yeah is that perhaps meant i am not qualified enough or at least i am not the most brillian kid he’ve ever seen?
my interview was filled with those selectiveness of the school and “hey dont be disappointed too much if you’re not accepted” kinda conversation. (oh i gave him my resume)
just wondering…
<p>If it's a school with tough odds, the interviewer probably was just emphasizing that it's a longshot for everyone, and should you get a rejection, you should realize that many outstanding students don't get accepted.</p>
<p>so that if you get rejected (>75% chance) you won't feel bad, but if you get accepted,at least you can rejoice over the (unexpected) luck.</p>
<p>I wouldn't take these comments personally. The alum interview counts more at some schools than others, but even those that are of some importance in the eventual decision are beyond the interviewer's control - i.e., the adcoms do the evaluating, and they won't be able to take everyone who had a terrific intervew. Similarly, they won't discount kids who had a mediocre interview if everything else is what they're looking for.</p>
<p>My d had an interview for a veryveryvery selective school last week. The guy could not have been nicer (even drove to our town instead of having her drive to his because the weather was bad). She truly enjoyed talking to him, although he started off by telling her that in 10 years of interviewing, only 2 kids he talked to were ever accepted. He finished the interview by telling her the exact same thing. I think he was just trying to cushion the probable blow, but it doesn't mean he wouldn't evaluate her well. I'd bet he tells all his interviewees the same thing.</p>
<p>You must also remember that interviewers are suppose to be objective. The are not suppose to give the impression implied or otherwise that a person is a 'shoe in" or likely to be admitted because they don't have that type of decision making power. Look at how many kids post about how well their interview went , "we clicked" and then are totally devasted at the decision to defer (or worse, rejection).</p>
<p>The sad thing is that we are a very litigious society, so the interviewer always needs to be careful about the message s/he is putting out there. It only takes one student to allege that the interviewer told me that I would get in (and then it doesn't happen) for a big mess to ensue. No one wants the bad press alone that could come out of this type of situation . For the interviewer, especially at selective schools it is MHO, that they do err on the side of caution and remind students, that no one has an automatic in, and remain cognizant of the realities of the college process.</p>
<p>It is not you, so don't take this on.</p>
<p>My S had a very honest interviewer who told him last year he probably wouldn't get in as his SAT scores were a tad low for this school where most kids had close to 1500. He got in though so I would not take the comments as a sign. This was not a volunteer interviewer either but a very nice young interviewer who was just very honest and upfront and helpful.</p>
<p>I agree about not taking those sorts of comments personally. In many cases, the interviewer knows nothing about you ahead of time. Even if they love your personality and you have a great interview, they may not know how your grades, scores, etc. stack up against the applicant pool. (you should also take it with a grain of salt if the interviewer says you are sure to get in).</p>
<p>I received a lot of those comments. "MIT hasn't accepted a student from our school in YEARS; even our most brilliant are rejected left and right." "What? Rice? hmm... well... good luck with that." It is a bit frustrating because you've done the research (know the odds, however small) and accepting a rejection is a very personal process. Just shrug it off... some are trying to help, others probably have some inferiority complex of their own.</p>
<p>I'm curious, dreaming, was this an interview for Princeton? My Princeton interviewer last year said the same thing (and we had had 4 kids get accepted ED).</p>
<p>People on the harvard forum have said similar things. Any of the top schools is <30% chance, so I think interviewers just say it to students who don't seem to be the lock type, or perhaps to everyone. I could be wrong, just a thought.</p>
<p>That's a really mean and I would even say classless thing to do.</p>
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that's a really mean and I would even say classless thing to do.
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<p>it's a realistic, humane thing to do. Many applicants who are turned down by Harvard have been told by the adults all around them that they are sure to get in because they are impressive in their school or local community. But that just isn't true! Those well meaning adults are frequently misinformed or don't know what they are talking about. It's only fair to give students some idea of what the odds really are instead of allowing them to delude themselves. Once you take out urms, legacies, and athletes, the real chance of admission at Harvard is probably something like 15%. That means a lot of awesome kids who are beloved by their teachers, or who have great interviews, or who have perfect grades or 1600 SATs are going to get REJECTED. Best to hear it when you still have time to form a viable contingency plan.</p>
<p>No...you show up to an interview and the first or second or whatever thing out of an interviewer's mouth is "don't be disappointed if you get rejected?" It does nothing but give an applicant the impression that they never had a shot and nobody even bothered to give them a fair chance. Everyone knows that admissions at the top schools is a crap shoot. Of course everyone's going to have a contingency plan, what the hell kind of reason is that? No one is that stupid...and no one needs interviewers playing the part of the adcoms and smacking kids in the face (CC folks who are interviewers...don't take offense, I don't mean you). Last time I checked, the point of an interview is for you to show yourself to the school in a different light, not to advise you of your possible admission/rejection. You're not my guidance counselor, you're not my parents, you're not anyone and I don't need you assuming that I have the emotions of a 2 year old and won't be able to handle a rejection like an adult human being.</p>
<p>dreaming,
I do agree with you that it should not have been the first thing out of his mouth (maybe even the last). I would also have felt it to be condescending for an interviewer to bring up the possibility of rejection, unless an interviewee himself or herself specifically brought up the question of "odds" or results.
I don't know approx. what age your interviewer was. If he was young, possibly he was over-identifying with the whole process if he was not too distant in time to it himself.
All 3 interviewers my D had were supportive & encouraging. They expressed eagerness for her admission & in some cases said that wanted to hear back from her after any acceptance. In other cases they said that they would be informed by the admissions office as to her ultimate status, but would still welcome a call or e-mail from her after the fact. Perhaps these interviewers had better guidance from the college, regarding the interview process, than yours did. Or perhaps, although they were all reasonably young, they were more mature than your interviewer.
No one with any tact would start a job interview by informing the candidate for employment that he or she "might not get the job." (Duh!) I hope your interviewer's comment did not negatively affect your interview performance.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many students and their parents are not as sophisticated about admissions as are many folks on CC. In my area, a sweet, elderly alum interviewer opened her door one day to find a rejected student and his mom who literally pushed their way into her house, and demanded to show the alumni interviewer why the student deserved to be accepted.</p>
<p>I have had students whom I interviewed tell me that their parents have threatened to send them to community college unless the student gets a Harvard acceptance!</p>
<p>I also have seen students whose Harvard application seems to carry the hopes of their entire high school or racial/ethnic community as well as their entire personal feelings of self worth.</p>
<p>These are reasons why some interviewers emphasize what a longshot it is to applyt o places like Ivies, and why students also should have some realistic matches and safety schools.Whenever I interview a student, I know that odds are, no matter how wonderful the student is, they aren't going to get accepted. In general, I like the students whom I interview, and I hope that even if they don't get into Harvard, they have applied in a way that allows them to get into a good college where they can hone their talents and pursue their passions.</p>
<p>Everyone one of my interviewers have done that, I figured its customary.</p>
<p>yeah me too.</p>
<p>If the interviewer is going to say something about the odds, it's better to do it early in the interview as an introductory remark. Saying it at the end of the interview could be taken personally, as indicating that the interview itself caused the interviewer to say that.</p>
<p>Xanatos - I think you are reading too much into this. Whether or not you think it is a good idea, many interviewers take it upon themselves to make some general comments to every student they interview to the effect that it's a long shot. You already know that, but many kids don't. They point is, those remarks are a standard part of the interview for some interviewers and should not be taken personally. Similarly, don't get too optimistic if the interviewer says something like "I think you would really like Harvard". They may also say THAT to everyone they interview.</p>
<p>Well, especially considering that some interviewers make it a point to say it and others don't, that just makes it even worse that some people will hear that and others won't.</p>