<p>Is anyone here a legacy candidate that applied ED?</p>
<p>my dad went to columbia law... not sure if that counts for much.</p>
<p>Yep! (10 char)</p>
<p>edit: I applied last year.</p>
<p>Yep!</p>
<p>Just out of sheer curiosity, how many of you guys got an on-campus interview?</p>
<p>I think I could have had one if I wanted but I ended up just interviewing at home... not sure though!</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure any legacy is eligible for an on-campus interview(I got mine without difficulty). I have to say, I feel that doing an on-campus interview is much better than an alumni interview, since it gives you the chance to chat one-on-one with an adcom.</p>
<p>Nice! Hope it went well. Too late for me anyway ;)</p>
<p>A few things to keep in mind</p>
<p>For next year, Legacy interviews on campus with an adcom will only be done during the summer (2008), not during the fall as had been previously done.</p>
<p>A direct interview with an adcom can be a mixed blessing. If you impress your adcom with your interview skills you can gain some advantage. On the other hand most students interview in an average way and may leave the adcom with questions in their mind as to the potential in a specific candidate. This may easily be hidden with an alum interview (or no interview) but with a direct interview with an adcom a poor to average interview has the potential for more negative impact.</p>
<p>Just a thought</p>
<p>^well clearly if your absolutely appaling at interviewing, you would realize and either not ask for one, and say that you can't make it, perhaps you shouldn't ask for one. If you think you have a shot at doing well during an interview (usually alumni), then it makes sense to go for the ad com interview, becuase if you do badly in the alumni interview, chances are you won't make it, if you do well with an alumni, you can do well with an ad com and an ad com will have more weightage.</p>
<p>WiseOWL:
I view the situation in a different light. I think that the adcoms will not penalize an "average" legacy interview-- that is, they'll treat the application more or less as if the interview never happened. Only in the event that you do horribly(and I mean really horribly, showing that you have no shot in attending higher education) will the interview count against you, and I really don't think many(if any) applicants to Columbia fit into this category.</p>
<p>If you have a positive interview, though, that is when interviewing with an adcom helps. When reading your application, the adcom will say, "Oh yeah, John was a really nice person. He was really passionate about his interests, and I think he would do well here, even though his grades are a bit low." It helps you a lot on the borderline; the adcoms are going to pick someone they know and have met over some faceless individual who they have never met one on one with, if both applicants are approximately equal in quality.</p>
<p>But, I digress. I think we are overanalyzing the situation. Bottom line, if you're eligible for an on-campus interview(that is, if you're a legacy or are a professor's son/daughter), take it.</p>
<p>[quite]A direct interview with an adcom can be a mixed blessing. If you impress your adcom with your interview skills you can gain some advantage. On the other hand most students interview in an average way and may leave the adcom with questions in their mind as to the potential in a specific candidate. This may easily be hidden with an alum interview (or no interview) but with a direct interview with an adcom a poor to average interview has the potential for more negative impact.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is consistent with human nature. If you're a "blah" interviewee, the interviewer's memory of the interview could influence how the interviewer views the rest of the application.</p>