Should I mention it briefly? Or would it be weird to do so? What do you think?
I wouldn’t. What good could come of it?
Yes because interviewers must disclose possible conflicts in their written reports. I mentioned connections like that and other types of associations (same high school as my kids, for example.)
Yes you should say something so that he can recuse himself now and get you another interviewer. If he discovers the conflict in 10 days, you might not be able to be re-assigned. At least now, something can be done.
I had to recuse myself several times b/c I knew the kids’ parents.
What if there are no other interviewers, and no other possibilities for an interview? I’ve seen that happen a few times to kids on CC. If it were my kid, I’d tell him not to mention the relationship and just do the interview.
UNLESS you actually know the dad already personally and have hung out at their house. Then it’s an entirely different level and you need to address it before the interview.
Also, if you’ve mentioned to said kid 'hey I’m interviewing with your dad", then yeah, that is an issue, as well.
If you’re just casual friends with the kid, I wouldn’t mention it to him or the dad.
On second thought, I think @MotherOfDragons’ advice is better than mine. Play it by ear.
D1 went to a small private school where everyone knew each other, that included alums and parents. D1 was interviewed by few alums from different colleges who graduated from her school. They knew of her, but not very well. I am sure those colleges purposely scheduled those interviewers because those alums knew of her high school’s curriculum and probably could have more meaningful discussions with D1.
In the OP’s case, I would email the interviewer back to confirm the interview and then just mention he/she is friends with the interviewer’s kid. The interviewer could make a decision whether there is a conflict or not. I personally don’t think there would be, but it is not for me to deide.
I haven’t met the dad before and I haven’t told the kid about it. So I guess I won’t mention anything about it
^^ I wouldn’t do that. It just seems you are going into this at a level of dishonesty because you’ve considered it and think it might be an issue. At this point I think you should disclose the relationship and let him decide if it’s an issue.
I think it’s not dishonest if you are coming at it from an honest point of view.
If the dad doesn’t know the OP, and the OP is not talking to his friend about the interview, then when the OP and the dad have the interview, there should be no reason the relationship between the OP and the friend ever enter into the dialogue or the consideration of the interview. They remain strangers.
If it’s a small town, and there are not a lot of interviewers, then it seems to me that this is the best option for maintaining objectivity and preserving the interview.
Just don’t go blabbing to your friend afterwards “hey I talked to your dad”. That would not be cool or honest.
I must live in a very different part of the world than y’all, as my first thought was, “Of course you mention it. Why wouldn’t you.” Perhaps Princeton interviews by local alumni are different, but most of the colleges I am familiar with do not put a lot of weight on local alumni interviews. When my daughter interviewed locally with a Brown alum, she outright told my daughter that the interview bore little weight in the admission decision. It is natural in an interview for the interviewer and interviewee to search for common ground by discussing common interests and, yes, common acquaintances. I am sure there will be a natural time during the interview to say, “Actually, I know your son. We play rugby together.” or whatever. I do not see the big deal or any conflict, unless the relationship with the interviewer’s child is more than just as a casual friend (in which case it seems it would be known to the dad already).
My point is that it may or may not matter but that’s a decision for the Interviewer and he should have all the information. Think of it this way - what if it comes out in the interview of your relationship with the son and he freaks out and wonders why you didn’t disclose that information prior? That might turn out unfavorable to you and you get reported as an integrity risk. The worst thing that could happen if you disclose the information prior is that you may not get an interview which will not be held against you.
I would mention that you know his son and wanted him to know in case it was a conflict of interest. Given that the friendship seems to be casual, it may be a non-issue if you don’t discuss the interview with your classmate and he doesn’t discuss you with his son. Let him make the decision.
Hello - I’m an alumni interviewer for Duke. We are specifically told NOT to interview students that we know. If you are interviewing with your friends Dad and he has never met you and doesn’t know who you are, then I think it would be fine to complete the interview. If it comes up during the conversation that you know the interviewer’s son, then be honest about it.
However if the interviewer already knows who you are, then I think you are ethically bound to let someone know. The alumni interview counts for very little, and is unlikely to be the tipping factor in your admission/rejection. However unethical behavior like this would make it very easy for the admissions committee to cross you off the list.
If the interviewer already knows who you are, wouldn’t he recuse himself?
@MotherOfDragons Yes you are right. In fact this has happened to me several times over the years. If I know a student (friend of my son, or I know the parent) even loosely, I will recuse myself. Duke has a way to re-assign another alumni interviewer rather quickly.
My daughter was supposed to be interviewed by a relative of a family friend and once the connection was made, the Princeton alumni interviewer recused herself from the interview and my daughter was reassigned another interviewer. I think it’s best that the interviewer be notified of the connection. They have these policies in place for a reason.
I just had the interview, and the interviewer brought it up himself. He said something like, “I see you go to the same high school as my son Joe. Do you know him?.”
I told him yes and that I’ve had some classes with him, but the interviewer didn’t show any signs like he was going to cancel the interview report because of that.
Once the interview had started, it was very unlikely that he would’ve cancelled. As long as he didn’t know you before the interview then I think you should be fine.
Surprised to see that Princeton allows alumni to interview in the same cycle that their own kids are applying. Duke does not allow this.
1 Like
@sgopal2 Perhaps the son is a different class than OP