<p>is every applicant offered an interview or is this only given to the selected applicants in the admissions process?</p>
<p>also, is it true that by the time when your interviewer asks for the interview the admissions committee has read all your applications? my friend's interviewer told him to set up the interview date ASAP so that they can make final decision or whatever.</p>
<p>did any of you get that sort of notice from your interviewer?</p>
<p>I bet everyone is given an interview. I sent in my app Jan 1st (yea, I kind of procrastinated) and got an email today about an interview. I highly doubt they reviewed my app so fast considering the number of apps the admissions office gets Dec 31- Jan 1ish.</p>
<p>i sent my app in on december 31 and i had my interview on sunday in manhattan</p>
<p>I applied to Princeton (submitted it around 12/24) and I haven't received an interview offer. I think they just determine if there's available alumni/alumnae in your area, and they use the information from your initial application to assign you to an alumnus/alumna. I don't think it's based on selected applicants who have somehow already been screened and are likely candidates for admission.</p>
<p>Ive done a little interviewing in the past and can provide a few answers. Other alumni might want to add to my comments or disagree based on their own experiences.</p>
<p>Princeton alumni attempt to interview every single applicant. Unfortunately, since this is volunteer work and alumni are often very busy people, it is never the case that 100% of the applicants will be interviewed. Some interviewers are more diligent than others about reaching out to all of their assigned students. Some parts of the country have relatively few alumni. In some regions of the country, the distances are so great that interviewers find it necessary to conduct interviews over the phone. In the case of overseas applicants there may not be any alumni available for interviewing work anywhere in the country!</p>
<p>It is important for applicants to understand that being contacted for an interview late in the process or not being contacted at all has absolutely no meaning in terms of your chances for admission. It is simply the result of the drawbacks of a volunteer-driven system. Interviews are not required for admission and you will not be at a disadvantage by not having one. Remember that the interviews are almost entirely informational rather than evaluative.</p>
<p>Furthermore, interviewers know almost nothing about you other than your basic contact information and they will not find out what your chances of admission are until after you have been notified of the results. They have no secret communication link with Princeton. The Admission Office does not provide them with your GPA or your test scores. They know your name, address, telephone number and the high school you attend. Thats about it. Their job is to answer your questions about Princeton and to get a sense, if possible, of the real you. It is true that they provide feedback to the Admission Office but this additional information simply supplements all of the other material already available to the readers.</p>
<p>Interviewers cannot guarantee you admission and they cannot prevent your admission. What they can do is to provide a more human and richer picture of you for the readers. For that reason you should try to be yourself (in the best sense). What you wear to the interview is unimportant. It is important, however, to be punctual and real. Show the interviewer the side of you that wouldnt fit into the application. Are there circumstances that explain why you test poorly or why your GPA has suffered recently? Did you fail to mention that you have to look after your little sister after school and hold down a job in the evenings and on the weekends? Show your passion and drive. Show that you know something about Princeton and know why it would be a good fit for you. Tell the interviewer about your dreams. Try not to be frozen with fear or distracted. Relax and understand that your interviewer (especially if this is new to him or her) might be nervous too.</p>
<p>I know that there is a tendency for applicants to read a great deal into every question that the interviewer asks or every comment that he or she makes. Try not to do this. Remember that these alumni are not Admission Officers and that their views of Princeton and their reaction to you are very personal.</p>
<p>Finally, understand that there are some questions that interviewers should not ask you and, if they do, they are violating the explicit instructions of the Admission Office. They should NOT ask you to what other schools you are applying. They should NOT ask you about your personal religious beliefs or about your sexual orientation unless you bring these things up and want to make them a topic of conversation. They should NOT ask you about other applicants to Princeton. If these things happen you should let the Admission Office at Princeton know. The office will respect your having stood up for yourself by not answering these questions and they will appreciate being informed about a bad interviewer who should be prevented from doing further interviews.</p>
<p>Relax. Be engaging. Be yourself. Show your interviewer that you have a personality and dreams for the future and when its over, say thank you and try not to analyze how the conversation went. It will all be fine.</p>
<p>I sent in my application January 1st and just had my interview today. Haha, my interviewer didn't ask what other colleges I'm going to, but he did ask if Princeton was the only school that rejected me, what my other top 2 or 3 contenders would be. I don't know if he was trying to be sly in asking that question or not.</p>