<p>I recently had a college interview over the phone. I'd done more interviews before this one. But, on this one, I messed up really bad. I could barely focus and I'm pretty sure I stopped talking in the middle of my sentences cuz I didn't know how I should express what I wanted to say. It was an Ivy league school interview, so I am worried. Also, I'm not a good talker over the phone; I prefer face-to-face interviews.</p>
<p>Anyways, how much impact can this bad interview have? I know it will be negative. Lets say...if the admissions office liked my application and essays but looked at this bad interview report, would they just reject me?</p>
<p>They won’t just straight-out reject you, but a bad interview will definitely lower their opinion of you.
The recommended interviews are like risk factors- have a good interview, and it has a slight chance of raising your looks, but have a bad interview, and it will impact your potential.
Interviews are just places to screw up, basically.</p>
<p>In your case, I guess that your chances have been lowered, but I’ve heard of cases where the application is good enough regardless of the interview in any case.</p>
<p>it depends on if it was an alumni interview or an official college interview. Also, some schools are different from others. Some schools say that the interview will not influence your admissions decision at all, some say it can make or break it. If it was an alumni interview, most likely (just the majority of colleges but I can’t promise it’s true for yours since I don’t know which Ivy it was) it falls in the ‘can’t hurt you too badly, but can really help you’ category. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Interviews don’t have a lot of weight on your admissions decision, so don’t worry about it. It won’t make or break you, except in extremely rare cases. I don’t think a good one will raise your chances, even sightly. I also doubt that your chances are lowered because of it. Interviews are more of opportunities to get to know the school personally. Relax, and good luck! </p>
<p>The information you provide is misleading. As with many things in college admissions, it depends on the school.</p>
<p>At both Hamilton College and Connecticut College, the interview is considered “important” in making admissions decisions, and depending on which school, is a bigger factor in the process than standardized test scores, legacy status, level of interest, talent/abilty, and racial/ethnic status.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if other schools also give serious weight to interviews, but these two schools are two of only a dozen or so that I have taken a close look at lately.</p>
</p>