Nervous about Interview Results

<p>I'm worried because my interview was only around 40 minutes. Isn't that a little too short. Also, I really did not do that much talking. I feel like I spoke 5 minutes while the interviewer talked for 35 minutes. He didn't really ask that many questions and I asked a lot about the college to him. Also, he didn't really smile at all and was not sure what questions to ask.</p>

<p>Interviews have barely any weight on the admissions process. They really can only help you (not hurt you), especially if you’re a borderline candidate for admissions. Don’t worry about it. Your interview will not make or break your app. You will survive.</p>

<p>40 minutes is short???</p>

<p>I pray that I am not offered one.</p>

<p>40 minutes is definitely not short. Duke’s adcoms suggest that alumni target 30-45 minutes for the interview so you are clearly in range.</p>

<p>What is far more important than the length however is the subjects discussed. Did you connect with the interviewer? Were you able to show passion about your interests? Did you display interest and enthusiasm for Duke?</p>

<p>I also agree with splashdown that the interview is more about pr than a critical piece of the admission process. There is simply too much variability in the intreviewers and their evaluations.</p>

<p>mine was 35-45 mins. Chill out</p>

<p>My son just had his last night and to quote him, “It went pretty well.” That was the exact text I got from him after his overnight stay at Duke asking him how the night went, and in reality, that went great, so I’m guessing it is just teenage boy communication… :)</p>

<p>His interview was about an hour and was a comfortable discussion. Interviewer went to Med school there and his daughter is now there as a freshman (she attended my sons high school). So son said interviewer talked about her a lot, but that on the whole he (son) did more of the talking. But as others have said, since not everyone even HAS an interview, they certainly can’t be weighted too heavily. As rmldad mentioned, as long as YOU were enthusiastic and demonstrated your passion and interests, you should be fine.</p>

<p>They help if the results support your overall application. They definitely can hurt if you come across negatively. This and the recs is where the 2400/4.0’s can lose the most.</p>

<p>My interview was an hour and ten minutes! It went wonderfully!</p>

<p>I believe the quality of the interview is significantly more important than the duration.</p>

<p>The duration often correlates with how well you bonded with the interviewer.</p>

<p>Aaronyah:</p>

<p>I am a Dike alumnus and have conducted many Undergraduate Admissions interviews in Fairfax County, Virginia, during the last decade. Please do not be concerned with the “brevity” of your interview. The University’s informal guidance suggests a half-hour to an hour would be typical; however, there is no firmly established duration. For example, my applicant discussions usually last an hour, or slightly more. Further, please consider this from the perspective of the alumni who conducts the interview: perhaps his calendar became more-constrained after scheduling with you but he didn’t want to postpone your meeting, perhaps he wanted to complete your interview but had a professional trip later that day and needed to get to the airport, perhaps he simply wasn’t feeling too well – the list of his potential “issues” is truly endless.</p>

<p>We all understand that your impending college decision is CRITICAL to YOU; after all, this likely is the most important thing you have done in your “young” life. However, it is not, nor should not be, a “crisis” for the alum who conducts the interview. Rather, it principally is an enjoyable service performed to assist both Duke and excellent youngsters in his community.</p>

<p>It might be wise to recognize that, a few decades from now, where you attend undergraduate school will not be nearly as important to you as it seems today. Relax, continue to work hard, but please don’t “have a meltdown” over the exigencies of the college selection process.</p>

<p>In my honest opinion, interviews have almost no weight. If you do well, good. Not much will happen unless you are one of the few that had an extremely, extremely good interview that wants to make the interviewer name their child after you (haha kidding, but you get the gist). Then, it may help you more so. However, if you do poorly, it can definitely hurt.
Regarding the time? Don’t worry about it. Some of my best interviews were the shortest and worst were the longest. I also didn’t have interviews for some of the universities, such as Duke, but everything worked out nicely.</p>

<p>My interview was about a half hour. He talked quite a bit and I said a few things here and there about myself when I needed to. It was hard to read him. I walked away feeling comfortable.</p>

<p>Did you end up getting in posterfan?</p>

<p>Yep I’m a Freshman at Duke and loving it!!</p>