let’s do it at your house instead”. But I suppose that won’t fly…</p>
<p>If the interviewer is older, it may be the noise level at a Starbucks that bothers him so he can’t hear the student very well. So finding a quieter venue may be good… but that “after 8 pm” makes it more difficult.</p>
<p>The request for a late hour seems odd (ok, maybe the guy works late, but if that’s the only time you’re available then don’t volunteer to be an alumni interviewer).</p>
<p>But the offer to come to your home doesn’t seem odd to me at all. About 20 years ago I was an alumni interviewer for several years, and most of the interviews were done at the students’ homes. I can only think of one that I did at a “neutral” location (a mall near my office). Of course this was before there was a Starbucks on every corner.</p>
<p>When I did the interviews, the parents usually greeted me and then made themselves scarce. Sometimes they offered coffee or water. I wasn’t there to interview them, or to judge their home or hospitality. I was there to find out how interested the kid really was in my alma mater, make sure he/she seemed relatively normal (no big waving red flags), and to offer him/her more information about the school - i.e., sell the school to the student. There was nowhere on the report form to write about what the house looked like or how the parents acted.</p>
<p>I don’t think the college really put much stock in the reports I sent them. The kids I liked best - the ones sincerely interested in the college, who asked questions with enthusiasm - all got waitlisted. The kids I didn’t care for (who either full of themselves, seemed bored or didn’t express a much interest in the college) all got in. I really think my college used the alumni visits as more of a means to sell the student on the college.</p>
<p>I have been interviewing for a major university for over 15 years. Usually, students come to my home. Occasionally, I’ve arranged meetings at a local coffee shop. When my D was interviewing last year, we had one interviewer come to our home, and it was perfectly fine. We offered her something to drink and left the room. We returned after about an hour.</p>
<p>There’s nothing unusual about them coming to your home. Sometimes their interview workload makes it easier.</p>
<p>The noise issue reminded me - the first thing this interviewer did on Valentines night was to tell the starbucks staff to turn down the music saying that it was too loud. (He was rather rude - also did not purchase anything while he was there - I always had my daughter purchase a hot cocoa or something.)</p>
<p>I vote for the email with an adjustment something like this</p>
<p>“Thanks so much for contacting me. I’m really looking forward to our interview. It would be difficult to have privacy in my house in the evening with my family and pets around. Would it be okay if we met at Starbucks instead?”</p>
<p>That’s interesting - I do alumni interviews for Duke, and we are specifically instructed not to do interviews in our home or the student’s home. I usually go to Starbucks or a Barnes and Noble cafe.</p>
<p>When D1 was applying to schools, she did have one interview at our home. He was coming to our area for few interviews. He thought it would be quieter at our home. I didn’t have any problem with it, except it went for 2 hours. D2 had to stay quiet upstairs and I couldn’t go down to the kitchen. </p>
<p>Most teens do not go to bed before 10, so an 8pm interview is really not that out of line.</p>
<p>My DD had an interview for Yale a few years ago at the interviewer’s home. Years ago I had an interview at the interviewer’s house in the evening way out in the suburbs–not convenient at all, but then neither was another interview I had where I had to take several city buses to meet at the interviewer’s office in a neighboring town.</p>